Oneness of the Essence
The first degree of Tawhidd pertains to the Essence ( dhat) of God. We might explain this 'essential' Tawhid by saying that the Es¬sence of God is absolutely one and peerless; nothing analogous or similar to Him is conceivable. God's nature is absolutely sim¬ple, non-compound, without any plurality.
Imam 'Ali states, in accordance with these two principles:
'He is One (wahid) and there is nothing similar to Him among the [existent] things (al-ashya'),' and 'He-Glorified and Exalted be He!-is one in meaning [or: spiritual substance] (ma'na); He is not divided into parts by outward existence, by the imagination or by the intellect.' 1
The Sura of Tawhid (al-Ikhlas) , the veritable cornerstone of Muslim belief in Divine Unity, alludes to both aspects of this 'essential' Tawhid; as regards the first, in the verse:
'There is none like unto Him,' (sura al-Ikhlas; 112:03)
and as regards the second, in the verse:
Say, "He is Allah, [who is] One,' (sura al-Ikhlas, 112: 01)2
Trinity
In the light of what has been said above, it will be clear that the Christian doctrine of the Trinity-God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit-is unacceptable from the point of view of Islamic logic. The inadmissibility of this doctrine has been exposed in certain verses of the Qur'an, which have been amply commented upon in theological treatises; here, we shall limit ourselves to the following, altogether sufficient, argument.
The Trinity, in the sense of three gods, must mean one of two things: (a) either it means that each of the three gods possesses a distinct ontological personality, along with all attributes of divinity-in which case 'essential' Tawhid is contradicted in respect of its first meaning, that is, He has no peer or like; (b) or else it means that these three gods partake of a single ontological personality, such that each is a part of the whole-in which case such an entity would perforce be compound, thus contradicting the second meaning of 'essential' Tawhid, namely, that God is absolutely simple and not composed of 'parts'
The Trinity, in the sense of three gods, must mean one of two things: (a) either it means that each of the three gods possesses a distinct ontological personality, along with all attributes of divinity-in which case 'essential' Tawhid is contradicted in respect of its first meaning, that is, He has no peer or like; (b) or else it means that these three gods partake of a single ontological personality, such that each is a part of the whole-in which case such an entity would perforce be compound, thus contradicting the second meaning of 'essential' Tawhid, namely, that God is absolutely simple and not composed of 'parts'
1. Shaykh Saduq, Kitab al-tawhid, ch. 3, hadith no. 3.
2 . .Translator's note: The Sura al-Ikhlas, reads: 'Say: He is God, the One. God, the eternally Besought of all. He begets not, nor was begotten. And there is none like unto Him. '
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