Could Allah not be ‘Two’?
However, as alluded to in the introduction, yet another doubt arises. Why do we say that Allah is one? Why shouldn’t there be many Gods sharing the ‘work’ among themselves? Can there be more than one creator with such absolute attributes? Can there for example be two absolutely powerful creators?
That is not possible. Why? If a maker is absolutely powerful, it follows that he is absolutely free of to do whatever he wishes. But if another maker with similar powers exists and they differ over the making of something, they of the two things can happen. Either, one will overcome the other, in case the latter cannot be absolutely powerful. Or, they will neutralize each other, in which case both the powers are limited.
This epitomized that in the parable of the simple old yarn spinner when she was asked by her skeptical friend, “How do you know that God exists?” The old lady replied saying, “I am a simple old woman who does not know much. However this much I do know, that when I turn my spindle it moves and when I leave it, it stops. Never does it move on its own accord. Thus I see the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, the moon traveling its course, the stars swimming harmoniously through the heavens, the rain falling gently, the trees growing tall and strong, the flowers blossoming exquisitely, the birds flying by gracefully and I know that there must be some great mover, some great creator of this beauty” Hearing this, her skeptical friend retorted, “Very well! Admitted that there must be some creator, how do we know that he is one God, and not many Gods?” They old woman calmly replied again, “I am a simple old woman who does not know much. However this much is do know, that if I trying to turn my spindle in one direction, and you were trying to turn my spindle in the other direction, then one of three things would happen. Either I would be stronger than you, in which case it would go in one direction, or you would be stronger and it would go in the other direction or we would break the spindle in our struggle. Thus never do I ever see this sun rising in the east one day, and the west the next, nor the moon traveling its course one day and in disarray the next, nor the stars swimming harmoniously one day and in confusion the next, nor the rain falling down one day and ascending the next, not the trees up tall and strong one day and then its branches digging the earth the next, nor the flowers blossoming exquisitely one day and collapsing the next, nor the birds flying by gracefully one day and then crawling on their backs in the dust the next, nor do I see this wonderful universe around me in disharmony and destroyed and thus I know that my Lord is One.”
Even if we assume that the two powers agree on everything or complement each other, they cannot both be absolutely powerful because in doing anything one at least will need to assume that the other will not interfere or is not capable of interfering. In other words, one will need to assume that the function of the other is redundant or that the power of the other is limited. The creator then must be One. There cannot be any other like Him, so He must be unique. The Creator must be all Powerful and must be able to do what ever He wills.
From the above, it is valid and reasonable to assert that the Creator must be Eternal and Everlasting, Self-Sufficient and All-Powerful, One and Unique. These are some of the qualities or attributes of the creator that we must have in mind when we use the word Allah. We must also remember that His attributes or qualities are absolute and do not change. There must be clear separation between the Creator and the created. It follows that no man can be Allah. Allah cannot have a mother or father. He cannot have a son or daughter. The sun, the moon, the stars or any other heavenly bodies cannot be Allah. No part of Creation whether it be a mountain, a tree or a fire can be Allah and does not deserve to be worshipped as Allah. Any religion or any worldview which regards any human being or any part of creation as Allah or part of Allah must be a false religion or worldview. Also any religion or any worldview which regards Allah as having human characteristics, for example a human shape and suffering from tiredness and needing rest and sleep, must be a false religion or worldview.
