Introduction
It is well known that three religions are generally classified as monotheistic, namely, in chronological order, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These three religions are also referred to as the Abrahamic religions because each of them traces its origin back to Abraham3 عليه السلام4.
As indicated by the title, the present book serves the purpose of elaborating on the Islamic understanding of monotheism – in Arabic referred to as tawhid5 – as authentically as possible from the earliest textual sources of Islam.
The primary target audience of this book consists of those who already possess a certain level of prior knowledge regarding the fundamental principles of Islam. On one hand this topic is particularly relevant for Muslims who seek to deepen their understanding of the foundation of Islam and to access an authentic doctrine derived from the early sources of Islam.
On the other hand, this book also provides the general reader, or the non-Muslim academic reader, with a better understanding of the doctrine of monotheism from the perspective of early Islamic theology.
According to Islamic doctrine, there exists only one true monotheism. It is embodied in the message with which all prophets عليهم السلام were sent. These very prophets are, in general, the same as those known in both Judaism and Christianity and are therefore mentioned in the Torah and the Gospel, or in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.
In contrast to the Jews, Jesus is recognized by Muslims as a prophet, but not as the son of God, as many Christians believe – though by no means all.
Furthermore, it is well known that Muslims also affirm the prophethood of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم. Islam thus honours Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad6, or other figures not mentioned here by name, as prophets of the one Creator.
Chapters in this Section
- Notes on this Book
- The Essential Role of Narration in All Religions
- Judaism and Christianity in Regard to Authentic Narration – Textual Criticism, Bart D. Ehrman, and His Critics
- Islam in This Regard
- The Islamic Sources: Qur'an, Sunnah, and Consensus
- The Narrators of the Islamic Source Texts and the Meaning of the Term ahlu s-sunnati wa-l-jama'ah
- The Emergence of Schisms – The Hadith on the Firaq/Sects
- The Increasing Alteration of Religious Doctrines in General
- The True Message of Monotheism in Islam and the Widespread Misunderstanding About It
Notes
- In Arabic: Ibrahim, who is referred to by Muslims as the “Father of the Prophets.” ↩
- Arabic script symbol. This translates approximately as “Peace and blessings be upon him.” Muslims show their respect to all prophets – such as Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and many others – by mentioning this or similar phrases. ↩
- Generally, in translations, it is of course not possible to find a term in the other language that corresponds in every aspect. Therefore, it shall be clarified from the outset how the term monotheism is used and understood in this book. The meaning of the English word monotheism is generally rendered as “belief in one god.” The word consists of two originally Greek terms, with “monos” meaning “alone/unique” and “theos” meaning “god.” In English, this term has been commonly used for several centuries to indicate that a religion is free from the worship of multiple different deities. As with other terms, different definitions of the word monotheism exist. It is generally known, for example, that the Christian and Islamic conceptions regarding the Creator of the world and His attributes diverge in several aspects – yet both are referred to as “monotheism.” The question, therefore, ultimately concerns how the term is defined when it is used. The primary aim of this book is to elaborate on the Islamic understanding of monotheism from the earliest sources of Islam. When the term “monotheism” is mentioned in this book, it generally refers to Islamic monotheism, which corresponds to the Arabic word tawhid. The true meaning of this monotheism and how this meaning is derived from the Islamic textual sources is what this book seeks to examine. For this objective, it is therefore irrelevant which additional definitions may exist among some religious scholars and historians. The same applies to “polytheism” and the Arabic word shirk. The same issue of translation arises, for example, with the term “religion” for the Arabic din or with the word “God” – as has already been shown in the differing conceptions between Islam and Christianity. In this book, such words will always be used in the sense of their general concept, or their meaning will be clarified within a specific context. What Islamic “monotheism”, as described in the Qur'an, and the Islamic “religion” actually are and how they differ from other conceptions – this is precisely what will be explored throughout the course of this book. ↩
- In Arabic: Nuh, Ibrahim, Isma'il, Ishaq, Ya'qub, Yusuf, Musa, 'Isa, and Muhammad ↩