For the concept of monotheism, see monotheism. For the Celtic Frost album see Monotheist (album In Theology, monotheism (from Greek grc [[wiktμόνος μόνος]]

Oneness of God or Tawḥīd (Arabic: توحيد; also transliterated Tawheed and Tauheed; Turkish: Tevhid) is the act of believing and affirming that God (Arabic: Allah) is unique (wāḥid) and inherently one(Ahad). For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. Aqidah (sometimes spelled Aqeeda, Aqidah or Aqida) (عقيدة is an Islamic term meaning Creed. Allah ( Arabic: الله, ʔalˤːɑːh) is the standard Arabic word for ' In Islam, God is believed to be the only real supreme being all-powerful and all knowing Creator Sustainer Ordainer and Judge of the universe Islam puts a heavy emphasis IMPORTANT PLEASE READ ##### For all questions relating to the addition of (pbuh peace be upon him or other honorifics Muslims regard as Prophets of Islam ( Arabic: نبي) those non-divine humans chosen by Allah as Prophets The Five Pillars of Islam (Arabic أركان الإسلام is the term given to the five duties incumbent on every Muslim. The Shahada ( Arabic: ar الشهادة, from the verb ar شهد "to testify" is the Islamic Creed. Ṣalāt ( Arabic: صلاة‎, pl ṣalawāt, Qur'anic Arabic: صلوة ṣalawah) (also munz in Pashto and Sawm ( Arabic: صوم is an Arabic word for Fasting regulated by Islamic jurisprudence. This is a sub-article of Islamic economical jurisprudence. Zakaat ( زكاة zækæːh zakaat or zakāh, has the implied The Hajj (حج is a pilgrimage to Mecca (Makkah It is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world Muslim history began in Arabia with the Muhammad 's first recitations of the Qur'an in the 7th century Caliph Caliph is the term or title for the Islamic leader of the Ummah, or community of Islam There is much more to Muslim history than its military and political aspects this particular chronology is almost entirely of military and political nature See also Muhammad's wives Ahl al-Bayt ( Arabic:ar أهل البيت is an Arabic phrase literally meaning People of the House, or family In Islam, the Ṣaḥābah (الصحابة "Companions" were the companions of the Islamic prophet Muḥammad. The Rightly Guided Caliphs or The Righteous Caliphs ( ar الخلفاء الراشدون) is a term used in Sunni Islam to refer to the first Imāmah (إمامة is the Shī‘ah doctrine of religious spiritual and political leadership of the Ummah. Qur'an Text Surahs ** Ayah Commentary/Exegesis Tafsir Sharia ( Arabic: ar شريعة) is the body of Islamic Religious law. The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran Sunnah ar (سنة plural سنن Sunan literally means “trodden path” and therefore the sunnah of the prophet means “the way and the manners of the prophet” Hadith ( ar الحديث, pl aḥadīth; lit. "narrative" are oral Traditions relating to the words and deeds of the Islamic Fiqh ( Arabic: فقه, fɪqəh is Islamic Jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the Sharia Islamic law—based directly on the Sharia ( Arabic: ar شريعة) is the body of Islamic Religious law. Kalām (علم الكلام is the Islamic philosophy of seeking Islamic theological principles through Dialectic. Sufism ( تصوّف - taṣawwuf, Persian: صوفی‌گری sufigari, Turkish: tasavvuf, Urdu: تصوف Sunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam. Sunni Islam is also referred to as Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘h (Arabic Muslim Culture is a term primarily used in Secular Academia to describe all cultural practices common to historically Islamic peoples The term Muslim world (or Islamic world) has several meanings This is a sub-article to Religious education, Academic discipline, and Islam. This article is about Animals in Islamic thought The Qur'an assigns an inferior status to animals in comparison with humans and has a tendency towards Islamic art encompasses the arts produced from the 7th century onwards by people (not necessarily Muslim) who lived within the territory that was inhabited by culturally The Islamic calendar or Muslim calendar ( Arabic: التقويم الهجري at-taqwīm al-hijrī; Persian: تقویم هجری قمری ‎ The topic of Islam and children includes the rights of children in Islam children's duties towards their parents and parent's rights over their children both males and females Listing of Muslims by country Important note Population counts by religious affiliation like most demographic characteristics of a Population Muslim holidays are mostly based around the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, especially the events surrounding the first hearing of the Qur'an. A "mosque" in English refers to all types of buildings dedicated for Islamic worship although there is a distinction in Arabic between the smaller privately owned mosque and the larger Islamic philosophy is a branch of Islamic studies, and is a longstanding attempt to create harmony between Philosophy ( Reason) and the religious teachings See also Modern Islamic philosophy, Islamism, Islamic terrorism Political aspects of Islam are derived from the Quran, the Sunna Over the centuries of Islamic history, Muslim rulers Islamic scholars, and ordinary Muslims have held many different attitudes towards other religions The historical interaction between Christianity and Islam, in the field of Comparative religion, connects fundamental ideas in Christianity with similar ones in Islam Hinduism and Islam, from the of arrival of the Arabs as far back as the eighth century AD has had a checkered history Islam and Jainism came in close contact with each other following the Islamic conquest from Central Asia and Persia in the seventh The historical interaction of Judaism and Islam started in the 7th century CE with the origin and spread of Islam in the Arabian peninsula. In Islam, Muhammad is the last and final Prophet of God Islam views Jews Christians and Muslims as " People of the Book Arguments critical to religion in general or specific to monotheism such as the Existence of God, are not dealt with here Islamophobia is a Neologism that refers to Prejudice or Discrimination against Islam or Muslims The term itself dates back to the The following list consists of Concepts that are derived from both Islamic and Arab tradition which are expressed as words in the Arabic language. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Different approaches and methods for the Romanization of Arabic exist Turkish ( tr Türkçe IPA) is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. Allah ( Arabic: الله, ʔalˤːɑːh) is the standard Arabic word for ' ^[1] The Qur'an asserts the existence of a single and absolute truth that transcends the world; a unique and indivisible being who is independent of the entire creation. ^[2] The indivisibility of God implies the indivisibility of God's sovereignty which in turn leads to the conception of universe as a just and coherent moral universe rather than an existential and moral chaos (as in polytheism). Similarly the Qur'an rejects the binary modes of thinking such as the idea of duality of God by arguing that both good and evil generate from God's creative act and that the evil forces have no power to create anything. In Religion, Ethics, and Philosophy, the phrase good and evil refers to the location of objects desires and Behaviors on a two-way God in Islam is a universal god rather than a local, tribal or parochial one; an absolute who integrates all affirmative values and brooks no evil. ^[3]

Tawhid constitutes the foremost article of the Muslim profession. ^[4] The first Shahada is the declaration of belief in the oneness of God. The Shahada ( Arabic: ar الشهادة, from the verb ar شهد "to testify" is the Islamic Creed. ^[1] To attribute divinity to a created entity is the only unpardonable sin mentioned in the Qur'an. ^[3] Muslims believe that the entirety of the Islamic teaching rests on the principle of Tawhid. ^[5] There is uncompromising monotheism at the heart of the Islamic belifs which distinguishes Islam from other major religion. For the Celtic Frost album see Monotheist (album In Theology, monotheism (from Greek grc [[wiktμόνος μόνος]] Aqidah (sometimes spelled Aqeeda, Aqidah or Aqida) (عقيدة is an Islamic term meaning Creed. The world's principal Religions and spiritual traditions may be classified into a small number of major groups or world religions'. ^[6]

Islamic intellectual history can be understood as a gradual unfolding of the manner in which successive generations of men have understood the meaning and implications of professing God's Unity. Islamic scholars have different approaches toward understanding it. Theology, Fiqh, philosophy, Sufism, even to some degree the natural sciences, all seek to explain at some level the principle of tawhid. Kalām (علم الكلام is the Islamic philosophy of seeking Islamic theological principles through Dialectic. Fiqh ( Arabic: فقه, fɪqəh is Islamic Jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the Sharia Islamic law—based directly on the Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language Sufism ( تصوّف - taṣawwuf, Persian: صوفی‌گری sufigari, Turkish: tasavvuf, Urdu: تصوف ^[7]

Etymology

Part of a series on the Islamic creed: Aqidah

Five Pillars of Islam

Shahādah - Profession of faith Salah - Prayer Zakâh - Paying of alms (giving to the poor) Sawm - Fasting during Ramadan Hajj - Pilgrimage to Mecca

Sunni Six articles of belief

Tawhīd - Oneness Nabi and Rusul - Prophets and Messengers Kutub - Divinely Revealed Books. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. A creed is a statement of Belief — usually Religious belief — or Faith often recited as part of a religious service Aqidah (sometimes spelled Aqeeda, Aqidah or Aqida) (عقيدة is an Islamic term meaning Creed. The Five Pillars of Islam (Arabic أركان الإسلام is the term given to the five duties incumbent on every Muslim. The Shahada ( Arabic: ar الشهادة, from the verb ar شهد "to testify" is the Islamic Creed. Ṣalāt ( Arabic: صلاة‎, pl ṣalawāt, Qur'anic Arabic: صلوة ṣalawah) (also munz in Pashto and This is a sub-article of Islamic economical jurisprudence. Zakaat ( زكاة zækæːh zakaat or zakāh, has the implied ll This is a sub-article to Sawm and Ramadan During the entire month of Ramadan, Muslims are obliged to fast (صوم Sawm Ramadan or Ramazan ( Arabic: رمضان Ramaḍān) is a Muslim religious observance that takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic The Hajj (حج is a pilgrimage to Mecca (Makkah It is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world Mecca ˈmɛkə also spelled Makkah ˈmækə (in full Makkah Al-Mukarramah (Arabic mækːæ(t ælmʊkarˑamæ مكّة المكرمة, literally Honored Sunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam. Sunni Islam is also referred to as Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘h (Arabic Aqidah (sometimes spelled Aqeeda, Aqidah or Aqida) (عقيدة is an Islamic term meaning Creed. In Islam, a rasul ( Arabic: رسول, "messenger" plural rusul) is a Prophet sent by God with a The Islamic holy books are the records believed from Muslims that were dictated by God to prophets Malā'ikah - Angels Qiyâmah - Judgment Day Qadr (Predestination)

Shi'a Twelver Principles of the Religion (Usul al-Din)

Tawhīd - Oneness Adalah - Justice Nubuwwah - Prophethood Imamah - Leadership Qiyâmah - Judgment Day

Shi'a Twelver Practices of the Religion (Furu al-Din)

Salah - Prayer Sawm - Fasting during Ramadan Hajj - Pilgrimage to Mecca Zakâh - Poor-rate Khums - One-fifth tax Jihad - Struggle Amr-Bil-Ma'rūf - Commanding good Nahi-Anil-Munkar - Forbidding evil Tawalla - Loving the Ahl al-Bayt Tabarra - Disassociating Ahl al-Bayt's enemies

Shi'a Ismaili 7 pillars

Walayah - Guardianship Taharah - Purity & cleanliness Salah - Prayers Zakâh - Purifying religious dues Sawm - Fasting during Ramadan Hajj - Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad - Struggle

Others

Kharijite Sixth Pillar of Islam. An angel is a Spiritual Supernatural being found in many Religions Although the nature of angels and the tasks given to them vary from tradition to tradition In Islam, Yawm al-Qiyāmah "the Day of Resurrection" (يوم القيامة or Yawm ad-Din "the Day of Faith" (يوم الدين is God's final This is a sub-article of Sunni Islam, Aqidah and Predestination. See also Shi'a Islam Twelver Shi'ism ( ar اثنا عشرية Ithnāˤashariyyah) is the largest branch of Shi'a branch of Islam In Twelver Shi'a Islam, the Principles of the Religion ( Usūl al-Dīn) are the five main theological beliefs that Shi'a Muslims must possess Adalah (عدالة means justice and denotes The Justice of God. In Islam, Nubuwwah (نبوة means "Prophethood" and denotes that God has appointed perfect Prophets and Messengers to teach mankind Gods religion This is a sub-article to Imamah (Shi'a doctrine and is specifically about the Shi'a Twelver conception of the term In Islam, Yawm al-Qiyāmah "the Day of Resurrection" (يوم القيامة or Yawm ad-Din "the Day of Faith" (يوم الدين is God's final See also Shi'a Islam Twelver Shi'ism ( ar اثنا عشرية Ithnāˤashariyyah) is the largest branch of Shi'a branch of Islam In Twelver Shi'a Islam, the ten Practices of the Religion ( Furū al-Dīn) are the ten practices that Shi'a Muslims must perform Ṣalāt ( Arabic: صلاة‎, pl ṣalawāt, Qur'anic Arabic: صلوة ṣalawah) (also munz in Pashto and ll This is a sub-article to Sawm and Ramadan During the entire month of Ramadan, Muslims are obliged to fast (صوم Sawm Ramadan or Ramazan ( Arabic: رمضان Ramaḍān) is a Muslim religious observance that takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic The Hajj (حج is a pilgrimage to Mecca (Makkah It is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world Mecca ˈmɛkə also spelled Makkah ˈmækə (in full Makkah Al-Mukarramah (Arabic mækːæ(t ælmʊkarˑamæ مكّة المكرمة, literally Honored This is a sub-article of Islamic economical jurisprudence. Zakaat ( زكاة zækæːh zakaat or zakāh, has the implied Khums ( خمس xʊms is the Arabic word for One Fifth (1/5 According to Shia Islamic legal terminology it means "one-fifth of certain items which a person Jihad (جهاد ʤɪhæːd an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. Commanding the just ( Arabic: Amr bil Ma'rūf امر بالمعروف) is a part of Shia Islam 's Branches of Religion and Forbidding what is evil (النهي عن المنكر "Nahy an al-Munkar") is a part of Islam and means for example to oppose injustice Tawalla (تولّى - Loving the Ahl al-Bayt, is a part of the Twelver Shi'a Branches of Religion and is derived from a Qur'anic See also Muhammad's wives Ahl al-Bayt ( Arabic:ar أهل البيت is an Arabic phrase literally meaning People of the House, or family Tabarra (تبرأ - is a Shia Muslim doctrine that refers to the obligation of hating those who hate Allah and cursing those who reject the Wilayah of See also Muhammad's wives Ahl al-Bayt ( Arabic:ar أهل البيت is an Arabic phrase literally meaning People of the House, or family For the Egyptian city see Ismaïlia. The Ismāʿīlī ( Urdu: إسماعیلی Ismāʿīlī, Arabic: الإسماعيليون The Shi'a Ismāˤīlī - the Nizari, Druze and Mustaali - have Pillars beyond those of the Sunni. This is about the "pillar of Islam" for the historical view see Imamah (Shi'a Ismaili doctrine Guardianship (ولاية Walayah This article is about Hygiene in Islam. For the Jewish Taharah ritual preparation for burial see Bereavement in Judaism preparing the body — Taharah Ṣalāt ( Arabic: صلاة‎, pl ṣalawāt, Qur'anic Arabic: صلوة ṣalawah) (also munz in Pashto and This is a sub-article of Islamic economical jurisprudence. Zakaat ( زكاة zækæːh zakaat or zakāh, has the implied ll This is a sub-article to Sawm and Ramadan During the entire month of Ramadan, Muslims are obliged to fast (صوم Sawm Ramadan or Ramazan ( Arabic: رمضان Ramaḍān) is a Muslim religious observance that takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic The Hajj (حج is a pilgrimage to Mecca (Makkah It is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world Mecca ˈmɛkə also spelled Makkah ˈmækə (in full Makkah Al-Mukarramah (Arabic mækːæ(t ælmʊkarˑamæ مكّة المكرمة, literally Honored Jihad (جهاد ʤɪhæːd an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. Kharijites (Arabic Khawārij خوارج literally "Those who Went Out" is a general term embracing various Muslims who while initially supporting the The term Sixth pillar of Islam refers to an addition to the Five Pillars of Islam; the five pillars of Islam explain the basic tenets of Islam Shi'a Islam This box: view • talk • edit

In the Arabic language, Tawhīd literary means "To make something one, or to assert the oneness of something. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language "^[8] Both the terms Tawhīd and its verbal form wahhada do not occur in the Qur'an while the principle of God's singularity does occur numerous times (for example God is described as “sole divinity” (ilāh un wāhid) 13 times in the Qur'an). ^[4]

Description of Tawhid in Qu'an

Qur'an is the main source of understanding Oneness of God in Islam. The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran Clearly the first step to understand God and his oneness is to understand Quran. All Muslim authority maintain that a true understanding of God is impossible unless he introduces himself due to the fact that God is beyond the range of human vision and senses. Therefore God tells people who he is by speaking through the prophet. Muslims regard as Prophets of Islam ( Arabic: نبي) those non-divine humans chosen by Allah as Prophets According to this view the fundamental message of all of the prophets is "There is no god but God. " ^[9]

The Qur'an asserts the existence of a single, absolute truth that transcends the world; a unique being who is independent of the creation; a real being indivisible into hypostatic entities or incarnated manifestation. According to the Qur'an:^[2]

"Say: He is God the Only; God the Indivisible; He gives not birth, nor is He begotten, and He is, in Himself, not dependent on anything" (Sura 112:1-4)
Your Lord is utterly independent, All-Engineering. If he wills, he can expel you and replace you with others, just as he multiplied you from the seed of others" (Sura 5:133)

According to Vincent J. Cornell, the Qur'an also provides a monist image of God by describing the reality as a unified whole, with God being a single concept that would describe or ascribe all existing things:"He is the First and the Last, the Outward and the Inward; He is the Knower of everything (Sura 57:3)"^[2] Some Muslims have however vigorously criticized interpretations that would lead to a monist view of God for what they see as blurring the distinction between the creator and the creature, and its incompatibility with the radical monotheism of Islam. ^[10]

The Qur'anic passages Sura 34:20-24, Sura 35:40 and Sura 46:4 provide a basic understanding of assigning partners or equals to God, a sin known in Islam as Shirk. The verse 34:20-24 rejects the idea of duality of God by arguing that both good and evil generate from God's creative act and that the evil forces have no creative power. In Religion, Ethics, and Philosophy, the phrase good and evil refers to the location of objects desires and Behaviors on a two-way ^[11]

The Qur'an relates the story of Abraham in order to provide an example of an intellectual quest for understanding God as the Cause of Causes: Related in verses 6:75-79, Abraham moves progressively from worshipping the stars, the moon, and the sun to acknowledging God as the sole cause of the heavenly phenomena. ^[2]

Degrees of Tawhid

Oneness of God is usually divided into several degrees by Muslim scholars. However there isn't complete consensus among them about the number, order and even definition of them.

Oneness of Divinity(Uluhiyyah)

Oneness of Lordship(Rububiyyah)

Oneness of Creatorship(Khaliqiyyah)

Oneness of attributes or characteristics

Main article: 99 Names of God

In order to explain the complexity of unity of God and of the divine nature, the Qur'an uses 99 terms referred to as "Excellent Names of Allah" (Sura 77:180). The 99 Names of Allah, also known as The 99 Most Beautiful Names of God () are the Names of God (specifically attributes by which Muslims regard God Aside from the supreme name "Allah" and the neologism al-Rahman (referring to the divine beneficence that creates and maintains the universe), other names may be shared by both God and human beings. According to the Islamic teachings, the latter is meant to serve as a reminder of God's immanence rather than being a sign of one's divinity or alternatively imposing a limitation on God's transcendent nature. Attribution of divinity to a created entity, shirk, is considered as a denial of the truth of God and thus a major sin. ^[2]

Oneness of Worship(Ma'abudiat)

Discerning unity of God

Discerning unity of God in the multiplicity of created things has been one of the key problems of Islamic theology. Islamic theology is a branch of Islamic studies regarding the beliefs associated with the Islamic faith Vincent J. Cornell, a scholar of Islamic studies quotes the following statement from Ali:^[2]

To know God is to know his oneness. This is a sub-article to Religious education, Academic discipline, and Islam. ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib (a=علي بن أﺑﻲ طالب|t=ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib 13th Rajab, 24 BH – 21st Ramaḍān, 40 AH To say that God is one has four meanings: two of them are false and two are correct. As for the two meaning that are false, one is that a person should say "God is one" and be thinking of number and counting. This is false because that which has no second cannot enter into the category of number. Do you not see that those who say that God is a third of a trinity fall into this infidelity? Another meaning is to say, "So-and-So is one of his people," namely, a species of this genus or a member of this species. This meaning is also false when applied to God, because it implies likening something to God, whereas God is above all likeness. As to the two meaning that are correct when applied to God, one is that it should be said that "God is one" in the sense that there is no likeness to him among things. Another is to say that "God is one" in the sense that there is no multiplicity or division conceivable in Him, neither outwardly, nor in the mind, nor in the imagination. God alone possesses such a unity. ^[2]

Arguments for the oneness of God

Theological arguments

Theologians usually use reason and deduction to prove existence, unity and oneness of the God. They use teleological argument for the existence of God as a creator based on perceived evidence of order, purpose, design, or direction—or some combination of these—in nature. A teleological argument, or argument from design, is an Argument for the Existence of God or a creator based on perceived evidence of order purpose design Teleology is the supposition that there is purpose or directive principle in the works and processes of nature. ^[12]

Another way which is used frequently by theologians is Reductio ad absurdum. Reductio ad absurdum ( Latin for "reduction to the absurd" also known as an apagogical argument, reductio ad impossibile They use it instead of positive arguments as a more efficient way to reject the idea of opponents. ^[13] Quran has also used this way in several cases.

God as the Cause of Causes

Main article: Kalam cosmological argument

Against the polytheism of pre-Islamic Arabia, the Qur'an argued that the knowledge of God as the creator of everything rules out the possibility of lesser gods or divine powers since these beings must be themselves created. The Kalām cosmological argument is a contemporary version of the Cosmological argument taking its form from Kalām, a form of dialectical Argument Polytheism is belief in or worship of multiple Gods (usually assembled in a pantheon) together with associated Mythology and Rituals The history of Pre- Islamic Arabia before the rise of Islam in the 630s is not known in great detail For the Qur'an, God is an immanent and transcendent deity who actively creates and maintains the universe. The reality of God as the ultimate cause of things is however veiled from human understanding because of the secondary causes and contingent realities of things in the world. ^[2] Thus the belief in the oneness of God is equated in the Qur'an with the "belief in the unseen" (Sura 2:3). ^[2] The Qur'an summarizes its task in making this "unseen", to a greater or lesser degree "seen" so that the belief in the existence of God becomes a Master-Truth rather than an unreasonable belief. The Qur'an states that the God's signals are so near and yet so far, demanding its students to listen to what it has to say with humility (Sura 50:33, Sura 50:37). The Qur'an aims to draw attention to certain obvious facts, turning them into "reminders" of God instead of providing lengthy "theological" proofs for the existence and unity of God. ^[14]

Ash'ari theologians rejected cause and effect in essence, but accepting it as something that facilitates humankind's investigation and comprehension of natural processes. Causality (but not causation) denotes a necessary relationship between one event (called cause and another event (called effect) which is the direct consequence These medieval scholars argued that the nature was composed of uniform atoms that were "re-created" at every instant by God. The laws of nature were only the customary sequence of apparent causes (customs of God), the ultimate cause of each accident being God himself. ^[15]

God as the Necessary Existent

See also: Cosmological argument

The ontological form of cosmological argument is put forwarded by Avicenna which is known as Contingency and necessity argument(Imakan wa Wujub). The cosmological argument is an Argument for the Existence of God or a " First Cause " TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> ( Persian /ابو علی الحسین ابن عبدالله ابن سینا (born

Avicenna initiated a full-fledged inquiry into the question of being, in which he distinguished between essence (Mahiat) and existence (Wujud). TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> ( Persian /ابو علی الحسین ابن عبدالله ابن سینا (born Disambiguation For the Wigwam album see Being (album, for spiritual or religious beingness, see Ego (spirituality In Philosophy, essence is the attribute or set of attributes that make an object or substance what it fundamentally is and which it has by necessity In common usage existence is the world of which we are aware through our senses but in Philosophy the word has a more specialized meaning and is often contrasted with He argued that the fact of existence can not be inferred from or accounted for by the essence of existing things and that form and matter by themselves cannot interact and originate the movement of the universe or the progressive actualization of existing things. Existence must, therefore, be due to an agent-cause that necessitates, imparts, gives, or adds existence to an essence. Causality (but not causation) denotes a necessary relationship between one event (called cause and another event (called effect) which is the direct consequence To do so, the cause must be an existing thing and coexist with its effect. ^[16]

Avicenna's proof for the existence of God was the first ontological argument, which he proposed in the Metaphysics section of The Book of Healing. Arguments for and against the existence of God have been proposed by philosophers theologians and others An Ontological argument for the existence of God attempts the method of a priori proof, which uses intuition and reason alone The Book of Healing ( Arabic: الشفاء Al-Shefa, Latin: Sanatio) is a scientific and philosophical ^[17][18] This was the first attempt at using the method of a priori proof, which utilizes intuition and reason alone. "A priori" redirects here For other uses see A priori. Reason involves the ability to think understand and draw Conclusions in an Abstract way as in Human thinking Avicenna's proof of God's existence is unique in that it can be classified as both a cosmological argument and an ontological argument. The cosmological argument is an Argument for the Existence of God or a " First Cause " "It is ontological insofar as ‘necessary existence’ in intellect is the first basis for arguing for a Necessary Existent". The proof is also "cosmological insofar as most of it is taken up with arguing that contingent existents cannot stand alone and must end up in a Necessary Existent. " ^[19] Another argument Avicenna presented for God's existence was the problem of the mind-body dichotomy. The mind-body Dichotomy is the view that " mental " phenomena are in some respects "non- physical " (distinct from the Body ^[20]

According to Avicenna, the universe consists of a chain of actual beings, each giving existence to the one below it and responsible for the existence of the rest of the chain below. Because an actual infinite is deemed impossible by Avicenna, this chain as a whole must terminate in a being that is wholly simple and one, whose essence is its very existence, and therefore is self-sufficient and not in need of something else to give it existence. Because its existence is not contingent on or necessitated by something else but is necessary and eternal in itself, it satisfies the condition of being the necessitating cause of the entire chain that constitutes the eternal world of contingent existing things. ^[21] Thus his ontological system rests on the conception of God as the Wajib al-Wujud (necessary existent). An Ontological argument for the existence of God attempts the method of a priori proof, which uses intuition and reason alone God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. There is a gradual multiplication of beings through a timeless emanation from God as a result of his self-knowledge. ^[22][23]

Indivisibility of God's sovereignty

The Qur'an argues that there can be no multiple sources of divine sovereignty since "behold, each god would have taken away what [each] had created, And some would have Lorded it over others!"^[3] The Qur'an argues that the stability and order prevailing throughout the universe shows that it was created and is being administered by only one God (Sura 28:70-72). ^[4][24] Verses 27:60-64 for example read: ^[25]

And who other than Him created the heavens and the earth and sent down for you water from the sky, whereby We cause to grow lush orchards - for it is not up to you to cause their trees to grow! Is there any other god besides God? Yet, these are the people who ascribe partners to Him!
And who other than Him made the earth a firm abode [for you], and set rivers traversing through it, and put firm mountains therein and sealed off one sea from the other? Is there any other god besides God? Indeed, most of them do not know!
And who other than Him responds to the distressed one when he calls Him and He relieves him of the distress and Who has made you [mankind] His viceregents on earth? Is there any other god besides God? - little do you reflect!
And who other than Him guides you in the darkness of the land and the sea? And who sends forth winds heralding His mercy [rain]? Is there any other god besides God? Far exalted be He above what they associate with Him!
And who other than Him brings forth His creation and then re-creates it? And who gives you sustenance from the heaven and the earth? Is there any other god besides God? Say [O Muhammad!]: Bring your proof if you are right [in associating others with God]

The Qur'an in verse 21:22 states: "If there were numerous gods instead of one, [the heavens and the earth] would be in a sorry state". Later Muslim theologians elaborated on this verse saying that the existence of at least two gods would inevitably arise between them, at one time or another, a conflict of wills. Since two contrary wills could not possibly be realized at the same time, one of them must admit himself powerless in that particular instance. On the other hand, a powerless being can not by definition be a god. Therefore the possibility of having more than one god is ruled out. ^[4][24]

Other arguments

The Qur'an argues that human beings have an instinctive distaste for polytheism: At times of crisis, for example, even the idolaters forget the false deities and call upon the one true God for help. As soon as they are relieved from the danger, they however start associating other beings with God (Sura 29:65). ^[24]

Next, the Qur'an argues that polytheism takes away from human dignity: God has honored human beings and given them charge of the physical world, and yet they disgrace their position in the world by worshiping what they carve out with their own hands. ^[24]

Lastly, the Qur'an argues that monotheism is a not a later discovery made by the human race, but rather there is the combined evidence of the prophetic call for monotheism throughout human history starting from Adam. See also Adam and Eve Adam ( Hebrew: אָדָם was according to a literal interpretation of Genesis, the first man created by The Qur'an suggests several causes for deviation from monotheism to polytheism: Power — especially absolute power — may lead one to think that he is God-like; such claims were accepted by those who were subject to the ruler. Also, certain natural phenomena (such as the sun, the moon and the stars) inspire feelings of awe, wonder or admiration that could lead some to regard them as deities. Anther reason for deviation from monotheism is when one becomes slave of his or her base desires and passions. In seeking to always satisfy the desires, he or she may commit a kind of polytheism. ^[24]

Atheism

The Qur'anic verse 45:24 is sometimes cited as a qur'anic argument against atheism. The verse reads: "And they say, 'This worldly life of ours is all there is — we die and we live, and nothing but time destroys us. ' But they have no knowledge of it; they are only speculating. " According to Mustansir Mir, however, the concept of atheism was unknown to the qur'anic audience and it is highly unlikely that atheist individual or groups existed at the time of Muhammad. IMPORTANT PLEASE READ ##### For all questions relating to the addition of (pbuh peace be upon him or other honorifics The above verse therefore, according to Mir, refers to the pre-Islamic view that the rise and fall of nations is governed not by any definite moral laws but rather by the impersonal hand of fate. ^[24]

Interpretations

See also: Early Islamic philosophy

Understanding of the meaning of Tawhid is one the most controversial issues among Muslims. Early Islamic philosophy or classical Islamic philosophy is a period of intense philosophical development beginning in the 2nd century AH of the Islamic calendar Islamic scholars have different approaches toward understanding it, compring textualistic approach, theological approach, philosophical approach and Sufism and Irfani approach. Athari ( al-Athariyya) in English is translated as textualism which is derived from the Arabic word Athar, which means "Narrations" Kalām (علم الكلام is the Islamic philosophy of seeking Islamic theological principles through Dialectic. Islamic philosophy is a branch of Islamic studies, and is a longstanding attempt to create harmony between Philosophy ( Reason) and the religious teachings Sufism ( تصوّف - taṣawwuf, Persian: صوفی‌گری sufigari, Turkish: tasavvuf, Urdu: تصوف Irfan also spelt eerfan ( Arabic / Persian / Urdu: عرفان) literally means knowing. These different approaches lead to different and in some cases opposite understang of the issue.

Textualistic approach

Main article: Athari

The Textualistists or literalists by reason of their conception of the divine Attributes, came to represent the divinity as a complex of names and qualifications alongside the divine essence itself. Athari ( al-Athariyya) in English is translated as textualism which is derived from the Arabic word Athar, which means "Narrations" The attitude of the extreme literalists is known by the name tashbih (anthropomorphism) which shows God as possessing hands and face, as seated on a Throne, etc. Tashbih ( تشبيه) is an Islamic religious concept meaning closeness Anthropomorphism is the attribution of uniquely Human characteristics to non-human creatures and beings natural and supernatural phenomena material states and objects For the Textualists, these are all real phenomena about God, which must be seen and understood as such. ^[26]

Theological viewpoints

Certain theologians use the term Tawhid in a much broader meaning to denote the totality of discussion of God, his existence and his various attributes. Others go yet further and use the term to ultimately represent the totality of the "principles of religion". In its current usage, the expressions "Tawhid" or "knowledge of Tawhid" are sometimes used as an equivalent for the whole Kalam, the Islamic theology. Islamic theology is a branch of Islamic studies regarding the beliefs associated with the Islamic faith ^[4]

Mu'tazili school

Main article: Mu'tazili

The Mu'tazilis liked to call themselves the men of the tawhid (ahl al-tawhid). Muʿtazilah ( Arabic المعتزلة al-mu`tazilah) is a theological school of thought within Sunni Islam. In Maqalat al-Islamiyin, Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari describes the Mu'tazilite conception of the tawhid as follows^[27]:

God is unique, nothing is like him; he is neither body, nor individual, nor substance, nor accident. TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> Abū al-Hasan Alī ibn Ismā'īl al-Ash'arī (874 &ndash 936 (ابو الحسن بن He is beyond time. He cannot dwell in a place or within a being; he is not the object of any creatural attribute or qualification. He is neither conditioned nor determined, neither engendered nor engendering. He is beyond the perception of the senses. The eyes cannot see him, observation cannot attain him, the imagination cannot comprehend him. He is a thing, but he is not like other things; he is omniscient, all-powerful, but his omniscience and his all-mightiness cannot be compared to anything created. He created the world without any pre-established archetype and without an auxiliary.

According to Henry Corbin , the result of this interpretation is the negation of the divine attributes, the affirmation of the created Quran, and the denial of all possibility of the vision of God in the world beyond. Henry Corbin ( 14 April 1903 - October 7, 1978 was a Philosopher, Theologian and professor of Islamic Studies at ^[28] Mu'tazilis believed that God is deprived of all positive attributes, in the sense that all divine qualifications must be understood as being the essence itself. In contrast to Textualistic viewpoint, the Mu'tazilite attitude is known in the history of theology by the name of Agnosticism(ta'til), that is to say, it consists in depriving God of all operative action and ends finally in agnosticism. Agnosticism ( Greek: α- a-, without + γνώσις gnōsis, knowledge after Gnosticism) is the philosophical view that the When, therefore, the Qur'an and certain hadith represent the divinity in anthropomorphic form, the Mu'tazilis saw it all as metaphor. The hand It the metaphorical designation of power; the face signifies the essence; the fact that God is seated on the Throne is a metaphorical image of the divine reign, and so on. ^[29]

Ash'ari school

Main article: Ash'ari

The solution proposed by Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari to solve the problems of tashbih and ta'til concedes that the divine Being possesses in a real sense the Attributes and Names mentioned in the Qur'an. The Ash'ari theology ( Arabic الأشاعرة al-asha`irah) is a school of early Muslim speculative theology founded by the theologian Abu al-Hasan TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> Abū al-Hasan Alī ibn Ismā'īl al-Ash'arī (874 &ndash 936 (ابو الحسن بن Insofar as these Names and Attributes have a positive reality, they are distinct from the essence, but nevertheless they do not have either existence or reality apart from it. The happy inspiration of al-Ash'ari in this matter was on the one hand to distinguish essence and attribute as concepts, and on the other hand to see that the duality between essence and attribute should be situated not on the quantitative but on the qualitative level—something which Mu'tazilis thinking had failed to grasp. Al-Ash'ari is in agreement with the literalists regarding the reality of human characteristics assigned to God, but he warns against imparting any physical material sense to them when attributing them to God. In his view, the Muslim must believe that God really does possess hands, face and so on, but without 'asking how'. This is the famous bi-lakayfa, in which faith attests that it can dispense with reason. According to Henry Corbin, al-Ash'ari's great labour ended by leaving faith and reason face to face, unmediated. ^[30]

Twelvers theology

Main article: Theology of Twelvers

Twelvers theology is based on the Hadith which have been narrated from Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, the first, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth Imams and compiled by Shia scholars such as Al-Shaykh al-Saduq in al-Tawhid. In Twelver Shi'a Islam, the Principles of the Religion ( Usūl al-Dīn) are the five main theological beliefs that Shi'a Muslims must possess Hadith ( ar الحديث, pl aḥadīth; lit. "narrative" are oral Traditions relating to the words and deeds of the Islamic IMPORTANT PLEASE READ ##### For all questions relating to the addition of (pbuh peace be upon him or other honorifics Muslims regard as Prophets of Islam ( Arabic: نبي) those non-divine humans chosen by Allah as Prophets ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib (a=علي بن أﺑﻲ طالب|t=ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib 13th Rajab, 24 BH – 21st Ramaḍān, 40 AH Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī al-Baqir (محمد ابن علي الباقر) (676-743 AD or 1 Rajab 57 AH – 7 Dhu al-Hijjah 114 AH was the Fifth Imām Jaʿfar al-Sadiq (702-765 in accurate transliteration Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq Arabic: جعفر الصادق in full Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Husayn Mūsá ibn Ja‘far ibn Muḥammad al-Kāżim (الإمام موسى الكاظم‎ ( October 28, 746 AD - September 1, 799 / Ali ibn Musa al-Rida ( علي بن موسى الرضا) (Commonly known as Ali ar-Ridha Ali Reza (Eleventh of Dhu al-Qi'dah, 148 AH – Seventeenth of TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> Al-Shaykh al-Saduq is the title given to Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn Babawaih al-Qummi ^[31] According to Shia theologians, the attributes and names of God have no independent and hypostatic existence apart from the being and essence of God. The 99 Names of Allah, also known as The 99 Most Beautiful Names of God () are the Names of God (specifically attributes by which Muslims regard God Any suggestion of these attributes and names being convinced of as separate is thought to entail polytheism. Polytheism is belief in or worship of multiple Gods (usually assembled in a pantheon) together with associated Mythology and Rituals It would be even incorrect to say God knows by his knowledge which is in his essence but God knows by his knowledge which is his essence. Also God has no physical form and he is insensible. ^[32]

Philosophical viewpoints

Main articles: Islamic Philosophy and Avicennism

Al-Farabi and especially Avicenna put forward new interpretation of Tawhid on the basis of the reason not Qur'an and Hadith. Islamic philosophy is a branch of Islamic studies, and is a longstanding attempt to create harmony between Philosophy ( Reason) and the religious teachings Avicennism ( is a school of Early Islamic philosophy which began during the middle of the Islamic Golden Age. TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> Abū Nasr Muhammad ibn al-Farakh al-Fārābi ( Nastaliq:) or Abū Nasr al-Fārābi TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> ( Persian /ابو علی الحسین ابن عبدالله ابن سینا (born Before Avicenna the discussions among Muslim philosophers were about the unity of God as divine creator and his relationship with the world as creation. The earlier philosophers were affected by the Plotinus ideas. Plotinus ( Greek:) (ca AD 204–270 was a major philosopher of the ancient world who is widely considered the founder of Neoplatonism (along with his ^[33]

َWhether this view can be reconciled with Islam, particularly given the question of what role is left for God's will, was to become a subject of considerable controversy within intellectual Islamic discourse. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation.

Sufi and Irfani viewpoint

Main articles: Sufi cosmology and Sufi metaphysics

In Islamic mysticism (Sufism and Irfan), Tawhid is not only the affirmation in speech of God's unity, but also as importantly a practical and existential realization of that unity. Sufi cosmology (الكوزمولوجية الصوفية is a general term for cosmological doctrines associated with the mysticism of Sufism. Major ideas in Sufi metaphysics have surrounded the concept of Wahdat or "Unity" Sufism ( تصوّف - taṣawwuf, Persian: صوفی‌گری sufigari, Turkish: tasavvuf, Urdu: تصوف Irfan also spelt eerfan ( Arabic / Persian / Urdu: عرفان) literally means knowing. This is done by rejecting the concepts tied to the world of multiplicity, to isolate the eternal from the temporal in a practical way. The ideal is a radical purification from all worldliness. ^[34]

For Muslim mystics (sufis), the affirmation in speech of God's unity is only the first step of Tawhid. Sufism ( تصوّف - taṣawwuf, Persian: صوفی‌گری sufigari, Turkish: tasavvuf, Urdu: تصوف Further steps involve a spiritual experience for the existential realization of that unity. Categorizations of different steps of Tawhid could be found in the works of Muslims Sufis like Junayd Baghdadi and al-Ghazali. Junayd ibn Muhammad Abu al-Qasim al-Khazzaz al-Baghdadi (830-910 AD was one of the great early mystics or Sufis, of Islam. Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazālī (1058-1111 ( ابو حامد محمد ابن محمد الغزالی or امام محمد غزالی was born and died It involves a practical rejection of the concepts tied to the world of multiplicity. ^[35] Al-Junayd for example "distinguishes four steps, starting from the simple attestation of unicity which is sufficient for ordinary believers, and culminating in the highest rank reserved for the elite, when the creature totally ceases to exist before his Lord, thus achieving al-fanā fi al-tawhīd [annihilation in unity]. "^[4]

Annihilation and Subsistence

According to the concept of Annihilation and Subsistence, "Man's existence, or ego, or self-hood. . . must be annihilated so that he can attain to his true self which is his existence and "subsistence" with God. All of man's character traits and habits, everything that pertains to his individual existence must become completely naughted and "obliterated" (mahw). Then God will give back to him his character traits and everything positive he ever possessed. But at this stage he will know consciously and actually - not just theoretically - and with a through spiritual realization, that everything he is derives absolutely from God. He is nothing but a ray of God's Attributes manifesting the Hidden Treasure. " ^[36]

Unity of Existence

The first detailed formulation of "Unity of Existence" (wahdat al-wujud) is closely associated to Ibn Arabi. TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> Ibn Arabi (ابن عربي ( July 28, 1165 - November 10, 1240) was an Widely different interpretations of the meaning of the "Unity of Existence" have been proposed throughout the centuries by critics, defenders, and Western scholars. Ibn Arabi himself didn't use the term "Unity of Existence" and similar statements had been made by those before him. For example, according to al-Ghazali "There is nothing in wujud [existence] except God. Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazālī (1058-1111 ( ابو حامد محمد ابن محمد الغزالی or امام محمد غزالی was born and died . . Wujud [Existence] only belongs to the Real One". Ghazali explains that the fruit of spiritual ascent of the Sufi is to "witness that there is no existence in the world save God and that 'All things are perishing except his face' (Qur'an 28:88)" ^[37][38]

Many authors consider being or existence to be the proper designation for the reality of God. While all Muslims believe the reality of God to be one, critics hold that the term "existence" (wujud) is also used for the existence of things in this world and that the doctrine blurs the distinction between the existence of the creator and that of the creation. Defenders argued that Ibn Arabi and his followers are offering a "subtle metaphysics following the line of the Asharite formula: “The attributes are neither God nor other than God. ” God’s “signs” (ayat) and “traces” (athar)—the creatures—are neither the same as God nor different from him, because God must be understood as both absent and present, both transcendent and immanent. Understood correctly, wahdat al-wujud elucidates the delicate balance that needs to be maintained between these two perspectives. "^[38] Shah Wali Allah of Delhi argued that the Ibn Arabi's "unity of being" was experiential and based on a subjective experience of illumination or ecstasy, rather than an ontological reality. ^[39]

Influences on the Muslim culture

The Islamic doctrine of Tawhid puts forth a God whose rule, will or law are comprehensive and extend to all creatures and to all aspects of the human life. Early Muslims understood religion to thus cover the domains of state, law and society. ^[40] It is believed that the entirety of the Islamic teaching rests on the principle of Tawhid. ^[41] In the following, we provide a few examples of the influences of Tawhid on the Muslim culture:

Interpersonal relationship

According to the Qur'an, one consequence of properly conceived relationship between God and Man as the served and servant, is the proper relationship among humans. An interpersonal relationship is a relatively long-term association between two or more people In order to achieve the former, the Qur'an consistently "reminds" men of two points: 1. That God is one; everything except God (including the entirety of nature) is contingent upon God. 2. With all his might and glory, God is essentially the all-merciful God. ^[42]

Satanic Logic

According to the Qur'an, Satan deviated from the oneness of God in the story of creation of man by permitting his own hierarchical value system to supersede God's will: God asked the angels to bow to Adam, who he had created from clay. The Creation of Adam is a Fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo circa 1511. Satan refused, saying that "I am better than him; you created me from fire and created him from clay". The Medieval Muslim scholar, al-Ghazali pointing out that the only legitimate "preference principle" in the sight of God is piety, writes: "every time a rich man believes that he is better than a poor one, or a white man believes that he is better than a black one, then he is being arrogant. Scholars in Islamic studies are both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars who work in one or more fields of Islamic studies. He is adopting the same hierarchical principles adopted by Iblis [Satan] in his jahl [ignorance], and thus falling into shirk [opposite of Tawhid]. " ^[43]

Secularism and the evolution of public policy

The modern secular state (a by-product of European positivism) resulted from the evolution of public policy in west. Secularism is generally the assertion that governmental practices or institutions should exist separately from Religion or religious beliefs A secular state is a State or Country that is officially neutral in matters of Religion, neither supporting nor opposing any particular religious beliefs Islamic scholarship has not however gone through the same process for a variety of reasons: The doctrine of Tawhid implies that the cosmos is a unified harmonious whole, centered around the omnipotent and omnipresent God. As interpreted by Muslim scholars, national sovereignty thus exclusively belonged to God and no room was left for evolution of nation-state ideas. For the online game see Jennifer Government NationStates. The nation-state is a certain form of State that derives its legitimacy According to Ozay Mehmet, "Secularism, i. e. policies based on science and man-made rules rather than divine criteria, has been rejected as anti-Islamic. Traditionally, a Muslim is not a nationalist, or citizen of a nation-state; he has no political identity, only a religious membership in the Umma. Ummah (أمة is an Arabic word meaning Community or Nation. It is commonly used to mean either the collective nation of states, or (in the For a traditional Muslim, Islam is the sole and sufficient identification tag and nationalism and nation-states are 'obstacles'" ^[44]

Islamic art

See also: Depictions of Muhammad

The desire to preserve the unity and transcendence of God led to the prohibition of Muslims from creating representation or visual depictions of God or Muhammad. The term nationalism can refer to an Ideology, a sentiment, a form of Culture, or a Social movement that focuses on the Nation Islamic art encompasses the arts produced from the 7th century onwards by people (not necessarily Muslim) who lived within the territory that was inhabited by culturally The permissibility of depictions of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, has long been a concern in Islam's history Many Arab Muslims later extended the ban to any representations in art of the human form. The key concern is that the use of statues or images may lead to idolatry. The dominant forms of expression in the Islamic art, thus, became calligraphy and arabesque. ^[40]

See also

• 99 Names of God
• Allah
• Ahl al-Tawhid
• Divine simplicity (A related tenet of Judeo-Christian religion)
• Islamic concept of God
• Monotheism
• Trinity in Islam
• Shema Yisrael

Notes

References

Encyclopedias

• Encyclopaedia of Islam Online. The Encyclopaedia of Islam ( EI) is the standard Encyclopaedia of the Academic discipline of Islamic studies. Ed. P. J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C. E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W. P. Heinrichs. Brill Academic Publishers. ISSN 1573-3912.  
• Encyclopedia of Islam & the Muslim World. (2003). Ed. Richard C. Martin, Said Amir Arjomand, Marcia Hermansen, Abdulkader Tayob, Rochelle Davis, John Obert Voll. MacMillan Reference Books. ISBN 978-0028656038.  
• Encyclopedia of Religion (2nd edition). (2005). Ed. Lindsay Jones. MacMillan Reference Books. ISBN 978-0028657332.  
• Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. The Encyclopædia Britannica is a general English-language encyclopaedia published by Encyclopædia Britannica Inc Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. .  
• Encyclopædia Islamica.  

Books

• Banani Amin, co ed. : Richard G. Hovannisian, Georges Sabagh (1994), Poetry and Mysticism in Islam: The Heritage of Rumi, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 052145476X
• Barlas, Asma (2002). Cambridge University Press (known colloquially as CUP is a Publisher given a Royal Charter by Henry VIII in 1534 Asma Barlas is an academic educated in Pakistan and the United States. Believing Women in Islam. University of Texas Press. ISBN 0292709048.  
• Corbin, Henry (1993 (original French 1964)). Henry Corbin ( 14 April 1903 - October 7, 1978 was a Philosopher, Theologian and professor of Islamic Studies at History of Islamic Philosophy, Translated by Liadain Sherrard, Philip Sherrard. London; Kegan Paul International in association with Islamic Publications for The Institute of Ismaili Studies. ISBN 0710304161.  
• William Chittick (1983), The Sufi Path of Love:The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi, State University of New York Press, ISBN 0873957245
• William Chittick and Sachiko Murata (2006), The Vision of Islam, Publisher:I. William C Chittick is a leading translator and interpreter of classical Islamic philosophical and mystical texts William C Chittick is a leading translator and interpreter of classical Islamic philosophical and mystical texts Sachiko Murata (born 1943) is a Professor of Religion and Asian studies at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. B. Tauris, ISBN:1845113209
• Ernst, Carl (1984), Words of Ecstasy in Sufism, State University of New York Press, ISBN 0873959183
• Esposito, John (1998). Carl W Ernst (b 1950 is the Kenan Distinguished Professor of Islamic studies at the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill John Louis Esposito (born 19 May 1940 Brooklyn, New York City) is a professor of International Affairs and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University Islam: The Straight Path. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-511233-4.  
• Gottlieb, Roger S. (2006), The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Ecology, Oxford University Press, ASIN B000RKTUVS
• Johnson, Steve A. (1984), "Ibn Sina's Fourth Ontological Argument for God's Existence", The Muslim World 74 (3-4), 161–171.
• Mehmet, Ozay (1990), Islamic Identity and Development: Studies of the Islamic Periphery, Rutledge, ASIN: B000FBFF5Y
• Momen, Moojan (1985). An Introduction to Shi`i Islam: The History and Doctrines of Twelver Shi'ism. Yale University Press. ISBN 0300035314.  
• Rahman, Fazlur (1980), Major themes of the Qur'an, Bibliotheca Islamica, ISBN 0882970518
• Ramadan, Tariq (2005). Tariq Said Ramadan (born 26 September 1962 in Geneva, Switzerland) is a Swiss Muslim academic whose views on Islam reflect a Western Muslims and the Future of Islam. Oxford University Press. ISBN 019517111X.  
• Forming the Mind: Essays on the Internal Senses and the Mind/Body Problem from Avicenna to the Medical Enlightenment, Springer Science+Business Media, September 30, 2007, ISBN 9781402060830 
• Tabatabae, Sayyid Mohammad Hosayn; William C. Springer Science+Business Media or Springer (ˈʃpʁɪŋɐ is a worldwide Publishing company based in Germany, which publishes textbooks academic Chittick (translator) (1981). A Shiʻite Anthology. Muhammadi Trust of Great Britain & Northern Ireland. ISBN 0873955102.  
• Turner, Colin (2006). Islam: The Basics. Routledge. ISBN 0415341051.  

Journal articles

• Robert G. Mourison, The Portrayal of Nature in a Medieval Qur’an Commentary, Studia Islamica, 2002
• Al-Hibri, Azizah Y. (2003). "An Islamic Perspective on Domestic Violence". 27 Fordham International Law Journal 195.
• Mayer, Toby (2001), “Ibn Sina’s ‘Burhan Al-Siddiqin’”, Journal of Islamic Studies (Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, Oxford Journals, Oxford University Press) 12 (1): 18-39 
• Morewedge, P. The Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies ( OCIS) is a Recognised Independent Centre associated with the University of Oxford, England. , “Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and Malcolm and the Ontological Argument”, Monist 54: 234-49