In
any discussion about the Names of God, it is important to understand that
Muslims believe in One True God, the only Creator, the One Who has Dominion
over all that exists, has ever existed or will come to exist. A Muslim
worships the same One God whom all the Prophets worshipped.
“...were you witnesses when death approached Jacob? When he
said unto his sons, ‘What will you worship after me?’ They said, ‘We
shall worship your God, the God of your fathers, Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac,
One God, and to Him we submit (in Islam).” (Quran 2:133)
The
Prophets of Islam include the same Prophets present in Jewish and Christian
traditions; they all came to their people with the same message – to
recognize and to worship the One God. Judaism and Christianity in their
original form and also Islam as we know it today, astogether are all
from this One True God. However, Islam revealed to the Prophet Muhammad
is the completion of God’s revelations to all of mankind. After realising
this, it becomes equally important to understand that Islam totally rejects
any notion that God has partners or associates, or that He in some way
combines with men or animals to form a deity of any sort. God is God,
the One, the Only. “...there is nothing like
Him.” (Quran 42:11)
Muslims
believe in the One Unique, Merciful God, the sole Creator and Sustainer of
the Universe and they call him by His revealed Name – Allah. In this
age of mass communication and unfettered technological advancement, there is
scarcely a single human being who has not heard this word and
understood that it forms part of the belief system that is Islam.
However perhaps some confusion arises, and people may wonder who Allah is.
In
Arabic, Allah means the One True God worthy of all submission and devotion.
Jewish and Christian Arabs refer to God as Allah, and He is the same
One True God referred to in the Biblical passage “Hear O Israel, the Lord
your God is One”. (Deuteronomy 6.4 & Mark 12.29) The word God
is spelled and pronounced differently in many languages: the French call him
Dieu, the Spanish, Dios and the Chinese refer to the One God as Shangdi;
nevertheless. the God of the monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity
and Islam) are the same.
The
differences and confusions arise because the word “God” can be made plural as
in gods, or change gender, as in goddess. This is not the case in
Arabic. The word Allah stands alone, there is no plural or gender.
The use of the words He or Him are grammatical only and in no way indicate
that Allah has any form of gender that is comprehensible to us. Allah
is unique and He does not share His name with what can describe idols.
His name is unchangeable. Allah describes Himself to us in the
Quran:
“Say (O Muhammad): He is Allah, (the Unique) One. Allah,
the Eternal (Foundation).[1]
He begets not, nor was He begotten; and there is none co-equal or
comparable unto Him.” (Quran 112)
A
Muslim is one who has surrendered to God and is in no doubt that, He is the
One and Only Creator. A Muslim is grateful for all the bounties and
blessings bestowed upon him by God, he looks around and observes the wonders
of the universe. A Muslim marvels at the depth of the oceans and the
delicate petals of a flower. However, this belief is not the only thing
required by a Muslim, he must also know with certainty it is God alone that
deserves to be worshipped. He has no partners, no equals, and no sons
or daughters.
He
is God – Allah. The entire universe bears witness to His Oneness.
Indeed when contemplating the universe, from the lowliest grain of sand to
the mighty and majestic mountains, one can see the Magnificence of God.
This vast universe is running according to a precise system, everything in
its correct place, created in the right proportions. The sun rises and
casts its glow upon us, the flowers bloom and life springs from tiny
inanimate seeds. God has given every part of creation what it needs,
and He has guided it to what is most suitable. All of creation is in
need of Him, yet He is in need of none. Every creation has a purpose
and fulfilling that purpose acknowledges the rights of the Creator. God
said in the Quran that He did not create us except that we should worship Him
(Quran 51:56) and that is His right over us.
The
first principle and focal point of Islam is this belief in God, and the whole
of the Quran is dedicated to this. It speaks directly about God and His
Essence, Names, Attributes and Actions. God is mentioned in the Quran,
by one or another of His Names or Attributes, 10,062 times. The greatest of
God’s names is Allah.
“Allah! (None has the right to be worshipped but He)!
To Him belong the Best Names.” (Quran 20:8)
“And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allah, so call on
Him by them, and leave the company of those who belie or deny (or utter
impious speech against) His Names.” (Quran 7:180)
A
Muslim is encouraged to remember God and be grateful to Him at all times and
one easy, yet beneficial way of doing this, is to contemplate and understand
His Beautiful Names. Through these names, we are able to know our
Creator and learn how to praise and worship Him, and to call on Him by the
Names that are indicative of our needs.
When
making supplication, the Prophet Muhammad is known to have said, "O God,
I ask you of you by every name that You have named yourself, or that You have
revealed in Your book, or that You have taught any of Your creation or that
You have kept hidden in the unseen knowledge with Yourself.” (Ahmad)
Thus, His Names are not limited to what He has revealed in the Quran or to the traditions of Prophet Muhammad.
God
says in the Quran: “Verily! I am
Allah! None has the right to be worshipped but I, so worship
Me...” (Quran 20:14). To worship God one must know
God. We gain real and everlasting benefit from this knowledge. It
increases faith and allows ones heart to become attached to the Most
Powerful, the Most Wise, the Most Merciful and the Most Just, Allah.
Footnotes:
[1] In Arabic “Samad” (The
Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need, He neither eats nor drinks)
|
An Islamic blog with scriptural teachings on topical islamic issues based on verdicts from Quran, Hadith, Fiqhiu, Fatwah and thorough researches. Inspiring stories, Islam in history, Islamic Videos and cartoons for Kids, Questions and answers, Current Affairs and News
Friday, October 3, 2014
About GOD, in Islam?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment