Oneness, whether relative or absolute, is an attribute that defines the uniqueness of the entity that possesses it. While relative oneness can be possessed by anything unique in any respect, absolute oneness is a feature of Divinity alone. Oneness can be, at times, as profound a concept as the enigmatic concepts of Infinity and Zero. The prime number ‘One’ can actually be intriguing enough to put the most competent of human minds to the most formidable of challenges.The Qur’an introduces us to two special attributive names of God that relate specifically to God’s absolute oneness. These names are Ahad and Waahid. While in general terms, Ahad and Waahid both, could loosely be translated as ‘One’, but more specifically Ahad can be translated as ‘One’ and Waahid as ‘Only’. Hence, when the Qur’an informs us that its Author is Ahad and Waahid, essentially what we are being told is that God, in the absolute sense, is the ‘One and Only’. These two attributive names, in conjunction, describe the Absolute Oneness of God. Both names Ahad and Waahid denote two different aspects of the Oneness of God. The name Ahad suggests that God is ‘One’, thus highlighting the absolute oneness of His Being, implying that, in all respects, there is only one Being Who is God. The name Waahid, on the other hand, suggests that God is ‘Unique’, thereby highlighting His singularity in terms of His attributes, which means to say that, for instance, there is none as merciful as Him, none as forgiving as Him, none as beautiful as Him, and so on. The fact that God cannot be compared to anything within creation. For example, Sura Al-Ikhlas (chapter 112 of the Qur’an) says:
Say, He is God, the One,
God the Eternal,
He neither begets nor is begotten
And there is none like him.God is One in a similar way that the universe is one. The universe is the totality of all physical phenomena; God is the Totality, the Whole. God’s Wholeness is the source of all holiness and well-being. God is the Absolute in whom all opposites and contradictions are resolved. God is One because there is no other. God is One because no truth contradicts any other truth – they are all aspects of the Truth. By the same token, no goodness or virtue contradicts any other aspect of goodness or virtue, they are all aspects of the greatest Good. God is the Unity to whom the apparent multiplicity points. Sufis seek the signs of God within multiplicity: everything has a side facing toward God; everything points to the One God, and we delight in that recognition. God is Love.The goal is to know God in this life. All believers believe that we will meet God in our future life, especially on the Day of Judgement. It is possible to meet and know God in this life. Make friends with God before you die. The saints (awliya) are the friends of God, who have achieved intimacy with God in this life.(Awliya). The friends of Allah. These are His Saints. Their knowledge is not derived from reflection. Allah has purified them of that type of knowledge. They possess the opening of unveiling through Allah, the Real, Himself. The awliya are those with unbroken awareness of Allah. These Perfect Men have attained to the highest of all human degrees.”Amongst my friends there shall be no sadness, mourning or grief.” (Q’10:62)
