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Aḥad (Arabic: الأحد) is one of the names of God, signifying "one," "unique," and "peerless." Philosophically, the term denotes the simplicity of God's essence and the negation of any composition within Him. In the Qur'an, the word "Ahad" appears seventy-four times; however, it is employed as a divine attribute only once, in Qur'an 112:1. Lexicographers distinguish "Ahad" as applying to that which is indivisible and uncountable, whereas "Wahid" refers to that which is countable and is more frequently used in negative constructions. Some scholars, however, maintain that there is no distinction between the two terms.

From a mystical perspective, "Ahadiyya" designates a level of the manifestation of God's essence in which God beholds Himself in a simple, undifferentiated manner. This stage precedes manifestation and "True Unity," which marks the emergence of the Names and Attributes. In the state of "Ahadiyya," all multiplicity is absent, and all determinations are negated from the Divine. This concept underscores the oneness of God in essence, attributes, and actions, and serves as a negation of any partner or associate.

Terminology of Ahad and Its Distinction from Wahid

"Ahad" means one, unique, and peerless.[1] It is used as both an adjective and a noun exclusively in the description of God,[2] conveying the meaning that God is eternally one, with no likeness or similitude.[3] Philosophers and theologians regard "Ahad" as signifying the simplicity of the Divine essence and the negation of any form of composition.[4]

The term "Ahad" appears seventy-four times in the Qur'an but functions as a specific attribute of God only in Qur'an 112:1.[5]

Although "Ahad" and "Wahid" are often treated as synonymous in lexicography,[6] distinctions are drawn between them. "Ahad" is said to apply to that which, in both reality and conception, does not admit multiplicity and is not countable. Conversely, "Wahid" is countable. "Wahid" is typically used in affirmative contexts, while "Ahad" is common in negations. In negative sentences, both terms may describe various subjects; however, in affirmative constructions, "Ahad" is used solely as an attribute of God.[7]

In contrast, some scholars, citing narrations[8] and Quranic usage, argue against any semantic distinction between the two words.[9]

Distinction between Ahadiyya and Wahidiyya

According to mystical thought, true existence belongs exclusively to the transcendent essence of God; all other beings are mere appearances or manifestations of Him. The act most beloved to God is the contemplation of His own essence through the observation of His essential aspects, a process termed "Istijla'." Mystics posit that the level of essence prior to manifestation is the "Unseen of Unseens" (Ghayb al-Ghuyub).[10] The initial manifestation is the level of determination—or the self-manifestation of the essence—termed "True Absolute Unity" (Wahdat-i Haqqa-yi Haqiqiyya). This level encompasses all things and possesses simultaneous inner and outer aspects. The inner aspect is called "Ahadiyya," wherein God beholds His essence simply and without detail.[11] The outer aspect is termed "True Unity" or "Wahidiyya," which represents the station of the emergence of the Names and Attributes; here, God observes His essence in detail through these Names and Attributes. "Wahidiyya" is the source of multiplicity, first in the realm of knowledge (ilmi) and subsequently in the objective, external world.[12]

Attribute of God

The term "Ahad" has been interpreted extensively in the works of exegetes and mystics. At the level of "Ahadiyya"—also referred to as "Ghayb al-Ghuyub," "Al-Huwiya al-Ghaybiyya," and "Al-Ghayb al-Mutlaq"—all determinations and concepts are negated from God. No sign or trace exists at this level, rendering it inaccessible to knowledge. Here, attributes and rulings are entirely divested from the Divine.[13]

The concept of "Ahad" applies to a being that accepts no form of multiplicity, whether external or mental.[14] "Ahad" signifies God's oneness in essence, attributes, and actions, negating any partner or associate.[15] Furthermore, "Ahad" encompasses the privative attributes of God, indicating His transcendence above any form of composition.[16] God is unique in possessing essential attributes; qualities such as knowledge, power, and life are necessary and intrinsic only to Him, whereas they are contingent for all others.[17] Some scholars equate "Ahad" and "Wahid," interpreting divine oneness as the absence of any peer, similitude, or likeness.[18]

Notes

  1. ↑ Dehkhudā, Lughat-nāma, under "Ahad"; Anwarī, Farhang-i buzurg-i sukhan, under "Ahad".
  2. ↑ Al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, Al-Mufradāt, under "Ahad".
  3. ↑ Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, under "Ahad".
  4. ↑ Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī, Sharḥ al-asmāʾ al-ḥusnā (Lawāmiʿ al-bayyināt), 1396 AH, vol. 1, p. 312; Sabzawārī, Sharḥ al-asmāʾ al-ḥusnā, Kitābkhāna-yi Faqāhat, vol. 1, p. 125.
  5. ↑ Ramaḍānī and Naṣīrī, "Aḥad", p. 236.
  6. ↑ Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, 1414 AH, under "Ahad".
  7. ↑ Al-Wāsiṭī, Tāj al-ʿarūs, under "Wāḥid"; Al-Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1390 AH, vol. 20, p. 387.
  8. ↑ Al-Ṣadūq, Al-Tawḥīd, 1398 AH, p. 90.
  9. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 27, p. 435.
  10. ↑ "Dar dānish-i ʿirfān, Aḥad bā Wāḥid (Aḥadiyya bā Wāḥidiyya) chi tafāwutī dārad?", IslamQuest.
  11. ↑ "Dar dānish-i ʿirfān, Aḥad bā Wāḥid (Aḥadiyya bā Wāḥidiyya) chi tafāwutī dārad?", IslamQuest.
  12. ↑ "Dar dānish-i ʿirfān, Aḥad bā Wāḥid (Aḥadiyya bā Wāḥidiyya) chi tafāwutī dārad?", IslamQuest.
  13. ↑ Ṣādiqī, "Aḥad", p. 190.
  14. ↑ Al-Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1390 AH, vol. 20, p. 387; Sulṭān ʿAlī Shāh, Bayān al-saʿāda, 1408 AH, vol. 4, pp. 282-283.
  15. ↑ Mughniyya, Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, 1424 AH, vol. 7, p. 623.
  16. ↑ Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī, Al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, 1420 AH, vol. 32, p. 361.
  17. ↑ Al-Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1372 Sh, vol. 10, p. 859.
  18. ↑ Maybudī, Kashf al-asrār, 1371 Sh, vol. 10, p. 662; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 27, p. 437.

References

  • Ibn Manẓūr, Muḥammad b. Mukarram, Lisān al-ʿArab, Beirut, Dār Ṣādir, 1414 AH.
  • Anwarī, Ḥasan, Farhang-i buzurg-i sukhan, Tehran, Intishārāt-i Sukhan, 1390 Sh.
  • Dehkhudā, ʿAlī Akbar, Lughat-nāma, Tehran, University of Tehran Press, 1377 Sh.
  • Al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, Ḥusayn b. Muḥammad, Mufradāt alfāẓ al-Qurʾān, Lebanon-Syria, Dār al-ʿIlm - Al-Dār al-Shāmiyya, 1412 AH.
  • Ramaḍānī, Riḍā and Naṣīrī, ʿAlī, "Aḥad", in Dāʾirat al-maʿārif-i Qurʾān-i Karīm, Qom, Markaz-i Farhang wa Maʿārif-i Qurʾān, 1382 Sh.
  • Sabzawārī, Mullā Hādī, Sharḥ al-asmāʾ al-ḥusnā, n.p., Maktabat Baṣīratī, n.d. (Kitābkhāna-yi Faqāhat).
  • Sulṭān ʿAlī Shāh, Sulṭān Muḥammad b. Ḥaydar, Bayān al-saʿāda fī maqāmāt al-ʿibāda, Beirut, Muʾassasat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1408 AH.
  • Ṣādiqī, Ḥusayn, "Aḥad", in Dānishnāma-yi kalām-i Islāmī, Qom, Muʾassasa-yi Imām Ṣādiq (a), 1387 Sh.
  • Al-Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī, Al-Tawḥīd, ed. Hāshim Ḥusaynī, Qom, Jāmiʿa-yi Mudarrisīn, 1398 AH.
  • Al-Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn, Al-Mīzān, Beirut, Muʾassasat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1390 AH.
  • Al-Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. Ḥasan, Majmaʿ al-bayān, Tehran, Nāṣir Khusraw, 1372 Sh.
  • Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar, Al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1420 AH.
  • Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar, Sharḥ al-asmāʾ al-ḥusnā, Cairo, Maktabat al-Kulliyyāt al-Azhariyya, 1397 AH.
  • Mughniyya, Muḥammad Jawād, Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, Qom, Dār al-Kitāb al-Islāmī, 1424 AH.
  • Maybudī, Aḥmad b. Muḥammad, Kashf al-asrār wa ʿuddat al-abrār, Tehran, Amīr Kabīr, 1371 Sh.
  • Al-Wāsiṭī al-Zubaydī, Sayyid Muḥammad Murtaḍā, Tāj al-ʿarūs min jawāhir al-qāmūs, Beirut, Dār al-Fikr, 1414 AH.
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