It is to be noted first that the Islamic belief in God is very unique. Allah is separate and distinct from all His creation; He is not similar to anything, and nor related to anyone, yet He is not heedless and inconsiderate of His creation. He is their shelter and savior. He is not begotten by anyone, nor does He beget. And no one is even close to being equal to Him. The relation of the Creator with the created is not a father-child relation nor one of partners. The relation is that of the Worshiped and the worshiper, The Master and His submitting servants. This belief is summarized in one of the shortest surahs of the Qur’an which states: “Say: He is Allah, the One! Allah, the eternally Besought of all! He begetteth not nor was begotten. And there is none comparable unto Him.” (Al-Ikhlas: 1-4)
Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi, former President of the Islamic Society of North America, states: “We Muslims should not use the abbreviation A.D. when writing dates according to the Gregorian calendar. A.D. stands for anno domini, “the year of our Lord” and we do not call anyone except Allah “Lord”. Nowadays, some non-Christians use the abbreviation C.E. (common era). I strongly suggest that we use C.E. rather than A.D.”