The oneness of God

Bahá'ís believe that there is one supernatural being, God, who has created all the creatures and forces in the universe; God is omnipotent, omniscient, and perfect; and that although people have different concepts of God and His nature, and call Him by different names, everyone is speaking of the same one Being. Bahá'u'lláh writes on this subject:

“ All-praise to the unity of God, and all-honor to Him, the sovereign Lord, the incomparable and all-glorious Ruler of the universe, Who, out of utter nothingness, hath created the reality of all things, Who, from naught, hath brought into being the most refined and subtle elements of His creation, and Who, rescuing His creatures from the abasement of remoteness and the perils of ultimate extinction, hath received them into His kingdom of incorruptible glory. Nothing short of His all-encompassing grace, His all-pervading mercy, could have possibly achieved it. ”

The Bahá'í teachings state that God is too great for humans to fully understand Him or to create an image of Him. Even the attributes that Bahá'ís attribute to Him such as the All-Powerful, and the All-Loving are derived from limited human experiences of power, love, or justice. Bahá'u'lláh teaches that knowledge of God is limited to those attributes and qualities which are perceptible to us, and thus direct knowledge of God is not possible. Furthermore Bahá'u'lláh states that the knowledge of the attributes of God is revealed to humanity through the messengers he sends to humanity.

“ So perfect and comprehensive is His creation that no mind or heart, however keen or pure, can ever grasp the nature of the most insignificant of His creatures; much less fathom the mystery of Him Who is the Day Star of Truth, Who is the invisible and unknowable Essence... ”
“ As our knowledge of things, even of created and limited things, is knowledge of their qualities and not of their essence, how is it possible to comprehend in its essence the Divine Reality, which is unlimited? ... Knowing God, therefore, means the comprehension and the knowledge of His attributes, and not of His Reality. This knowledge of the attributes is also proportioned to the capacity and power of man; it is not absolute. ”

At the same time the Bahá'í teachings talk about a personal God who is a personal being with a personality, including the capacity to reason and feel love; the Bahá'í teachings note that the idea of a personal God does not mean that God has a human or physical form. Shoghi Effendi writes:

“ What is meant by personal God is a God Who is conscious of His creation, Who has a Mind, a Will, a Purpose, and not, as many scientists and materialists believe, an unconscious and determined force operating in the universe. Such conception of the Divine Being, as the Supreme and ever present Reality in the world, is not anthropomorphic, for it transcends all human limitations and forms, and does by no means attempt to define the essence of Divinity which is obviously beyond any human comprehension. To say that God is a personal Reality does not mean that He has a physical form, or does in any way resemble a human being. To entertain such belief would be sheer blasphemy
 

Effendi, Shoghi (1944). God Passes By. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, pp.139. ISBN 0877430209.

 a b Cole, Juan (1982). "The Concept of Manifestation in the Bahá'í Writings". Bahá'í Studies monograph 9: pp. 1-38.
 Bahá'u'lláh (1976). Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, pp.64-65. ISBN 0-87743-187-6.
 Bahá'u'lláh (1976). Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, pp.60-64. ISBN 0-87743-187-6.
 `Abdu'l-Bahá [1904-06] (1981). Some Answered Questions. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, pp. 220-21. ISBN 0-87743-190-6.
 From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, April 21, 1939. published in (1983) Hornby, Helen (Ed.): Lights of Guidance: A Bahá'í Reference File. Bahá'í Publishing Trust, New Delhi, India. ISBN 81-85091-46-3.
 `Abdu'l-Bahá [1912] (1982). The Promulgation of Universal Peace, Hardcover, Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, pp. 148. ISBN 0-87743-172-8.

Determinism in quantum mechanics  Conceptions of God   God as unity or Trinity   Different Names of God