|
Br. Yasir al-Wakeel
A religious and philosophical outlook concerning The Nature of
Allah, the purpose of creation and the practical implications of our faith
in Allah
Islam is based on monotheism. Tawhid, the oneness of Allah, is
an essential belief for all Muslims. Islam teaches that Allah, the one
god, has 99 attributes. Although we can understand some of His attributes,
His essence cannot be comprehended by a human's limited mental capacity.
Allah has created mankind primarily so that they may know their creator
through his creations. Realisation of the supremacy of Allah, although
necessary for success in the hereafter, has not been enforced on man - it
is a test that is based on the fact that man has been given free will.
However, man's free will is limited, although he has the freedom to choose
between right and wrong, he cannot change parts of his destiny that Allah
has pre-determined. Understanding the nature of Allah is essential as it
has a substantial effect on a Muslim's duties to Allah.
The oneness of Allah is the one most important theological principal in
Islam. The first of the five pillars, the declaration of faith, which is
the first act that one does to embark on Islam, reiterates the necessity
of the belief in the oneness of Allah. It begins with the negation of any
god other than Allah:
"I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that
Mohammed is His messenger."
Beginning with negation rather than affirmation, in this case, serves to
emphasise strongly the importance of the oneness of Allah.
The Quran, the words of Allah mediated to Prophet Muhammad by the
angel Jibril (Gabriel), is full of references to the essential belief in
one god:
Say 'He is Allah the One' 112:1
Surely Allah alone is the creator of all things and he is the One,
the Most Supreme 13:17
Say 'I am only a Warner, and there is no god but Allah, the One, the
Most Supreme. 23:66
Holy is He! He is Allah the One, the Most Supreme 39:5
As well as proving the oneness of god through the Quran, logic too can
help prove this as I shall explain. If you ask a believer in god, whether
he believes in one god or ten, you will probably find that somewhere in
his definition of the term 'God' he rules out the possibility of god being
weak, inferior or compromising. From this, we may say that something that
is weak, inferior or compromising cannot be a God. Yet the very fact that
there is more than one god suggests two contradictory possibilities; That
the Gods are of equal power and therefore are compromising, or that their
power is uneven resulting in some Gods being inferior to others. From this
ontological argument one can conclude that there can only be one true god.
Zoroastrianism- the mainly Greek belief that refers to the belief
that there are two gods- one evil and one good- on account of the
reasoning that I have mentioned can clearly be put aside. However one can
also add that if there was one good god and one evil god, or even any
other form of polytheism, the world would be in chaos and thus the order
of the world would break down. Logically, by the use of the common analogy
that one can not have more than one captain in a boat you can start to see
the reasoning that I am trying to convey. With power in the hands of more
than one god there would clearly be argument. However, one effective point
that non-Muslims or curious ones such as myself put across is that this
theory is contradictory to Islamic teachings, because we are associating
god with the human attribute of not being able to share power. The answer
to this is clear. It is not an assumption by humans that there would be
chaos if there was more than one god, for if it was -putting in mind that
Islam teaches that humans with their finite perceptions cannot make any
assumptions about God- than it would be very wrong. However it is a fact
made known to us by Allah Himself in the Quran:
"If there had been in them (the heaven and the earth)
other gods beside Allah, then surely both would have gone to ruin."
21:23
Pantheism is another theory that Muslims believe to be wrong. Although
Muslims believe that Allah is everywhere, he is a separate entity and
therefore cannot be reincarnated in everything as the pantheists believe -
who although are not strictly defined as polytheists, they are certainly
not monotheistic in the Islamic sense.
Going against the oneness of Allah, Shirk, is a very major
sin:
"Surely Allah will not forgive that any partner be associated
with him" Holy Quran 4:49
Regarding the attributes of Allah, Islam teaches that Allah although He
has many attributes, cannot be fully understood by man. Man is restricted
in thought into that which is manifest, Allah however is unique and above
human manifestation.
Allah, the god of all humanity, is perceived differently in other
religions. Since man would be limiting Allah by creating a physical image
of Him Muslims do not. Allah is as I said unique and superior to His
creations. Thus the biblical statement that was mentioned in Genesis Ch1
v27 that God has created man in his own image is a view that is not shared
by Muslims.
Other religions believe that God resembles creation- they believe
in describing causes by their effects. An example of this is that we can
describe a corpse to be horrifying (the effect) but we may also say that
the person responsible for this death, the murderer, (the cause) is also
horrifying - cause resembles effect. This theory can easily be put aside,
for although it may be true for a limited number of examples, the vast
majority can prove it wrong, i.e. a shoe does not resemble a shoe maker,
etc.
Thus Islam does not try in anyway to personify Allah. Whilst it
may be true that two of His attributes are that He 'Sees' and 'Hears',
this does not mean that He has eyes and ears like you and I, His hearing
or seeing cannot be comprehended by us as finite beings.
Allah, the Almighty, is ideal. He is the 'Just' and the Judge, as
well as the 'Avenger of Evil.' It follows that to test mankind one must
judge fairly and punish those who do evil. An example of Allah's justness
is that we are only accountable for our own actions, unlike the Christian
concept of the original sin, for the Quran says that no bearer can bear a
burden of another.
Muslims do not agree with the Judaeo- Christian concept of God
having the necessity to rest as they say he did after creating the world.
All god needs to say is 'Be and it is.' Tiredness is a human attribute as
is making mistakes, this is not applicable to god who is infallible. Allah
is also pre-existent to all he has created, he is the first, and as
Aristotle put it in his cosmological theory 'the prime mover.'
Allah, the Creator has perfect knowledge. Muslims believe in the
omniscience of Allah, He knows all that is tangible and that is manifest,
He knows the past and the future. Muslims rebuke the Christian belief that
god does not have perfect knowledge, for example in the bible it says that
God underestimated the intelligence of His creations- He did not think
that man could build the tower of Babel (Genesis Ch11 v5-7, Exodus Ch32
v14). Muslims argue that having created everything, He knows all that
there is to know.
To be a Muslim it is essential to believe in the destiny, whether
good or bad, that Allah has set for us (known as Qadr in Arabic).
The Quran says:
"Say, Nothing shall befall us save that which Allah has ordained
for us"
This however does not mean that man does not have free will, for if he did
not Allah's justice would be compromised for you cannot judge a person if
he does not have the freedom of choosing what he does. Allah, the 'Just',
has given man both destiny and free will, the action of a human is
interrelated with destiny and both are mutually necessary, as Imam Ali son
of Abi Talib (AS) said:
"The predestined will of Allah and the action of a human are
like the spirit and the body, the spirit without the body has no
physicality and the body without the soul is a picture without movement.
If the two are adjoined they become like Al-Qadr and action, for if
there was no Qadr then you would not know the difference between
creation and creator, and if there was action without it being willed
and predestined by Allah than it would not happen."
Some things such as our deaths and disease are above human will, no matter
what a person does, if for instance God has set the hour at which you are
to die than it will be so:
"And no soul can die except by Allah's leave- a decree
with a fixed term" Holy Quran 3:146
"They say 'If we had any part in the government of affairs, we
should not have been killed here.' Say 'If you had remained in your
homes, surely those on whom fighting had been enjoyed would have gone
forth to their deathbeds." Holy Quran 3:155
Earnings are also an example of things that are pre-destined by Allah, a
poor man could work all his life but never become rich whilst others are
rich without effort. This generalised example serves to bring us on to a
specific comment; Even though things such as our income are predestined by
Allah we must strive to improve our conditions, for although they are
willed by Allah, if we will it Allah may change his will:
"Surely Allah changes not the condition of a people until
they change themselves" Holy Quran
Yet we came back to the age old question: Why did God create man? One
always wonders about this question, if God is perfect what use would man
be to him? None. Allah did not create man for his own benefit, he created
man for the benefit of man: The hadith Qudsi says:
"O son of Adam, I did not create you for my own benefit, but that
you benefit from Me as your God, alone, for I am your saviour"
But how can we benefit from Allah? We can benefit from Allah by
worshipping him, for if we worship Allah we will be rewarded. This is a
reason in its self:
"And I have not created the Jin and man but that they
worship Me" Holy Quran 51:57
Now the next thing that one can ask is 'How can we worship Him?' To
worship Allah we have to accept that there is a God, this implies that God
created man so that they may know Him, but is this the primary reason? The
grandson of the Prophet, Imam Hussain bin Ali (AS), implies that it is
when he said:
"O people, Allah did not create mankind but that they know
Him, for if they know Him they will worship Him, and if they worship Him
they will benefit from his grace"
However, one may look at the purpose of creation from a different aspect
and thus end up with an altogether different answer as to what the primary
reason is. If you go back to the question of how can we benefit from
Allah, we may come up with a different reason, other than worship. All of
creation is already at benefit. Our existence is benefit. Being created is
an example of Allah's mercy towards us. Thus one can conclude that we were
created, fundamentally because Allah is merciful. However, although there
are many different perspectives to the answer as to why we were created,
they are all connected and in a way each of them is right.
In defining what is meant by a Muslim's duties, we may generalise
that a Muslim's duty is to worship Allah. To elaborate further, Muslims do
not see the term worship in the vague sense of praying and fasting, etc -
worship can be any aspect of a Muslim's daily life depending on the
intention. For example even a when a Muslim goes to get an education,
provided that he intends to use it for good, it is seen as worship and
will be rewarded.
Each of Allah's divine attributes has practical implications in
the life of a firm Muslim. Clear, comprehension of the uniqueness of
Allah's nature improves a persons Taqwa, or belief in god. Having taqwa in
our hearts throughout our daily life adds a feeling of contentment peace
with one's self and constant happiness, for when they return to Allah He
will say:
And thou, O soul at peace. Return to thy Lord well pleased with
Him and He will be pleased with thee Holy Quran 89:28-29
Realisation that Allah knows all, hears all and sees all that we do is one
of the most important aspects of Allah's nature that a Muslim can benefit
from. Knowing that 'there are not two but that the third is Allah (hadith)
increases what we might call our 'self-policing'. For example, when one is
alone such as when a teenager is away from his strict parents, he may say
that there is no one to fear so why bother praying? The answer to this is
given in the following hadith:
"Fear Allah as if you can see Him, if you cannot imagine
seeing Him, know that He sees you."
Allah sees everything that we do and so we should be faithful in our
duties even when we are alone.
For those who have a very high realisation of the nature of
Allah, they do not worship him for the fear of His hell, nor for the want
of His paradise but because Allah is worthy of all praise. Imam Ali (AS),
the cousin of the prophet says:
"O Allah, I did not worship You for the greed of your
paradise nor for the fear of hell, but because you are worthy of all
praise."
This is the ideal that all Muslims should aim for.
(BACK TO HOMEPAGE)
|