The Ninety-Nine Names · the 66th name
الْوَاحِد
Al-Wahid
The One
- The rootو ح د
- From the rootwahada: to be one, single, without a second of the same kind
The essay
Wahid is one in the sense of unique in rank: there is no other of this kind. The Qur'an pairs it almost every time with Al-Qahhar, and the pairing does the argument's work: oneness that could be contested would not be oneness. The question in the Book is put to a prisoner by a fellow prisoner: are many different lords better, or the One, the Prevailing? It is the plainest form of the whole case.
In the Qur'an
لَّوۡ أَرَادَ ٱللَّهُ أَن يَتَّخِذَ وَلَدٗا لَّٱصۡطَفَىٰ مِمَّا يَخۡلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُۚ سُبۡحَٰنَهُۥۖ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلۡوَٰحِدُ ٱلۡقَهَّارُ
Had Allah willed to take a son, He would have chosen from what He creates whatever He willed. Glory be to Him. He is Allah, the One, the All-Subduing.
this Name is in the Qur’an
What it asks of you
Count how many things you actually serve in a week. Oneness is a practical claim before it is a theological one.
Read beside it
The words