Allah The Exalted — Page 50
52 It should be observed how concisely in this brief state- ment the Being of the Creator has been shown to be free from every kind of association. Association can be of four types. It could be in respect of number, rank, de- scent, or action and effect. In this S u rah , it has been declared that God is free from association of all these types. It has been made clear that He is the One in num- ber and is not two or three; He is the Besought of all; He alone is Self-Existing while everything else is contingent and mortal and is ever dependent upon Him; and He is which means that He has no son who can claim to be His partner; and He is which means that he has no father to share His power; and He is which means that no one can be His equal in His works to claim partnership with Him on this account. Thus, it has been made clear that God Almighty is free from as- sociates of any of the four types and is One, without associate. Then the Holy Qur’ a n sets forth an argument in support of His being One, without associate, by stating: 53 54 That is, had there been any other god beside the One Who combines in Himself all perfect attributes, both heaven and earth would have been corrupted. Since it was inevitable that at times this plurality of gods would 52 ‘Say, He is All a h, the One; All a h, the Independent and Besought of all…. ’—al-Ikhl as , 112:2-5 [Publisher] 53 al-A n biy a ’, 21:23 [Publisher] 54 al-Mu’min u n, 23:92 [Publisher] 50