The Muslim View

According to Islam the first and greatest teaching is proclaimed by the Shahada: “La Ilaha illa-l-lah, Muhammadun rasulu-l-lah.” (“There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the apostle of Allah.”) To be a true Muslim one must sincerely confess this phrase, especially those who are newly converted to Islam.

Allah, for a Muslim, is one “Wahid,” and has no partners, no equals. In the Qur'an, Sura 28:88, we read: “And cry not unto any other god along with Allah. There is no god save Him.” Thus, Allah is totally other, totally distinct, totally unique. Since He is unique, no one else can share even an atom of His Divine power and authority. The Qur'an makes it clear that Allah has no son, no father, no relative, and no associates.

A survey administered amongst North American converts to Islam cited monotheism, in opposition to the doctrine of trinity, as their greatest attraction to Islam. Of great concern to the converts is the relationship of Jesus to God, because it associates a human with God. They ask, “How would God ever lower Himself by associating Himself with a human, how would He allow that human to be killed?”

Obviously, this kind of belief in the uniqueness of God, i.e. a totally transcendent God entails a rejection of Jesus as the Son of God.