Throughout history, tawhid (monotheism) has been the common characteristic of all religions sent by Allah (swt). All messengers conveyed this principle to their people. They informed that Allah (swt) is unique in His essence and His attributes and that He does not have a partner.

The main message of the Qur’an is tawhid. However, in some verses He uses the plural pronoun “we” for himself. This is done to praise Allah and does not conflict with a monotheistic belief whatsoever.

Historically, mankind ascribe various beings as partners besides Allah. 

This is one of the main points of discussions in the history of religions. Why would a person ascribe partners to Allah while believing in Him?

The main reason is the fact that people do not know Him as they should, they lack knowledge about His names and attributes. The Qur’an mentions the states of these people as follows: “They have not appraised Allah with true appraisal. Indeed, Allah is Powerful and Exalted in Might.” (Hajj, 22/74)

Today, lacking knowledge of Allah is one of the main reasons for the deviation of monotheism and the neglect of divine command by people. Neglecting this subject directly affects the religious lives of people, because the basic rule that applies between people applies here as well: A person loves someone as much as he knows him, he respects him and fulfills his needs and desires accordingly.

Throughout history, the prophets have shown a tremendous endeavor introducing Allah to mankind. They explained what it means to be the one and only god. They conveyed that people are required to obey his commands and prohibitions because He governs the universe. This verse brings out the truth of the matter: “And We sent not before you any messenger except that We revealed to him that, “There is no deity except Me, so worship Me.”” (Anbiya, 21/25)

The Arabic society where Islam originated believed in a God who created the heavens and the earth, who provides and ensures life. However, they erred with regards to his attributes. They ascribed many of these attributes to idols and natural phenomena, thinking that they owned divine characteristics. 

The Arabs Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic age of ignorance) period sought refuge with idols and asked them for help, because they believed that idols bring them closer to Allah.  The Prophet of Allah (saw) has contended with his people during his prophethood in order to correct their false beliefs.

Judaism and Christianity were present in the Arabian Peninsula when Islam began. Both religions actually have a divine origin. The prophets Musa (Moses) and Isa (Jesus) were prophets sent by Allah. However, both religions had lost their true form. Distortions were made in the holy books of both religions and because of that, the monotheistic belief was lost.

In some holy books of the Jews, God is ascribed with human characteristics. For example: walking through a garden, getting tired, forgetting, regretting, naming himself father and ascribing sons to himself. (Ömer Faruk Harman, “Yahudilik (İnanç Esasları)”, DİA, XXXXIV, 201-203.) Christians, on the other hand, have fallen in a bigger mistake with regards to monotheism. They claim that God is a trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. According to this claim, the Father created the universe, the Son Isa (Jesus) descended from heaven for mankind’s salvation and the Holy Spirit puts divine love into the hearts of people.

Christians believe that God came into the flesh through Isa (Jesus) the Messiah and lived a human life on earth. So Isa is not just a prophet. He is a real human, divine and the son of God and also God Himself. 

The Qur’an expresses the state of the Christians as follows: 

“They have certainly disbelieved who say, “Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary”” (Ma’idah, 5/72)

“They have certainly disbelieved who say, “Allah is the third of three.”” (Ma’idah, 5/73)

Thanks to Islam, monotheism has continued to exist until today, without changing and despite all of the aforementioned deviations. Muslims throughout history have adopted this belief - adjusting their lives accordingly - and showed great efforts in conveying it.

Today, approximately 1.6 billion people with the monotheistic faith live in various regions of the world. Islam will continue to exist as the representative of monotheism in the future as in history.