Belief in Allah is belief in one God, alone in creation, in worship and in his names, with nothing like him. The Hebrew Bible and the Samaritan Torah say the same: God alone, without a rival, who neither sleeps nor tires. The Gospels keep the first commandment, though later Christian doctrine goes a different way.
What it is in Islam
The Quran gives the creed in one short surah, and the throne verse sets out what it means for Allah to be one.
“Say, ‘He is Allah, [who is] One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, Nor is there to Him any equivalent.’”
“Allah - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep.”
“[He is] Creator of the heavens and the earth. He has made for you from yourselves, mates, and among the cattle, mates; He multiplies you thereby. There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.”
“Allah’s right on His slaves is that they should worship Him (Alone) and should not worship any besides Him.”
Narrated by Mu‘adh. English as shown on sunnah.com.
In the earlier scriptures
Passages are the King James Version unless marked otherwise. Each carries a tag: a close parallel, a shared principle, or an interpretation (Muslim or traditional), which is a reading we offer as a reading and not as a proven fact.
“Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.”
God is first and last, and there is none beside him.
“Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.”
Before him no god was formed, and none will be after him.
“He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.”
“Shall neither slumber nor sleep.” Compare Quran 2:255: “Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep.”
“Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.”
The everlasting Creator who does not grow tired. Compare the Quran’s “Ever-Living, the Sustainer”.
“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.”
God is from everlasting to everlasting.
“To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?”
God cannot be likened to anything. Compare Quran 42:11: “There is nothing like unto Him.”
“You shall have no other gods before me.”
Translation by Florentin and Tal (Open Book Publishers, 2024). The translation writes the divine name as “Shema”, the Samaritan way of saying “the Name”.
The first command of the Samaritan Decalogue.
“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
God is not a body, and worship is of the heart. The Quran also puts God beyond likeness (42:11).
Where this page stands: the first half of this pillar is shared in plain words, and several verses match the Quran’s own wording (“neither slumber nor sleep”). The doctrine of the Trinity is not shared and we say so below.
Where the scriptures differ
Some New Testament passages are read by Christians as teaching the Trinity or the divinity of Jesus. Islam does not read them that way. Each is shown as Christians read it, then the Quran’s own words.
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”
Christians read the threefold name as the Trinity. Islam does not.
“O People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your religion or say about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allah and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul [created at a command] from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers. And do not say, ‘Three’; desist - it is better for you. Indeed, Allah is but one God. Exalted is He above having a son. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs.”
“They have certainly disbelieved who say, ‘Allah is the third of three.’ And there is no god except one God. And if they do not desist from what they are saying, there will surely afflict the disbelievers among them a painful punishment.”
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Christians read “the Word was God” as saying Jesus is God. Islam does not. The Quran calls the Messiah a word from Allah, a messenger, and a created servant.
“Exalted are You! It was not for me to say that to which I have no right. If I had said it, You would have known it. … I said not to them except what You commanded me - to worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.”
Allah questions Jesus on the Day of Judgment, and Jesus answers.
“Say, ‘O People of the Scripture, come to a word that is equitable between us and you - that we will not worship except Allah and not associate anything with Him and not take one another as lords instead of Allah.’ But if they turn away, then say, ‘Bear witness that we are Muslims [submitting to Him].’”
Sources
Quran (Sahih International, via api.alquran.cloud; links go to quran.com)
Hadith (English from sunnah.com)
Hebrew Bible and New Testament (King James Version, text via bible-api.com; links go to BibleGateway)
Samaritan Pentateuch