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Attributes of Allah |
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Publishing date : 23.12.2015 |
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To believe in Allah is the main article of the faith in Islam. To believe in Allah means believing in His Essence, in His Attributes and His Acts. In this article we will consider and explain the Attributes of Allah. If one does not believe in these attributes, he can not be a perfect Muslim.
The Essence of Allah It is impossible to know the true nature of God’s essence. Through reason one can only understand His existence. Sharia prohibits the understanding of God’s essence through human mind. Because the understanding of God’s essence is impossible for the human mind. The verse below explains the existence of God indubitable: ‘He is God, there is no deity save Him, the Sovereign, the Most pure, the Source of Peace, The Granter of Security, the Protector, the Mighty, the Subduer, the Supreme, Glory be to God, who is far above what they associate with Him.’(Al-Hashr, verse 23) Every Muslim is obligatory to declare the belief in His Existence by the tongue by uttering the testifying of the following statement: ‘I testify no one is God except Allah and Muhammad (sav) is His Messenger.’ The one who does not believe in Allah and His Messenger is a blasphemer and shall enter Hell for ever.
The Attributes of Allah According to the Islamic scholars there are some attributes of Allah that every Muslim is obliged to know them. To know and memorize these attributes protect the faith of Muslim. In Sufism it is stated that ‘The Attributes of Allah are not Him nor other than Him.’ It means that the Attributes of Allah are not the Self of Allah nor other than the Self of Allah.’ Rather we say they are attributes with which Allah is attributed and they are religiously and intellectually obligatory for every pubescent and sane Muslim. The Attributes of Allah are Existence, Oneness, Non-resemblance to the creatures, Non-neediness of others, Eternity, Everlastingness, Life, Know, Will, Power, Hearing, Sight, Speech, Creation (Genesis). We explain these attributes by giving the relevant verses in The Quran. Existence It means that it is essential for the existence of God. The existence of God is according to His Essence. His existence takes the place of His Essence and is absolute necessary attribute of His Essence. ‘Who originates creation, then regenerates it, and who gives you sustenance from heavens and earth? Then, is there a deity besides God? Say, Bring forward your proofs, if you are telling the truth.’ (Al-Naml, verse 64) ‘Ask them, ‘Tell me, if God were to extend perpetual night over you till the Day of Judgment, is there any deity other than God that could bring you light? Will you not listen?’ (Al-Qasas, verse 71) Oneness It means that Allah is unique without any partner and any resembling. The faith in the Uniqueness of God is essential in Islam. If a person does not believe in the Uniqueness of God none of his beliefs and deeds is valid according to Allah. Thus after confirming the existence of God, the most important fact is the faith in the Uniqueness of God. ‘God! There is no deity save Him, the Living, the Sustainer.’ (Al-‘Imran, verse 2) ‘God bears witness that there is no deity save Him, as do the angels and those who possess knowledge. He is the upholder of justice. There is no deity save Him, the Mighty, the Wise One.’ (Al-‘Imran, verse 18) Non-Resemblance of the creatures Allah does not resemble anything among His creatures – neither in His Self nor in His Attributes nor in His Doings. ‘Creator of the Heavens and the Earth, He has made spouses for you from among yourselves, as well as pairs of livestock by means of which He multiplies His creatures. Nothing can be compared with Him! He is the All Hearing, the All seeing.’ (Al-Shura, verse 11) ‘and there is nothing like Him.’ (Al-Ikhlas, verse 4) Non-Neediness of others Allah is not in need of the creatures. He does not need one to give Him existence because God exists eternity by Self. Everything occurred later except Allah. So everything is in need of his Creator who is God. Everything is created by Him. Rather He does not need one to specify Him with Knowledge and Attributes. His Attributes exist without a beginning. ‘… Anyone who disbelieves should remember that God is independent of all creatures.’ (Al-‘Imran, verse 97) ‘God, the Self-sufficient One’ (Al-Ikhlas, verse 2) Eternity Muslims are obligatory to believe Allah is Eternal, i.e. there is no beginning to His Existence. Therefore the absence is not the case for God. His attributes are also eternal. ‘He is the First and the Last, the Outward and the Inward. He has knowledge of all things.’ (Al-Hadid, verse 3) ‘God: there is no deity save Him, the Living, the Eternal One…’ (Al-Baqarah, verse 255) Everlastingness It is obligatory to believe in that Allah is everlasting, i.e., His existence does not end. His existence and His Attributes are everlasting. There is nothing everlasting in itself except Allah. So the annihilation is not the case for Allah. The everlasting of Paradise and Hell is because of God’s Will. ‘Put your trust in the One who is the Ever-Living, who never dies, and glorify Him with His praise. He is fully aware of the sins of His servants.’ (Al-Furqan, verse 58) ‘All that is on the earth is doomed to perish, while your Lord’s own Self will remain full of majesty and glory.’ (Al-Rahman, verses 26, 27) Life God is alive. This attribute allows God to be characterized by the Attributes such as Knowledge, Will and Power. It is possible to talk of the Knowledge , Will and Power for some one only if it is alive. The opposite of this Attribute is to be dead. That is absolute impossible for God. The life of Allah is His Attribute. His life is not like our life. ‘on that Day all faces shall be humbled before the Living, Self-Subsisting One. Those burdened with evil deeds will come to grief.’(Ta Ha, verse 111) ‘He is the Living One. There is no deity save Him. So pray to him, making religion pure for Him (only). Prais be to God, the Lord of the Universe!’ (Ghafir, verse 65) Knowledge It is an eternal and everlasting attribute of His Self. God knows everything and His Knowledge surrounds all things. Nothing in the universe is absent from His Knowledge. The opposite of Knowledge is ignorance which is absolute impossible for God. ‘It is He who created everything on the earth for you: then He turned towards heaven and fashioned it into the seven heavens. He has knowledge of all things.’ (Al-Baqarah, verse 29) ‘Say, ‘God knows everything that is in your heart, whether you conceal it or reveal it; He knows everything that the heavens and earth contain; God has power over all things.’ (Al-‘Imran, verse 29) Will God creates everything as He wishes. Everything in the universe which has been and will be, has been by Wish and Will of God. And it will be so in future. ‘Lord, said Zachariah, ‘how shall I have a son when I am now overtaken by old age and my wife is barren?’ Such is the Will of God,’ replied (the angel), ‘He does what He pleases.’ (Al-‘Imran, verse 40) ‘remaining in it timelessly, for ever, as long as the heavens and earth endure, except as your Lord wills. Your Lord carries out whatever He wills.’ (Hud, verse 107) Power God’s Power relates to all things. He has unlimited Power and He is Almighty. We can easily understand this by looking at the universe’s structure and functioning. ‘Each community has its own direction in which it turns: vie, then, with one another in doing good works. Whenever you may be, God will bring you all before Him. God has power over all things.’ (Al-Baqarah, verse 148) ‘The kingdom of the heavens and the earth belongs to God. God has power over all things.’ (Al-‘ýmran, verse 189) Hearing Almighty God hears everything. Nothing is hidden from Him. He hears the finest details of any action. He hears all of prayers and responds to them with wisdom. He hears without an ear, without means and without instruments. ‘Do not make God a pretext, when you swear by Him, to avoid doing good, being righteous and making peace between people. God is all hearing and all knowing.’ (Al-Baqarah, verse 224) ‘To Him belongs all that dwells in the night and the day. He is the All Hearing and the All Knowing.’ (Al-An’am, verse 13) Sight Almighty God sees everything without an instrument and without mean. He sees the finest details of any existence in the universe and nothing is hidden from Him. ‘Attend to your prayers and pay the prescribed alms; any good you store up for yourselves, you will find it with God. Certainly, God sees what you do.’ (Al-Baqarah, verse 110) ‘Your Lord gives abundantly to whom He will and sparingly to whom He pleases. He is informed and observant about His servants.’(Al-Isra, verse 30) Speech Allah speaks without needing letters and sounds. Prophet Moses (pbuh) heard the word of Allah without sound and letter. God created in Moses the ability to hear the speech of God. Quran is called the speech of Allah. Because it is not authored by Muhammad (sav) or Angel Jibril (as). The holy books were sent to the Prophets by the Attribute of Speech. These are all manifestations of Allah’s Speech. ‘We have told you about some messengers sent previously, while We have not yet told you about others. God spoke to Moses directly.’(Al-Nisa, verse 164) ‘Tell them, ‘If the ocean became ink for writing the words of my Lord, surely the ocean would be exhausted before the words of my Lord came to an end – even if We were to add another ocean to it.’ (Al-Kahf, verse 109) Creation (Genesis) God has the attribute to create and invent. He creates something which is absent before. However, creation is not obligatory to Him. He creates if He wishes, He does not create if He does not wish. By some Islamic scholars , the Creation is not accepted as an Attribute of God. They assume the Creation as Doing of God. ‘The Originator of the heavens and the earth. How could He have a son when He has no consort? He created everything and is aware of everything.’ (Al-An’am, verse 101) ‘Surely your Lord is the All Knowing Creator!’ (Al-Hijr, verse 86)
Remark The faith in the Existence of God, the Attributes of God and the Acting of God is essential to be a true Muslim. It is not given permission to deviate from the faith anyway. Bu today Muslims have deviated from the essentials of faith in Islam. So they have fallen into the worst situations in the world. Muslims have left the truth and straightness in their social and religious lives. If one is not in true way, God does not help him. In the Past Muslims were never invincible. We know that none of the prophets was defeated. You should know that Muslims were defeated, because they have forsaken the essentials of the faith in Islam and followed the ways in their social and religious lives which are contrary to the verses in Quran and the recommendations of Prophet Muhammad (sav). We hope that in future Muslims would change their wrong social and religious lives and follow the orders of Quran and the advising of the Prophet Muhammad (sav). Islamic Sufism reveals us that the Islam would be dominate in the world after 20 years, if God wills. We should prepare henceforth ourselves, our families and our surroundings for those nice days. To be successful in this action we have to learn the true Islam and teach the true Islam to the people around us. The success is from God.
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