Introduction to the Study of The Holy Quran — Page 295
295 created nor He begets nor has He a peer. This last teaching of the Quran refutes the doctrine of the plurality of gods which is taught by religions like Zoroastrianism. The Surah al-Ikhlas in its few laconic verses thus proclaims that the Centre of the whole universe is God, Who is a Unique Being. He is the only source of the universe and is not dependent for the manifestation of His attributes upon any other being or thing. He is not begotten nor does He beget. There is no parallel power that shares His attributes with Him nor is there any other being who possesses a rival position in opposition to Him. This very brief Surah in a few simple words refutes the errors of the doctrines of all other religions relating to the Divine Being and proclaims the perfect Unity of God. God of All Peoples The followers of some religions believe that God stands in a peculiar relationship towards them from which all other human beings are excluded. They believe that though God is the Creator of the whole universe He is in a special sense the God of a particular people, for instance, the Israelites or the Hindus or the Zoroastrians. The Quran rejects this doctrine and teaches that not only is God unique in His being but that He is the source of the whole universe. The word Allah occurring in the first verse of Surah al-Ikhlas means unique and also unity, that is to say, the source which is itself outside numbers but from which all numbers proceed. This verse indicates that God is equally the guide of the whole of mankind and entertains no special attachment to any particular people. Those who strive to attain nearness to Him He guides along the paths that lead to Him. Arabs, Jews, Persians, Indians, Chinese, Greeks and Africans are all equal in His sight, for He is the source of the creation of all of them. He alone is the unity which is the source of the multiplicity of the universe. By proclaiming that He is not begotten the Quran refutes the central doctrine of Christianity as well as of several Hindu creeds, for he who is himself begotten could not be God since he would be dependent for his own creation upon somebody else. By pointing out that He has no rival the Quran refutes the doctrine inculcated by some religions that light and darkness are distinct and opposing forces and thus in effect set up two parallel gods. God—the Ultimate Cause of All Creation The Quran also teaches that God is the ultimate cause of all creation; that is to say, that the whole of creation has proceeded from Him and reverts to Him. It says "He is the First and the Last. " 373 This means that everything in the universe owes its existence to God and that the extinction of everything is also brought about under divine laws. Had not God chosen to confer existence upon the universe, it could not have come into existence; and had not God promulgated laws for its destruction it could not have been destroyed. All creation and destruction are thus controlled by