And has the story of Moses ever reached you?

And has the story of Moses ever reached you? He saw a fire, and he said to his family, "Wait here! I see a fire (far away). Perhaps I shall bring you a brand from it or may find guidance at the fire." But when he came close to it, a voice called out to him: "O Moses! I am your Lord! Take off your shoes, for you are in the hallowed valley of Tuwa. I have chosen you (to be My apostle), so listen to what is revealed (to you). Verily, I, and I alone, am Allah! There is no god but Me!

So serve Me and be constant in prayer in order to keep Me in your remembrance" (Ta Ha 20:9-14). And when Allah said, "O Jesus son of Mary, did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as gods besides Allah?” he said, "Glory be to you! It is not possible for me to say what I have no right to. Had I said this, You would have known it. You know what is in my mind, and I do not know what is in Your mind, for indeed, You are the Knower of the Unseen.

I only told them what you commanded me, 'Serve Allah, my Lord and your Lord.' And I was a witness over them as long as I dwelt among them, but when You took me to Yourself, you were yourself Watcher over them, for You are witness to everything. If You punish them, they are Your servants. If You forgive them, You are the All- Mighty, the All-Wise" (Al-Ma'idah 5:116-118). We sent no Messenger before you without revealing to him, "There is no god but Me, so worship Me (alone)" (Al-Anbiya 21:25).

With the passage of time, however, this message brought by all the Messengers about the Oneness of Allah became distorted by the influence of diverse beliefs and myths. We have already discussed this point in some detail in the chapter entitled, "The Wilderness and Intellectual Rubbish," in relation to the revealed religions as well as polytheism and paganism.

Before we describe why the Oneness of Allah is one of the charac­teristics of the Islamic concept and how it permeates the entire life of the Muslim community, we should first briefly describe some other concepts dealing with the Divine, with the other-than-the-Divine, and with the Oneness of the Divine Being. Hinduism, for example, acknowledges one Divine Being called Brahma, who alone is "existent" and who alone has the attributes of perfection, goodness, and perpetuity.

Apart from this One Existent and Real Being there is nothing, which is to say, this universe and whatever is in it is non-existent.