The Concept of God In Islam

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

“Say: He is Allah, the One; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not,

nor is He begotten, and there is none like unto Him.”

[Al-Qur’an 112:1-4]

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 the word ‘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 exclusivity when compared to the

word ‘god’ which can be made plural, i.e.‘gods’ or

feminine, i.e. ‘goddess’. It is interesting to note

that Allah is the personal name of God in Aramaic,

the language of Jesus (p)1 . The word Allah 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 none

and nothing is comparable to Him. The Prophet

Muhammad (p) was asked by his contemporaries

about Allah. The answer came directly from

God Himself in the form of a short chapter of the

Qur’an that is considered the essence of the Unity

of God or the motto of monotheism.

 

“Say: He is Allah, the One; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He

begetteth not, nor is He begotten, and there is none

like unto Him.” [Al-Qur’an 112:1-4]

 

Some non-Muslims allege that the concept of God

in Islam is that of a stern and cruel God who demands to be obeyed fully. He is not loving and kind. Nothing can be farther from the truth than

this allegation. It is enough to know that with the

exception of one, each of the 114 chapters of the

Qur’an begins with the verse: “In the Name of

Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful” In one of the

sayings of Prophet Muhammad (p) we are told:

“God is more loving and kinder than a mother to

her dear child.”

 

Besides being Merciful, God is Just too. Hence

evildoers and sinners must have their share of

punishment and the virtuous their rightful reward.

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 in the Hereafter and thereby negating all the incentives for a moral and virtuous life in this world.

 

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 earn His favor

through virtue and piety alone

 

The concept that God rested on the seventh day of

creation, that God wrestled with one of His sol

diers, 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 the per

sonal name of God is a reflection of Islam’s empha

sis on the purity of the belief in God.This belief in

the Unity of God, is the essence of the message of

all the Prophets of God. Because of this, Islam con

siders associating any deity or personality with

God as a grave sin that God will never forgive if the

person dies without repenting.

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 caused Him to come into existence, noth

ing outside Him causes Him to continue to exist,

which means that He must be self-sufficient.And if

He does not depend on anything for the continu

ance of His own existence, then this existence can

have no end.The Creator is therefore eternal: “He

is the First and the Last, the Evident and the

Immanent: and He has full knowledge of all things.”

[Al-Qur’an 57:3]

He is self-sufficient or self-subsistent or, to use a

Qur’anic term, He is Al-Qayyum.The Creator does

not create only in the sense of bringing things into existence.

He also preserves them and takes them out of existence and

is the ultimate cause of whatever happens to them.

“Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the Guardian

and Disposer of all affairs.To Him belong the keys

of the heavens and the earth: and those who reject

the Signs of Allah,- it is they who will be in loss.”

[Al-Qur’an 39:62-63]

“There is no moving creature on earth but its sustenance

dependeth on Allah: He knoweth the time and place of its

definite abode and its temporary deposit:All is in a clear

Record.”[Al-Qur’an 57:3]

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 Qur’an sum

marizes this argument in the following verses:

“No son did Allah beget, nor is there any god along with

Him: (if there were many gods), behold, each

god would have taken away what he had created,

and some would have lorded it over others! Glory to Allah!

(He is free) from the (sort of) things they attribute to

Him!” [Al-Qur’an 23:91]

 

THE ONENESS OF GOD

The Qur’an reminds us of the falsity of all alleged gods.

To the worshippers of man-made objects it asks:

“Worship ye that which ye have (yourselves) carved? But

Allah has created you and your handwork.”[

Al-Qur’an 37:95-96]

“Say:‘Do ye then take (for worship) protectors other than

Him, such as have no power either for good or for harm to

themselves?” [Al-Qur’an 13:16]

To the worshippers of heavenly bodies it cites the story

of Abraham: “When the night covered him over, He saw a

star: He said:‘This is my Lord.’ But when it set, He said:‘I

love not those that set.’ When he saw the moon rising in

splendor, he said:‘This is my Lord.’ But when the moon set,

He said:‘unless my Lord guide me, I shall surely be among

those who go astray.’ When he saw the sun rising in splen

dor, he said:‘This is my Lord; this is the greatest (of all).’

But when the sun set, he said:‘O my people! I am indeed

free from your (guilt) of giving partners to Allah. For me, I

have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who creat

ed the heavens and the earth, and never shall I give part

ners to Allah.” [Al-Qur’an 6:76-79]

THE BELIEVERS ATTITUDE

In order to be a Muslim (i.e., to submit 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 idolators knew

and believed that only the Supreme God could do all this.

To acquire Tawhid Ar-Rububiyyah one must add Tawhid

Al-Uluhiyyah, i.e. one acknowledges the fact that it is

God alone who deserves to be worshiped, 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 the

truth. When true faith enters a person’s heart, it

impacts the person’s outlook and behavior. The

Prophet said, “Faith is that which resides firmly in

the heart and which is proved by deeds”. One of

the striking results of faith is the feeling of grati

tude towards God, which could be said to be the

essence of Ibada (worship).The feeling of gratitude

is so important that anyone denying the Truth is

called kafir, ‘one who is ungrateful.’ A believer

loves, and is grateful to God for the bounties He

bestowed upon him. He is aware of the fact that his

good deeds are far from being commensurate with

Divine favors, and therefore he is always anxious to

please God. He remembers God often. The

Qur’an promotes this feeling of gratitude by

repeating the attributes of God very frequently.

“Allah! There is no god but He, the Living, the

Self-subsisting, Eternal.No slumber can seize Him

nor sleep.His are all things in the heavens and on

earth.Who is there can intercede in His presence

except as He permitteth? He knoweth what (appeareth

to His creatures as) before or after or behind them.

Nor shall they compass aught of His knowledge

except as He willeth. His Throne doth extend over the

heavens and the earth, and He feeleth no fatigue in

guarding and preserving them for He is the Most

High, the Supreme (in glory).” [Al-Qur’an 2:255]

 

1. (p) here stands for “peace be upon him”