This certainty and conceptual conviction extend to all...

This certainty and conceptual conviction extend to all aspects of a Muslim's life, includ­ing what is hidden and what is apparent and what is significant and what is insignificant, and it applies to everybody he meets, the great as well as the lowly, to all customs, laws, beliefs, and actions, and to this life and the life-to-come, simply because not a single element of the Islamic system can escape from the all-inclusive belief in the Oneness of Allah.

This point was earlier discussed in the chapter entitled “Comprehensiveness." The Islamic concept rests on the principle that the Divine Being is distinct from His creation. Divinity belongs exclusively to Allah Most High, while creatureliness is common to everyone and everything else. Since Allah Most High is the only Divine Being, it follows that all the Divine attributes belong to Him alone.

And since everyone and everything else is His creation, it also follows that they are all devoid of Divine attributes. Thus there are two distinct orders of existence, namely, the independent existence of Allah Most High and the depend­ent existence of all others as His creatures. The relationship between Allah and everything else is that of the Creator to His creatures and of the Lord to His servants. This is the first principle of the Islamic concept and all other principles follow from it.

Because the Islamic concept rests on this basic principle, the Oneness of God is its most important characteristic. Earlier we said that all the Messengers of Allah Most High brought the message of the Oneness of Allah, so this was the characteristic of all the Divinely-revealed religions. Our assertion is derived from the Qur'an, which states this fact in relation to the earlier Messengers. We sent Nuh (Noah) to his people, and he said, "O my people! Serve Allah. You have no god besides Him.

I fear for you the retribution of an awful Day (Al-A 'raf 7:59). And to (the tribe of) 'Ad (We sent) their brother, Hud. He said, "O my people! Worship Allah alone! You have no god besides Him. Will you not then be conscious of Allah?" (Al-A 'raf 7 :65). And to (the tribe of) Thamud (We sent) their brother Salih. He said, "O my people! Worship Allah alone! You have no god besides Him. A clear evidence has now come to you from your Lord" (Al-A'raf7:73).

And to Midian (We sent) their brother Shu'ayb. He said, "O my people! Worship only Allah! You have no god besides Him. Clear proof has now come to you from your Sus­tainer" (Al-A'raf 7:85).