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Allah :: |
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It is a known fact that every language has one
or more terms that are used in reference to God
and sometimes to lesser deities. This is not the
case with Allah. Allah is the personal name of
the One true God. Nothing else can be called
Allah. The term has no plural or gender. This
shows its uniqueness when compared with the word
god which can be made plural, gods, or feminine,
goddess. It is interesting to notice that Allah
is the personal name of God in Aramaic, the
language of Jesus and a sister language of
Arabic.
The One true God is a reflection of the unique
concept that Islam associates with God. To a
Muslim, Allah is the Almighty, Creator and
Sustainer of the universe, Who is similar to
nothing and nothing is comparable to Him. The
Prophet Muhammad was asked by his contemporaries
about Allah; the answer came directly from God
Himself in the form of a short chapter of the
Quran, which is considered the essence of the
unity or the motto of monotheism. This is
chapter 112 which reads:
"In the name of God, the Merciful, the
Compassionate. Say (O Muhammad) He is God the
One God, the Everlasting Refuge, who has not
begotten, nor has been begotten, and equal to
Him is not anyone."
Some non-Muslims allege that God in Islam is a
stern and cruel God who demands to be obeyed
fully. He is not loving and kind. Nothing can be
farther from truth than this allegation. It is
enough to know that, with the exception of one,
each of the 114 chapters of the Quran begins
with the verse: "In the name of God, the
Merciful, the Compassionate." In one of the
sayings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) we are told
that "God is more loving and kinder than a
mother to her dear child."
But God is also Just. Hence evildoers and
sinners must have their share of punishment and
the virtuous, His bounties and favors. Actually
God's attribute of Mercy has full manifestation
in His attribute of Justice. People suffering
throughout their lives for His sake and people
oppressing and exploiting other people all their
lives should not receive similar treatment from
their Lord. Expecting similar treatment for them
will amount to negating the very belief in the
accountability of man in the Hereafter and
thereby negating all the incentives for a moral
and virtuous life in this world. The following
Quranic verses are very clear and
straightforward in this respect:
"Verily, for the Righteous are gardens of
Delight, in the Presence of their Lord. Shall We
then treat the people of Faith like the people
of Sin? What is the matter with you? How judge
you?" (68:34-36)
Islam rejects characterizing God in any human
form or depicting Him as favoring certain
individuals or nations on the basis of wealth,
power or race. He created the human beings as
equals. They may distinguish themselves and get
His favor through virtue and piety only.
The concept that God rested in the seventh day
of creation, that God wrestled with one of His
soldiers, that God is an envious plotter against
mankind, or that God is incarnate in any human
being are considered blasphemy from the Islamic
point of view.
The unique usage of Allah as a personal name of
God is a reflection of Islam's emphasis on the
purity of the belief in God which is the essence
of the message of all God's messengers. Because
of this, Islam considers associating any deity
or personality with God as a deadly sin which
God will never forgive, despite the fact He may
forgive all other sins.
[Note that what is meant above applies ONLY to
those people who die in a state wherein they are
associating others with God. The repentance of
those who yet live is acceptable to God if He
wills. - MSA of USC]
The Creator must be of a different nature from
the things created because if he is of the same
nature as they are, he will be temporal and will
therefore need a maker. It follows that nothing
is like Him. If the maker is not temporal, then
he must be eternal. But if he is eternal, he
cannot be caused, and if nothing outside him
causes him to continue to exist, which means
that he must be self-sufficient. And if the does
not depend on anything for the continuance of
his own existence, then this existence can have
no end. The Creator is therefore eternal and
everlasting: "He is the First and the Last."
He is Self-Sufficient or Self-Subsistent or, to
use a Quranic term, Al-Qayyum. The Creator does
not create only in the sense of bringing things
into being, He also preserves them and takes
them out of existence and is the ultimate cause
of whatever happens to them.
"God is the Creator of everything. He is the
guardian over everything. Unto Him belong the
keys of the heavens and the earth." (39:62,
63)
"No creature is there crawling on the earth,
but its provision rests on God. He knows its
lodging place and it repository." (11:6)
God's Attributes
If the Creator is Eternal and Everlasting, then
His attributes must also be eternal and
everlasting. He should not lose any of His
attributes nor acquire new ones. If this is so,
then His attributes are absolute. Can there be
more than one Creator with such absolute
attributes? Can there be for example, two
absolutely powerful Creators? A moment's thought
shows that this is not feasible.
The Quran summarizes this argument in the
following verses:
"God has not taken to Himself any son, nor is
there any god with Him: For then each god would
have taken of that which he created and some of
them would have risen up over others."
(23:91)
And Why, were there gods in earth and heaven
other than God, they (heaven and earth) would
surely go to ruin." (21:22)
The Oneness of God
The Quran reminds us of the falsity of all
alleged gods. To the worshippers of man-made
objects, it asks:
"Do you worship what you have carved
yourself?" (37:95)
"Or have you taken unto you others beside Him
to be your protectors, even such as have no
power either for good or for harm to
themselves?" (13:16)
To the worshippers of heavenly bodies it cites
the story of Abraham:
"When night outspread over him he saw a star
and said, 'This is my Lord.' But when it set he
said, 'I love not the setters.' When he saw the
moon rising, he said, 'This is my Lord.' But
when it set he said, 'If my Lord does not guide
me I shall surely be of the people gone astray.'
When he saw the sun rising, he said, 'This is my
Lord; this is greater.' But when it set he said,
'O my people, surely I quit that which you
associate, I have turned my face to Him Who
originated the heavens and the earth; a man of
pure faith, I am not of the idolaters.'"
(6:76-79)
The Believer's Attitude
In order to be a Muslim, i.e., to surrender
oneself to God, it is necessary to believe in
the oneness of God, in the sense of His being
the only Creator, Preserver, Nourisher, etc. But
this belief - later on called "Tawhid
Ar-Rububiyyah" - is not enough. Many of the
idolaters knew and believed that only the
Supreme God could do all this, but that was not
enough to make them Muslims. To tawhid
ar-rububiyyah one must add tawhid al'uluhiyyah,
i.e., one acknowledges the fact that is God
alone Who deserves to be worshipped, and thus
abstains from worshipping any other thing or
being.
Having achieved this knowledge of the one true
God, man should constantly have faith in Him,
and should allow nothing to induce him to deny
truth.
When faith enters a person's heart, it causes
certain mental states which result in certain
actions. Taken together these mental states and
actions are the proof for the true faith. The
Prophet said, "Faith is that which resides
firmly in the heart and which is proved by
deeds." Foremost among those mental states is
the feeling of gratitude towards God which could
be said to be the essence of 'ibada' (worship).
The feeling of gratitude is so important that a
non-believer is called 'kafir' which means 'one
who denies a truth' and also 'one who is
ungrateful.'
A believer loves, and is grateful to God for the
bounties He bestowed upon him, but being aware
of the fact that his good deeds, whether mental
or physical, are far from being commensurate
with Divine favors, he is always anxious lest
God should punish him, here or in the Hereafter.
He, therefore, fears Him, surrenders himself to
Him and serves Him with great humility. One
cannot be in such a mental state without being
almost all the time mindful of God. Remembering
God is thus the life force of faith, without
which it fades and withers away.
The Quran tries to promote this feeling of
gratitude by repeating the attributes of God
very frequently. We find most of these
attributes mentioned together in the following
verses of the Quran:
"He is God; there is no god but He, He is the
Knower of the unseen and the visible; He is the
All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate. He is God,
there is no God but He. He is the King, the
All-Holy, the All-Peace, the Guardian of Faith,
the All-Preserver, the All-Mighty, the
All-Compeller, the All-Sublime. Glory be to God,
above that they associate! He is God the
Creator, the Maker, the Shaper. To Him belong
the Names Most Beautiful. All that is in the
heavens and the earth magnifies Him; He is the
All-Mighty, the All-Wise." (59:22-24)
"There is no god but He, the Living, the
Everlasting. Slumber seizes Him not, neither
sleep; to Him belongs all that is in the heavens
and the earth. Who is there that shall intercede
with Him save by His leave? He knows what lies
before them and what is after them, and they
comprehend not anything of His knowledge save
such as He wills. His throne comprises the
heavens and earth; the preserving of them
oppresses Him not; He is the All-High, the
All-Glorious." (2:255)
"People of the Book, go not beyond the bounds
in your religion, and say not as to God but the
truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only
the Messenger of God, and His Word that He
committed to Mary, and a Spirit from Him. So
believe in God and His Messengers, and say not,
'Three.' Refrain; better is it for you. God is
only one God. Glory be to Him - (He is) above
having a son." (4:171)
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