In Islam's own words

Allah: One,
and like nothing

The One God, Creator of all, known through His Names and His signs.

Written from the Qur'an (our English renderings, marked for a scholar's check) and the hadith collections. A Muslim scholar checks this page before it goes public.

One

قُلْ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ ۝ ٱللَّهُ ٱلصَّمَدُ ۝ لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ ۝ وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُۥ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌۢSay: He is God, One. God, the One all turn to. He has not fathered, and was not born. And there is none comparable to Him.Qur'an 112 · our rendering

The heart of Islam is tawḥīd, the oneness of God. Allah is One, the Creator of everything, and needs nothing; everything else needs Him. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) called these four lines equal to a third of the Qur'an. Read them line by line →

Like nothing, yet near

“There is nothing like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing” (42:11). In one breath: utterly unlike us, and still hearing and seeing us. And: “When My servants ask you about Me, I am near. I answer the call of the one who calls” (2:186). That is why there is no picture of God in Islam, and why Muslims speak to God directly, with no one in between.

Known by His Names

“To God belong the most beautiful Names, so call on Him by them” (7:180). Muslims know God through His Names: ar-Raḥmān, the Entirely Merciful; al-Wadūd, the Loving; an-Nūr, the Light; al-Mujīb, the One who answers. Meet all 99 →

Mercy first

Every chapter of the Qur'an but one opens “In the name of God, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.” “My mercy encompasses all things” (7:156). The Prophet (peace be upon him) said God divided mercy into a hundred parts and sent one down: by that one part a mare lifts her hoof away from her foal (Bukhari 6000).

How Muslims turn to God

Prayer

Five times a day, facing Mecca, Muslims pray the same words: praise, standing, bowing, forehead to the ground. Every prayer begins with al-Fātiḥa.

Du'a

Personal prayer, in any language, at any time: asking, thanking, confiding. No priest or saint stands between.

Gratitude and remembrance

Alḥamdulillāh (praise be to God), bismillāh (in the name of God), in shā' Allāh (if God wills): God in every ordinary moment.

ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ ۝ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ ۝ مَـٰلِكِ يَوْمِ ٱلدِّينِ ۝ إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ ۝ ٱهْدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٰطَ ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَPraise be to God, Lord of all the worlds, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgement. You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help. Guide us on the straight path.Qur'an 1:2–6, al-Fātiḥa · our rendering

Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mary

Muslims believe in all the prophets God sent: Abraham, Moses, Jesus (peace be upon them) and many more, with Muhammad (peace be upon him) the last. Jesus is honoured as the Messiah, born of the Virgin Mary (peace be upon her), who has a whole chapter of the Qur'an named after her. Muslims do not worship Muhammad or any prophet: they worship God alone.

Why Arabic?

The Qur'an was revealed in Arabic, so Muslims everywhere pray in Arabic and call God Allah, whatever their own language. In everyday speech many also use their own word: Khudā in Persian and Urdu, Tanrı in Turkish, Yàlla in Wolof. See Allah around the world.