Correct Aqeeda Series Part 2

WHat is islam


Umar bin Al-Khattab (May Allah be pleased with them) said: Once we were sitting in the company of Messenger of Allah (PBUH) when there appeared a man dressed in very white clothes and having extraordinary black hair. No signs of fatigue of journey appeared on him and he was known to none of us. 

He sat down facing the Prophet (PBUH) leaning his knees against the knees of the Prophet (PBUH) and placing both of his palms over his two thighs and said, 
"O Muhammad (PBUH)! Tell me about Islam". He (PBUH)replied, "Islam is to testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, and that Muhammad (PBUH) is the Messenger of Allah; that you observe Salat (prayers), pay Zakat, observe Saum (fasting) of Ramadan and perform Hajj (pilgrimage) of the House, provided you have resources of making journey to it.'' He replied: "You have spoken the truth". We were surprised to see that he had asked him and confirmed the correctness of the answers. 

He then enquired: "Tell me about Iman". He (PBUH) said. "It is to believe in Allah, and His Books, and His Messengers and the Last Day and that you believe in foreordainment, its bad and good consequences.'' He said, "You have spoken the truth.'' 


He then enquired: "Tell me about Ihsan.'' He (PBUH) said, "It is to worship Allah as if you are seeing Him; and although you do not see Him, He sees you". 

He enquired: "Inform me about the Hour (i.e., the Day of Resurrection)". He (PBUH) replied, "I have no more knowledge thereof than you". 

He said, "Inform me about some of its signs". He (PBUH) said, "They are - that a bondswoman gives birth to her own master, and that you will find the barefooted, naked, poor shepherds competing one another in the construction of higher buildings". Then he departed. 

The Messenger of Allah kept silent for a while then he said to me, "O `Umar! Do you know who the questioner was?'' 

I replied, "Allah and His Messenger know better". The Prophet (PBUH) said, "He was Jibril (Gabriel); he came to you to teach you your religion".

[Muslim].

Introduction to Islam

Islam is a Semitic religion, which has over one billion adherents all over the world. Islam means "submission to the will of God". Muslims accept the Qur’an, as the word of God revealed to His last and final prophet, Muhammad (peace be upon him). Islam states that Allah sent messengers and prophets throughout the ages with the message of Unity of God and accountability in the Hereafter. Islam thus makes it an article of faith to believe in all the earlier prophets, starting with Adam, and continuing with Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, John the Baptist and Jesus amongst many others (may peace be on them all).

Concept of God In Islam

• The Most Concise Definition of God
• Surah Ikhlas - the touchstone of theology
• What does Islam say about ‘god-men’?
• By what name do we call God?
• God does not take human form:
• God does not perform ungodly acts:
• God only performs Godly acts:
• Philosophy Of Anthropomorphism
• The Creator prepares the instruction manual
• Allah chooses Messengers:
• Each attribute of God is unique and possessed by Him alone:
• Unity of God
• Tawheed

The Most Concise Definition of God

"Say: He is Allah,
The One and Only.
"Allah, the Eternal, Absolute.
"He begets not, nor is He begotten.
And there is none like unto Him."

[Al-Qur’an 112:1-4]

The word ‘Assamad’ is difficult to translate. It means ‘absolute existence’, which can be attributed only to Allah (swt), all other existence being temporal or conditional. It also means that Allah (swt) is not dependent on any person or thing, but all persons and things are dependent on Him.

Surah Ikhlas - the touchstone of theology:

Surah Ikhlas (Chapter 112) of the Glorious Qur’an, is the touchstone of theology. ‘Theo’ in Greek means God and ‘logy’ means study. Thus Theology means study of God and to Muslims this four line definition of Almighty God serves as the touchstone of the study of God. Any candidate to divinity must be subjected to this ‘acid test’. Since the attributes of Allah given in this chapter are unique, false gods and pretenders to divinity can be easily dismissed using these verses.

About GOD

1) "No vision can grasp Him
But His grasp is over
All vision: He is
Above all comprehension,
Yet is acquainted with all things."

[Al-Qur'an 6:103]

2) "There is nothing whatever like unto Him." 

 [Al-Qur'an 42:11]

A) God does not perform ungodly acts:

The attributes of Almighty God preclude any evil since God is the source of justice, mercy and truth. God can never be thought of as doing an ungodly act. Hence we cannot imagine God telling a lie, being unjust, making a mistake, forgetting things, or having any such human failings. Similarly God can do injustice if He chooses to, but He will never do it because being unjust is an ungodly act.

3)"Allah is never unjust In the least degree."

[Al-Qur'an 4:40]

4) Qur’an says: "…my Lord never errs." 

 [Holy Qur'an 20:52]

5) my Lord never errs, nor forgets." 

 [Al-Qur’an 20:52]

B) God only performs Godly acts:

The Islamic concept of God is that God has power over all things. The Qur’an says in several places (Al -Qur’an 2:106; 2:109; 2:284; 3:29; 16:77; and 35:1):

6)"For verily Allah has power over all things" Further, the Glorious Qur’an says: "Allah is the doer of all that  He intends."

 [Al-Qura'n 85:16]

Holy Qur’an is the instruction manual for the human being:

Our Lord and Creator Allah (swt) chooses to reveal the instruction manual. The last and final instruction manual of the human beings is the Glorious Qur’an. The ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ for the human beings are mentioned in the Qur’an.

If you allow me to compare human beings with machines, I would say humans are more complicated than the most complex machines in the world. Even the most advanced computers, which are extremely complex, are pale in comparison to the myriad physical, psychological, genetic and social factors that affect individual and collective human life.
The more advanced the machine, greater is the need for its instruction manual. By the same logic, don’t human beings require an instruction manual by which to govern their own lives?

Allah chooses Messengers:

Allah (swt) need not come down personally for giving the instruction manual. He chooses a man amongst men to deliver the message and communicates with him at a higher level through the medium of revelations. Such chosen men are called messengers and prophets of God. Some people are ‘blind’ and ‘deaf’:

Despite the absurdity of the philosophy of anthropomorphism, followers of many religions believe in and preach it to others. Is it not an insult to human intelligence and to the Creator who gave us this intelligence? Such people are truly ‘deaf’ and ‘blind’ despite the faculty of hearing and sight given to them by Allah. 

The Qur’an says: "Deaf, dumb, and blind, They will not return (to the path)."    

 [Al-Qur'an 2:18]

The Bible gives a similar message in the Gospel of Matthew:

"Seeing they see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand."    [The Bible, Matthew 13:13]

A similar message is also given in the Hindu Scriptures in the Rigveda.

"There maybe someone who sees the words and yet indeed does not see them; may be another one who hears these words but indeed does not hear them." 1

[Rigveda 10:71:4]

All these scriptures are telling their readers that though the things are made so clear yet many people divert away from the truth.

Attributes of God:

To Allah belong the most beautiful names: The Qur’an says:
"Say: Call upon Allah, or Call upon Rahman: By whatever name you call
Upon Him, (it is well): For to Him belong The Most Beautiful Names."

[Al-Qur'an 17:110]

A similar message regarding the beautiful names of Allah (swt) is repeated in the Qur’an in Surah Al-A’raf (7:180), in Surah Taha (20:8) and in Surah Al-Hashr (59:24).

The Qur’an gives no less than ninety-nine different attributes to Almighty Allah. The Qur’an refers to Allah as Ar-Rahman (Most Gracious), Ar-Raheem (Most Merciful) and Al-Hakeem (All Wise) among many other names. You can call Allah by any name but that name should be beautiful and should not conjure up a mental picture.

Each attribute of God is unique and possessed by Him alone:

God is the creator of the universe. If someone asks who is the creator of the universe, the answer is only one, i.e. Almighty God is the Ultimate Creator. Similarly, following are some of the many unique attributes possessed by none other than the Creator of the universe, Almighty Allah:

"Ar-Raheem", the Most Merciful
"Ar-Rahman", the Most Gracious
"Al-Hakeem", the Most Wise

So when one asks, "Who is ‘Ar-Raheem’, (the Most Merciful)?", there can only be one answer: "Almighty Allah".

One attribute of God should not contradict with other attributes:

If someone says that God is the Creator of the Universe and has one head, two hands, two feet, etc., the attribute (Creator of the Universe) is correct but the associated quality (in the form of human being) is wrong and false.

All attributes should point to the one and same God:

Since there is only one God, all the attributes should point to one and the same God

Some polytheists argue by saying that the existence of more than one God is not illogical. Let us point out to them that if there were more than one God, they would dispute with one another, each god trying to fulfill his will against the will of the other gods. This can be seen in the mythology of the polytheistic and pantheistic religions. If a ‘God’ is defeated or unable to defeat the others, he is surely not the one true God. Also popular among polytheistic religions is the idea of many Gods, each having different responsibilities. Each one would be responsible for a part of man’s existence e.g. a Sun-God, a Rain-God, etc. This indicates that one ‘God’ is incompetent of certain acts and moreover he is also ignorant of the other Gods’ powers, duties, functions and responsibilities. There cannot be an ignorant and incapable God. If there were more than one God it would surely lead to confusion, disorder, chaos and destruction in the universe. But the universe is in complete harmony. 

The Glorious Qur’an says: "If there were, in the heavens And the earth, other gods Besides Allah, there would Have been confusion in both! But glory to Allah, The Lord of the Throne: (High is He) above What  they  attribute to Him!" 

[Al-Qur’an 21:22]

If there were more than one God, they would have taken away what they created. The Qur’an says:

"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]

Thus the existence of one True, Unique, Supreme, Almighty God, is the only logical concept of God.