In a book that I was recently using for my research into the concept of monotheism, I ran across an interesting statement which I was hoping to get some comment on. The author has proposed that the mention of “there is no God but Allah” came into mention in the Qur’ān only in the Madīnan verses, and that initially this was not mentioned in the Qur’ān. He has suggested that initially the notion that Allah is Great, was promoted so as to lift Allah above the other gods, but not to directly reject the other gods. He suggested that only after Muhammad (sws) gained power in Madīnah did he utilise the concept of monotheism to secure his power. Is this true?
This is not true at all. There are so many Makkan Sūrahs of the Qur’ān which depict the concept of monotheism, and positively negate the existence of other gods besides Allah. (To quote just a few, see for example, 6:19,106; 13:30; 16:2,51; 20:8,14,98; 21:25; 23:23,116; 27:60,61,62,63; 28:88; 37:35; 38:68; 39:6; 40:3; 44:8, 75:9). In fact, some of these Makkan Sūrahs, while recounting the basic message of the various Prophets of Allah which preceded Muhammad (sws), say that this belief was the very first tenet of their message:
We sent Noah to his people. He said O my people! worship Allah. You have no other God but Him. I fear for you the punishment of a dreadful day … To the A^d people [We sent] Hūd, one of their own brethren. He said O my people! worship Allah. You have no other God but Him. Will you not fear [Him] … To the Thamūd people [We sent] Sālih, one of their own brethren. He said O my people! worship Allah. You have no other God but Him … To the Madyan people [We sent] Shu‘ayb, one of their own brethren. He said O my people! worship Allah. You have no other God but Him. (7: 59, 65, 73, 85)