The concept of God differs in different religions. The major religions of the world can be divided into two broad categories — the Aryan’s and the Semitic, with Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism falling in the former and Judaism, Christianity and Islam in the latter.

The basic difference in respect to the concept of God in the beliefs of the Aryan and Semitic religions can be briefly described in terms of monism and monotheism respectively. Although both traditions — monism and monotheism — have the idea of God in common but there are fundamental differences in their conceptualization of God.

In the Aryan tradition or in the monistic concept, God is an all-pervasive force rather than an independent reality. Monism posits the totality of a single reality, with all the diverse phenomena of the natural world seen as different manifestations of the same reality. According to this concept, therefore, there is no real difference between the creator and the creature. Thus as per the monistic concept, a personalized God does not exist.

In Semitic religions, particularly in Islam, the concept of God is entirely based on monotheism. This concept can also be termed as dualism — that the Creator and the creature are completely different from one another - and that God has a real and eternal existence. As the Creator of all things, He is distinct from all He has created. His creatures in their seemingly independent existence totally depend upon the will of God. The sole possessor of all power, God, has created man to live for a specific period of time, during which he is sent into the world to be tested.

The concept of monotheism is fundamental to the religious structure of Islam. As the seed is to tree, so is Monotheism to Islam. Just as the tree is a wonderfully developed extension of the seed, so is the religious system of Islam a multi-faceted expression of a single basic concept. Monotheism in Islam does not simply mean – belief in one God, but oneness in God in all respects. No one shares in this oneness of God. God is One, Eternal and Absolute. He is everything, everything is from Him. God, the Creator of all things is the Sustainer of the universe.

Chapter 112 of the Qur’an, entitled Ikhlas, gives us the essence of monotheism. Not only does it tell us of the oneness of God, but it also makes it clear what the oneness of God means. This chapter presents the concept of God, purified of all human interpolation, for, prior to the advent of Islam, tampering with the sacred text had caused this concept of God to be distorted for all would-be believers.

God is not many. He is only one. All depend upon him. He depends on none. He, in his own being, is all-powerful. He is above to ‘beget’ or ‘begotten’. He is such a unique being who has no equal or compare. All kind of oneness belongs to this Almighty Being. The concept of One God is the actual beginning point and also the only source of Islamic teachings.