God stands at the core of the shahadah or profession of faith which constitutes the fi rst of Islam’s five pillars: “There is no deity but God and Muhammad is His messenger.” The statement is repeated by Muslims in their fi ve daily prayers, in the call for prayer, and in their daily lives. Belief in one God differentiates Islam from many of the preIslamic religions in Arabia, though the Arabic word for God, “Allah,” is apparently pre- Islamic, and was used in combination with the names of other deities until the infl uence of Islam brought this to an end. The word “Allah” is said to occur only in the singular, although there is a plural of a related term al-ilah, i.e. alihah. Grammar aside, God in the Qur’an is defi nitely one and the unity (tawhid) of the deity cannot be suffi ciently stressed in Islam. Q. 112:1 refl ects this in its command “Say: He, God, is One.” As one might expect, the word “Allah” is ubiquitous in the Book. The Qur’an has many references to God and to his close relationship with the world; God is said to be closer to the human being than is the jugular vein (50:16). Everything in the universe is regarded as a sign (ayah) of his presence and human beings need to use their intelligence to interpret these signs in the right sort of way. Intelligent refl ection on God’s signs confi rms the existence of God and of the divine and directed nature of the world’s design (Source: Islam, Key Concepts).
Evolution of Koran Sciences and Epistemological Expansion of Islamic Faith
