Divine Attributes in the Qur’an: 1. Unity

The Unity of God is one of the most important principles of Islam. Although the Qur’an sometimes speaks about and presents arguments about the existence of God, the main emphasis of the Qur’an is put on the attributes of God, especially His unity and mercy. The Qur’an considers the existence of God to be a very obvious fact, whose acknowledgement requires more straightforward contemplation than complicated philosophical arguments.
Even the pagans believed in God, but they were polytheists in the sense that they did not deny the existence of God as the Creator, but argued that the idols were a means to reach him, saying:

We do not worship them [idols] except for them taking us closer to God”.

The Qur’an considers the existence of God to be a very obvious fact, whose acknowledgement requires more straightforward contemplation than complicated philosophical arguments. Even the pagans believed in God, but they were polytheists in the sense that they did not deny the existence of God as the Creator, but argued that the idols were a means to reach him

The idea of the unity of God is asserted in many different ways. Among them, are two attributes that explicitly indicate His oneness.

Wahid

Wahid (واحِد): Literally meaning “one”. This is applied to God 21 times in the Qur’an, such as in the following verse:

وَإِلَـٰهُكُمْ إِلَـٰهٌ وَاحِدٌ ۖ لَّا إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الرَّ‌حْمَـٰنُ الرَّ‌حِيم
Your god is the One God, there is no god except Him, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful. (2:163)

Ahad

Ahad (اَحَدُ): Literally meaning “one”. This is applied to God once, in the verse below. The difference between Ahad and Wahid is that the former is used for something that is one and at the same time indivisible, something that has neither partner nor part. ¹

قُلْ هُوَ اللَّـهُ أَحَدٌ
“Say, ‘He is God, the One.” (112:1)

1. Shomali, Mohammad Ali & Mahnaz Heydarpoor, The image of God in Quran, p.14.