Let us consider again the basic teaching of tawhid: God is absolutely one. This means that, in eternity past, before he had created anything, Allah was alone. One person, all by himself. It was not until he chose to create the universe that Allah had anything to relate with. This is a significant theological problem because, through the ninety-nine names and otherwise, Islam teaches that Allah is a relational being. But if he had nothing to relate with before creating the universe, how could he be a relational being?
