Who is
Allah?
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 Sustainers 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
favours. 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 Quran 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 favouring 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 favour
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)
III&E Brochure Series; No. 2
(published by The Institute of Islamic Information and Education
(III&E))
INTRODUCTION OF III&E
The Institute of Islamic Information and Education (III&E) is
dedicated to the cause of Islam in North America through
striving to elevate the image of Islam and Muslims by providing
the correct information about Islamic beliefs, history and
civilizations from the authentic sources. Enquiries are welcome.
For more information please contact:
The Institute of Islamic Information and Education
P.O. Box 41129
Chicago, Illinois 60641-0129 U.S.A.
Reprinted with the permission of World Assembly of Muslim
Youth (WAMY), P.O. Box 10845, Riyadh 11443, Saudi Arabia
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