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Knowing God according to the Qur'an

At the heart of the Qur'an is tawḥīd: knowing God begins with affirming His oneness. Here is how the Qur'an describes God in its own words (for more names see the Beautiful Names page).

One, without equal

  • "Say: He is God, One… and there is none comparable to Him." (112:1-4)
  • "There is nothing whatever like Him." (42:11)
  • "Your god is one God; there is no god but Him." (2:163)

Creator and Sustainer of all

  • "He is the Originator of the heavens and the earth." (42:11)
  • "He is the Ever-Living (al-Ḥayy), the Sustainer of all (al-Qayyūm); neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him." (2:255)

Boundless in knowledge and power

  • "No vision can grasp Him, but He grasps all vision; He is the Subtle, the All-Aware." (6:103)
  • "He knows the unseen and the seen; the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful… the Sovereign, the Holy, the Peace…" (59:22-24)

The source of mercy

  • "The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful." (2:163)

An honest note: this is the Qur'an's own self-description of God; debates over likeness (tashbīh) and interpretation (ta'wīl) belong to theology — we give what the text says.

Source: Qur'anic verses (M. Okuyan meal). Presented with a text/interpretation distinction; it defines a concept, not a verdict on persons.

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