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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Islamic Question & Answer Question 36 : What Is the Criterion For Distinguishing 'unity' From 'polytheism'? ANSWER: The most important matter in the subject related to unity and polytheism is knowing the criterion for both; and as long as this matter is not solved regarding its fundamental concept, some of the matters that have an apparent concept will also not be solved.

Thus we shall present the meanings of both unity and polytheism in different dimensions though briefly: Unity in it's essence: This can be presented in two ways: God (and according to the scholars of dialectical theology: the necessary existence) is an absolute one and has no homologue.

This is the same unity referred to as the one that is mentioned in the Holy Quran in various ways such as, "Nothing is the likeness of Him." And in another instance, "And none is like unto Him," This kind of unity is of course interpreted in a manner that gives us the impression of numerical interpretation, that God is one and not two. It is obvious that this kind of numerical unity is not suitable for the divine position of Allah.

The essence of Allah is simple and not compound, due to the fact that compoundness of a being in mental or external parts, is the sign of a need toward its parts; 'need' being the sign of possibility and possibility is accompanied with a need for a cause, and all these are in disagreement with the position of the necessary existence.

Unification in the creation: This is one of the stages of unity which is accepted both logically as well as according to the traditions: From the logical point of view, there is a possible system lacking every kind of perfection and whatever thing there is other than God, which originated from the source of the self-sufficient. Thus all the manifestations of beauty and perfection in the universe belong to the Lord of beauty and perfection.

As for the Quranic point of view, there are many verses that state about the unity of the creator, such as: "Say, Allah is the creator of all things, he is one, the supreme." Thus, there is no difference in opinion among the theologians regarding the unity of creation in general. However, there are two interpretations for the unity of creation that we shall mention to both of them: A.

All the kinds of reason and caused systems, and reason and caused relations among the beings, terminate to the cause of all causes.