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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 reat 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.
He is Self-Sufficient or Self-Subsistent or, to
use a Qur'anic 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 say 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 say 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."
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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