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IslamQA

Thursday 12 March 2009

God (Allah )in Islam


Translation revised by Magdy Abd Al-Shafy

Islam is a religion that sees God behind every thing, He is the Creator who creates, sustains and guides every thing in the universe including all the creatures and creations. His Will and Mercy are seen in every thing in His Universe. His power is supreme, when He wants any thing to be done, it is done. He masters the running events and the future events. The name of the God in Islam is Allah. This may stand in Arabic for two words Al ( the ) Ilah ( God ), which when combined and canceling   the letter I from the second word, became   Allah ( the God ). This name is divine and have been called by all prophets since Adam until Mohammed. This name is close to the Hebrew name of the Creator   “ Eloha” called   by   Moses, but the Jews has wrongly pronounced it in a plural form “ Elohim” which indicates existence of more than one god. The Islamic name of God   “ Allah” is close   to the Aromatic   name of God used by Jesus     “ Aloha”. So, Allah is the name of the God in the three monotheistic religions.  

The unique usage of Allah as a propper name of God is a reflection of Islam’s emphasis on the purity of the belief in God which is the essence of the message of all God’s messengers. So, Islam considers associating any deity or personality with God as a deadly sin which God will never forgive, despite the fact that He may forgive any other sin.

So, 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 get His favor through virtue and piety only.

The illogic statements attached to God is sinned in Islam. The concept that God rested on the seventh day of creation, that God wrestled with one of His soldiers, that God is an envious plotter against mankind, or that God is an incarnate in any human being are considered blasphemy from the Islamic point of view.

The religion of Islam stresses the obligation on the Muslim, through the verses of Koran, to think, learn, and search so that he can worship God with complete conceive and love. The scientific thinking is the only way in the Koran to Know   Allah. Thinking and searching to see God’s Will and Mercy in ourselves and in the universe is a part of the Muslim’s personality. We can read the following verses to see how the Koran proves logically and mentally the existence of one God, Allah, the truth of Mohammed and the Koran :

Or do they say : “ He ( Mohammed ) has forged this book ( the Koran ). Nay, they aren’t believers. Let them then produce a recital like this book ( the Koran ) if they are truthful. Or (   as unbelievers of Allah and His Message and Messengers   ) were they   created by no-one ?, or were they themselves the creators ? Or did they create the heavens and the earth ?. Or have they the whole treasures of Your Lord ? or have they the authority to control it ( such treasures ) ?. Or have they a stairway ( to heavens ) by means of which they can listen ( to the inspiration of God ) , then let their listener bring some manifest proof. Or have He only ( the God ) have daughters ( God-daughter as were claimed ) and you have sons? Or is it that You ( O’ Mohammed )   asked them a wage ( to follow You), so they are burdened from the load of debt.? Or do they know el-Gheib (   the future or the unseen ) so they depict   it down (as trusting the future ). Or do they seek to ensnare you ?,   but those who disbelieve ( in   Oneness of Allah) they are ensnared ( by Allah). Or have they an ilah ( a god ) other than Allah? Glorified be Allah from they ascribe as His partners.( 52/ 34 - 43 ).

God called Himself in the Koran, as inspired to His Prophet, with 99 attributes called “ the Highest attributes ”, or El- Asmaa El-Hosna. Each name is indicating a quality for Allah.   The Koran mentions the evidence   for God’s Properties in the universe or in ourselves. This is done through mental reasoning and proofs when thinking in the universe and deeply surveying the facts in our creation. The Holy Koran stems the conclusions that assures the existence of one true Holy God, who is the “Creator”, the “Merciful”, the “Compassionate”, the “Wise”,   the “Supreme”, the “Almighty”, the “Beginner”, the “Repeater”, the “Owner”, the “Compeller”, the “Knower” of all seen and unseen, and to Him belongs every thing.

We can look to the logical approach of proofs that the Koran had followed to prove the oneness of God, and not to accept any thing without proof.

Or have they taken for worship other Gods besides Allah ? Say ( O Mohammed to them ) “ Bring your evidence ( or proofs and guides from those Gods   ). These are   Allah’s guides as sent to me   ( the Koran )    and sent to prophets before me ( as Torah and Bible)”. But most of those ( pagans )   know not the truth and they are adverse ( haven’t any guide or proof   r elated to their reclaimed Gods). ( 21 -24 ).

Say ( O Mohammed to These polytheists, pagans, etc. ) “ if there had been other Gods along with Him   ( with Allah ) as they assert, then they ( these Gods ) would certainly have tried to find a way to   the throne ( through fighting the God of the universe )” ,   Glorified and High be He ! from ( the great falsehood ) that they say. ( 17 - 42 ).

Had there been therein ( in the heavens and the earth ) gods besides Allah, then verily both would have been ruined. Glorified be Allah, the Lord of the Throne ( High He is ) above all what they attribute to Him ! ( 21 - 22 ).

    God is the Creator of such unique universe, eternal and everlasting. Can be there more than one creator and other God’s Attributes? Can there be for example two absolutely powerful creators? The Koran summarizes this argument in the f following verse:

God has not taken to Him any son, nor is there any god with Him: for then each god would have taken off that which he created and some of them would have risen up over others. Glorified be Allah ( the only God ) above all   that they attribute to Him. ( 23/91)

Other approaches for proving the Oneness of Allah is done    through scientific looking at the universe, these   are read in the following verses:

Allah Who created   an indefinite number of   identical   heavens . You can see the uniqueness ( the evidence of having   the same fashion   )of   the   whole creation of Allah, the Merciful. Or you can look again ( at any other creation ), Can you see any nonidentity in the creation ( or non-uniqueness of the creation that may lead to non-uniqueness of the creator ) ( 67 - 3 )

This is the creation of Allah. So, show me that which those ( Whom you claim as gods )   besides Him have created ( another fashion of creation or   different creations ). Nay, those unfair people ( polyththeists or who do not believe in the Oneness of Allah ) are in plain error. ( 31 - 11 )

Or do they assign to Allah partners who created some thing similar to His creation such that they witnessed the difference between both creations. Say ( O Mohammed ) “ There is only one Irresistible God, Allah,   who creates every thing”. ( 13 - 16 )

In this way, we believe that there are no partners nor colleagues to Allah. But only one God, who creates such homogenous and unique creation. All animals, plants and humans have the same structure   of cells, performs the same living processes as breathing, eating, growing, all breath the same Oxygen and expired the same Carbon dioxide and water vapor. All animals have two eyes (some insects may have more ) , one nose, a mouth, a head, hands and legs, a digestive system,   a circulatory blood system, a urinary system, a productive system, and other similar systems. The cell of all animals or plants are   similar but the number of chromosomes in every cell initially defines the type of animal. The plants, animals, water, air and earth   form one complete   system in which each has its role of functioning. Who unifies this design and complete this closed system (   animal feeds on plants and benefit by the Oxygen that they emit ). why is it unique ? The scientific answer came from the Creator in His Last Holy Book sent to His Last Prophet Mohammed in the previous verses and many other verses of the Koran, It is created so to lead us to His Oneness, His superiority, and His Mercy.

When the prophet Mohammed was asked in the beginning   of his mission   by his contemporaries about Allah, the answer came from God Himself in the form of a short chapter ( or Surah) in Koran. This Surah, number 112, is considered as the essence of unity and reads:

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate

Say ( O Mohammed ) He is Allah,   ( the ) One God, Allah is As-samad ( He is the God to whom rise the needs of   all   creatures but He is self-Sufficient ), He begets not nor He was begotten, And there is none coequal or comparable to Him. ( 112)

Similar description is given in many other verse, we can mention the following:

This is Allah, My Lord, in Whom I put my trust, and to Him    I turn in penitence. The Originator of the heavens and the earth. He has made for you mates from yourself ( As Eve was created from a Chest-bone of Adam and take the human form ) and for the cattle ( or animals in general ) also ( He has made ) mates, multiplying you therein ( from male and female ). There is nothing like Him, and He is All-hearing and All-Seeing. To Him belongs the ruling (or mastering the rules that control ) of the heavens and the earth. He extends and straitens His Provision to whoever He pleases ( according to his deeds ). Verily! He is the All-Knower of every thing. ( 42 / 10 - 12 )  

Some non-Muslims allege that God in Islam is a stern and cruel God ,who punishes people if they   disobey him. He is not loving people or kind to them. Nothing can be far from truth than this allegation. It is enough to mention that each of the 114 chapters of Koran begins with the verse “ In the name of Allah, the Merciful and the Compassionate”. In one of the sayings of the prophet Mohamed, He told “ God is more kind to the Man than a mother to her child”     

However, God’s   attribute of Mercy has full manifestation in His attribute of Justice, because one of His Names is the Just. So, people who sacrifices their life in doing the right things which brings the happiness to the mankind will receive a nice treatment from their Lord in the present or eternal life, but who hurts and spoils the life   of the mankind should receive opposite treatment. In the Koran we can read these God‘s words “ Shall I treat the people of Faith ( who obeys His orders )   like the people of Sin ( who are disobeying Him ) ? How do you judge ?” ( 68 / 35 )

The Muslim believes that all the people, starting from Adam worshipped only one God, Allah. But as the time passed, some people claimed that the idols are blessed by God and starts to worship it. So God sent   Noah and other prophets after Noah to guide the people to worship only one God and to teach   them to how to follow His Path. So all those who follow the Divine messages sent by Allah will deserve the Mercy of Allah, and who would not follow, they will receive a punishment according to their divergence from the obedience. Punishment may be only in the eternal life, and being far from God on the earth is a sufficient punishment for those who are leaving the straight path.

Islam rejects characterizing God in any human form or depicting Him as favoring certain individuals or nations on the basis of race or power. He created all the human beings as equals. A man can distinguish himself and get the favor of the God through virtue and piety only, this can be seen in the verses of the Koran:

Verily the most honorable of you in the view of Allah, is that   ( believer   ) who has more taqua ( Fearing God and sticking to His Way , performing all kinds of good deeds He has ordained and obtain from all kinds of sins He has forbidden   ) ( 49 - 13 )

The concept that God rested in the seventh day of creation, that God wrestled with one of His soldiers or prophets, that God is an envious plotter against mankind or that God is an incarnate in any human being are considered blasphemy from the Islamic point of view.   God in Islam as defined by His Words of the Koran is Supreme and is Higher than these silly descriptions.   We can read many verses in the Koran that expresses His Almighty:

Allah ! La Ilah Ella Huwa (None has the right to be worshipped but He), He is the Ever Living, the God Who sustains and protects all that exists. Neither slumber nor sleep overtake Him. To Him belongs whatever in the Heavens and whatever on the earth. Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His Permission ? He knows and views what happened to them ( to His creatures ) in this world, and what   will happen to them in the Hereafter.     But they will never compass any   of His Knowledge except that which He allowed. His ( Korsi ) throne extends over the earth. His care to sustain the whole universe needs no effort of Him ( 2-255)

He is Allah, La ilah illa Huwa   ( None has the right to be worshipped but He ) , He is Alem   ( Knower and Designer with His Science and Logic )of what is going and seen now and what is coming and hidden, He is Al-Rahman (Who gives His Mercy to the whole creation ) and Al-Rahim ( Who gives the Mercy to all creatures ). He is Allah, La ilah illa Huwa, He is the Malek ( the Owner of every thing in the world )

The unique usage of the name Allah as a personal name of God is a reflection of Islam’s emphasis on the purity of the belief in God which is the essence of the message of all God’s messengers. Because of this, Islam considers associating any deity or personality with God as a deadly sin.

The creator must be different from these things He created because if He has the same nature, He will be temporal and will therefore need a maker.   It follows that nothing is like Him as He stated in the Koran:

There is nothing like unto Him ( 42-11)

He is beyond our capability to view or to imagine:

No vision ( or imagination   ) can grasp Him, but His Grasp is over all vision. He is the most Subtle and Cuteous, Well acquainted with all things. ( 6 - 103 )

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 should be absolute. Can there be more than one God who have   such absolute attributes.? The Koran summarizes this argument and gives the proof:

God has not taken to Himself a son., nor a God- Companion with Him. For then, each god ( or Son) would have taken away what he had  created,  and some would have tried  to overcome the others.  ( 23 _91 )

Here we find a pure logic also to prove the impossibility of existence of more than one God offered from Allah.

God is the creator of  everything. He is the Guardian over everything. Unto Him belongs the ownership of the heavens and the earth. Any creature is there on the earth has its provision in the Hands of Allah. He is Allah; there is no God but He. He is the All- Knower of the  unseen and the seen. he is the most beneficent and most merciful. He is Allah than Whom there isn’t ( La Ilah Ella Huwa ; none has the right to be worshipped but He  ) the King,, the Holy, the Peace, the Giver of security ( to His creation) The Watcher ( or Governing His Creatures ), the All-Mighty, the Compeller, the Supreme. Glory be to Allah ! ( High is He ) above all that they regard as gods with Him. He is Allah, the Creator, the Designer, the Bestower ( Who gives the creations its form and shapes  ), to Him belongs the Best Names.  All what exist in the heavens earth ( i.e. every thing ) glorify Him  as the All-Mighty and Wise. ( 59 / 22 - 24 )

He is the First ( nothing is before Him ) and the Last ( nothing is after Him ), the Most High and Seen ( nothing is Higher than Him and He is seen in every thing ) , the Most Near or Involving ( Nothing is nearer than Him and He is involved in every thing ) and He is the All-Knower of every thing.( 57 - 3 )

The universe had been started since billions of years and it will be vanished. God started the creation of the universe. So, He will be able to restart it once more after its vanishing. In these meaning we can read many verses of the Koran. We write here these only:

Haven’t those who disbelieves seen that the heavens and the earth were a pile ( in the start of creation) and then We (  Allah ) fragmented them ( to form the heavens and the earth at the moment called by scientist as the great explosion )? and starting from water We ( Allah ) have created all the living creatures. ( 21 / 31 )

And ( remember ) the Day ( of resurrection  ) when we shall roll up the heavens  in one unit as rolling up the pages of a book, as We ( Allah ) begin the first creation ( from one pile ),We shall return it back ( as it was in the start ), Truly We  ( Allah ) shall do that as My Promise. ( 21 / 105 )

In this Way, Allah shows us many scientific facts that we lately have found. science has seen the righteous of these statement,  that initially all the heavens and the earth were in one pile. But the Koran expresses these facts in Divine words which can’t be written by human hands.

The start of creation of the man was from mud as all the creatures on the earth, which is proven scientifically. The elements form in the man’s body are the same as the earth’ s elements + water. However, the man is distinguished with an ability to learn and to know what His Creator planned to him to know. Such capabilities have authorized him to be responsible for the management of his life and the lives of his associates. The Creator calls him as His Deputy, or caliph, on the earth. With such honor,   man deserves the freedom to choose between alternatives and to decide where to go. or what to do. But according to his choice, he may find his Divine decree. The distinguished man, by his abilities to recognize or identify the Glory of His Creator has certain duties on the earth besides eating, drinking and loving. Worshipping through obeying his creator and learning to emphasizes the wisdom of the creator are also required. Developing the norms of life and simplifying the lives of the others are required. However, here are some verses of the Koran which give these statements:

By ( as a swore ) the Sun and its sacrificing ( By emission of its mass in the form of radiation to lighten our earth  ) , and by the moon as it follows the sun ( in time and in receiving its light ), and by the day ( the period of sun-light on the earth ) as it shows the  its ( sun’s ) brightness, and by the night (darkness of the universe )  as it conceals it ( the sun ), and by the sky and He Who Constructed it, and by the earth and He Who is milling ( revolving ) it, and by the Nafs ( Personality and  Soul or mentality of mankind ) and He Who settle its balance, and then He showed it ( this Nafs) the way of wickedness ( the obedience of bad desires ) and the way of taqua ( piety) . 

The devil or evil is a fact too. But the Koran shows that the devil is not more than a creation of the God who was created  before the creation of Adam, the first man in the Human race. When God created Adam with certain distinguishing capabilities, He ordered the Angels and the Devil to respect His Coming Creature “ Adam”. As the coming creation was an earthy creature, as the Koran tells he is from “ Mud”, the Angels and Devil asked God if this creation will be like the other earthy creations which are fighting all the time and killing each other. God shows the angels that Adam is distinguished by His ability to learn, think, and decide. So, the Angels addresses the God for forgiveness. However, the devil asked God an opportunity to prove that   God’ s new Creation is not deserving Devil’s respect. So, God’s word dammed the Devil for his delusion and promises those people who will disobey Him the same damn as the Devil. So, the way of the Devil is to pursue the mankind and lead them to His way of Delusion, and this will be his proof that   mankind is not deserving any respect. The first successful trial of the Devil was with Adam in the Paradise ( the first place of Adam ), where the Devil pursued him to disobey the God s’ first order that Adam received from   God.

These arguments are mentioned in the Koran in many situations, each with different approach according to the chapter  of the Koran. However, we can mention the following verses from one chapter of the Koran, but the true Muslim knows the whole number of verses that give this meaning in all chapters of Koran:

And ( remember ) when your Lord said to the Angels “ Verily, I am going to place ( mankind ) a viceroy ( a caliph to worship Him and manage the life  ) on the earth”. They ( the Angels ) said “ Will You place therein those who will make mischief  and shed blood     ( as the other earthy creatures )  - while  we ( a comparison to deserve God’s preference ) glorify you with praises and thanks and sanctify You. He “Allah” said “ I know ( about His Creation ) that which you do not know. And He taught Adam the names of everything ( acknowledge him with every thing in the universe that the Angels can’t know according to God’s Will ) then He showed them ( those things ) to the Angels and  said to them “ Tell me their names if you are truthful”.

They ( the Angles ) said  “ Glory be to You, we have no knowledge except what You have taught ( and allow  ) us. Verily, He is You the All-Knower-the All Wise”.

He said “ O Adam! Inform them the names ( you have been taught )”. When he ( Adam  ) had informed them of their names, He said “ Didn’t I till you that I Know the Ghaib ( the unseen or unknown to any one but Him ) in the heavens and the earth, and I know what you reveal and what you have been concealing?”

And ( remember ) when we said to the Angels “ Prostrate yourselves before Adam ( as respecting a distinguished God’s Creation) . And they prostrated except Iblis  ( the Devil ), he refused as a proud creation, so he was Kafir  ( disobedient to Allah )

Then we said “ O Adam! Dwell you and your wife in the Paradise, and you can eat freely and delightfully  wherever, but not to approach this tree or you will be considered of the Zalimin ( disobedient and unfair )  2  : ( 30 - 35 )

In the seventh Surah ( chapter ) of the Koran, the God explains similar arguments and shows how the Devil can persuade the mankind  to lead them off the straight bath. His Guide and the misguide of the devil to Adam and to the people of  Noah, Saleh, Lot, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other prophets are found in many chapters of the Koran. So one can read the verses ( 11 - 27 ) which tell a similar  wisdom of Adam’s creation.  However, we write here the verses 20 - 22 to show some of  Devil’s approaches:

And surely, We created  you (  starting from clay ), then We shaped you ( the noble shape of the human being, as an end of a clay - series of creation  ), and then We said to the angels “Prostrate to Adam ( As respecting God’s Creativity  )”, and they portrayed except Iblis, he did not join those who portrayed. He ( Allah  ) said “ What prevented you ( O’ Iblis )  from prostrating your self when I commanded you?” , Then he ( Iblis  ) said “ I am better than him, You created me from fire and You created him ( Adam) from clay ( thinking in delusion that fire is better than clay).

He ( Allah ) said “ ( O’ Iblis) Get down from here, it is not allowed for you to be arrogant here. So, go out. You are from the abject ( disgraced ) ones. Then he ( Iblis ) said “ Allow me respite till the Day they will be raised from the dead ( The Day of Resurrection ). He ( Allah ) said “ You are of those who are allowed respite.” Then he ( Iblis) said “ Because You have sent me astray, surely I will sit in wait for them ( to give them out of ) Your Straight Path. Then I will come to them ( to Adam and his race ) from before them and from behind them, from their right and from their left, So You will not find most of them thankful to You ( i.e. they will not be dutiful to You). He ( Allah )said to him ( to Iblis )” Get out from here (  from Paradise ) disgraced   and expelled. Whoever of them ( of the mankind ) will follow you ( with you delusion), they will be in the hell with you.

Then Satan ( or Iblis ) whispered to them ( to Adam and Eve ) and said :” Your Lord forbid you, not to approach this tree, so that you will  not become angels  or of the immortals. Satan was aiming to mislead  them  and to uncover their private hidden parts of their bodies ( when they will eat  from this forbidden tree  ). And he ( Satan ) swore , saying to them “ Truly, I am for you a sincere advisor.” Thus, he led them to a bad end by his delusion, as the private parts of their bodies was  appeared to them when they tasted of the tree. Then they tried to cover themselves by the leaves from the Garden. Their Lord called out them saying “ Did I not forbid you from that tree, and said to you that Satan is your awored enemy.” ( 7: 20 - 23 ) 

In the Koran, Satan is a symbol or a father  to a tribe or a race similar to that of Adam. This race is called “ Jinn”. Their nature is not completely unknown to us since their creator, Allah, acknowledged us in His Book about them. Their creation  starts from fire, as Adam’s creation starts from clay. Such statements was mentioned in the previous verses, and as many verses in the Koran state many other properties for the Jinn. They can see us but we can’t see them, there are Muslim and non-Muslim Jinn and they have no influence on the faithful people. The existence of such creations is a fact that we see many of their effects. Their world and the world of Angels are called in Koran Ghieb. Any Muslim should believe in this unseen worlds since they are mentioned in Koran.

The Angels are also creatures of the God. They are doing exactly what they are obliged to do. They have special nature and we are not allowed to assume any shape or nature for them, such as telling that they are female or asking them the help.   God only gives the help.

In Koran we can read theses verses :

And to God prostrate all that which are in the heavens, every creature that is moving on the earth, and the angels. For none are arrogant ( before their Lord ). They  all revere their Lord, high above them, and do all that they are commanded. ( 16 / 49-50 )

The seven heavens ( whatsoever in them praise His Glory; seven means the multiplicity ) and the earth, and nothing exists that does not glorify His Praise, butnot understand their Praising. Surely   ( mankind ) do He is All-Forbearing, All-Forgiving. ( 17 / 44 ).

follows   God’s guide have easier life than those We need  God’s Guide and Help to bear  life. Of course, those who who doesn’t.

Is he who walks (  or lives ) prone on his face, more likely guided, or he who ( sees and  ) walks on a Straight Way ( i.e. God’s Guide or the Right Path  of those who are submitted to the Will of God  )  ( 67 / 22 )

Similarly,   God promises those who follows His Guide with kind life on the earth  as well as Kind life in Paradise.

Whoever works righteousness, whether male or female, while he  ( or she ) is a true believer ( of Islamic Monotheism ), verily, to him We will give him a good life in this world ( i.e. with respect, contentment and lawful provision ) and We shall pay them certainly a reward in Paradise proportional to the best of what they used to do. ( 16 / 97 )

The proof of that promise is found in Koran:

Shall we then treat those who have submitted to the will of God ( Muslims ) as the sinners ? What is wrong with you, or on what base do you judge ?

Another proof is the contempt that a Muslim feels if he really believe in God. The Koran states that in the following verses:

Those who believes in God, their hearts find serenity in the remembrance of God.  Indeed, in the remembrance of God, the hearts ( of believers ) find serenity. ( 13 / 28 )

Verily, those who say: “ Our Lord is ( only ) Allah,” and thereafter Istaqamo* , they shall neither fear nor grieve. ( 46/13 )

Verily, those who say our Lord is Allah, and then they Istaqamo * , on them the angels will descend ( at the time of their death or make them feel that ) ( saying to them ) : Fear not nor grieve! But rejoice in the glad tidings of Paradise that you are promised. ( 41/30 )

The reason of the smooth life of the Muslim is that he is not worrying too much for any thing in the world-life, because of his feeling that God is near to him. His aim is not limited to world-life ( or the down-life ) but his original aim is the Paradise life. He is ordered to do that:

But seek , in that ( resources of power or wealth ) which Allah has bestowed to you, the home of the Hereafter( the Paradise), and forget not your  legal portion of enjoyment in this world ( as defined by Koran ), and do good as Allah has been good to you, and seek not mischief in the land. Verily, Allah like not the Mofsidin*. ( 28/77 )

The true Muslim is doing his best to learn and to have the scientific understanding of all what is running, as he is ordered in Koran to ask God not for more money nor for power, but for more knowledge or science:

The High above all be Allah, the True King. And not be in haste  ( O’ Mohammad ) with the Koran before its revelation is completed to you, and say: “ My Lord! Give me your gift as more knowledge ( or increase my scientific understanding). “

 

He is trying to have the power, the money, and the good position, not as a Goal, but as a means to be a strong Muslim and to serve   God by this means. Having all the reasons or means for a marvelous life in the world-life is not a measure of God’s love, but this means is the tools for testing the truth of the man’s belief.

As for mankind, whenever His Lord tries him and honors him ( by power, money, family or position ) he says “ My Lord has honored me”.  But whenever He tries him by straitening his means ( lack of wealth or power ), he says: “ My Lord has humiliated me.” No Indeed ( i.e. their statements are not correct, but both cases are just tools for trying the mankind ) ( 89/15-16 ).

  Man is composed of a body, a Nafs** , and a Ruh *** .To know the meaning Nafs or the oneself, the Koran describes it to be responsible for directing man to  a good or bad behavior. We can read in the following verses from a Surah called the sun, where  the God  is asking us to think deeply by :

By the sun and its sacrifice ( or glowing the world during its decay ) , and by the moon that follows it ( follows the sun in forming or creation and in reflecting sun’s light to us ), and by day as it shows up the sun’s brightness  ( where  the earth reflects the sun’s light to our eyes  ), and by the night as it conceals it ( i.e. the darkness that conceals all the universe and the sun also), and by the heavens and Him who builds it, and by the earth and Him who mills it ( or revolves it as a rolling egg ). And by the Nafs* and Him who perfected her in balance, then He inspired it ( the Nafs ) to know what is right to her ( Taqua* and what is wrong to her ( Fogour** ). Indeed, he succeed who purifies his ownself or his Nafs ( i.e. obeys and performs all Allah orders and doing the righteous good deeds ), and Indeed he fails who corrupts his ownself ( i.e. disobeys what Allah has ordered and doing every kind of evil or wicked deeds ). ( 91/ 1-10)

To know the meaning of the Ruh or soul, the Koran describes sleeping as death, as in both the soul leaves  the body and both are separate  two stages, but with minor differences as the Koran states :

God takes the souls at the time of their death, and others ( souls ), that haven’t died yet,  during their sleep. He withholds those for whom He has decreed death, and sends back the others until an appointed term. Surely in that are signs for a people who think deeply. ( 39 / 42 ).

  But to go deeper in understanding the Ruh is to be  led to a confusion as this is a secret of Allah:

And they ask you (  O’ Mohammad)concerning the Ruh (the soul or spirit ); Say : “ The Ruh is the concern of my Lord, and the knowledge made available to you is very little.( ( 17/85)

So, our life on the earth is a stage like sleeping and followed by other stages in the tomb and then either in Paradise or in Hell. Otherwise we will be like animals, to live for giving birth to new ones and die.  Such statements have also many proofs in the Koran:

Blessed be He in Whose Hand is the dominion, and He is Able to do all things. Who has created  ( man’s ) death and life so that He may test which of you is best in deeds ( have deeds done totally for Allah ), and He ( Allah )is the Almighty and the All-Forgiving. ( 67 / 1,2).

So, we have for us a fixed date in which all our deeds will be evaluated.

And We have fastened every man’s deeds to his neck, and on the day of Resurrection, We shall bring out for him a book which he will find wide open. ( It will be said to him ): “ Read your book. You yourself are sufficient to evaluate your deeds in this Day “( 17 / 13, 14 )

So our life has an objective and is a testing stage for other stages.  The logic of this statement is also proved in Koran:

Did you think that We had created you in Jest ( without any objective ) and that you would not be brought back to Us. ( 23/115 )

And We created not the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, for merely play( but in a planned and ordered or organized form that should have an objective  ). We created them not except with truth, but most of them do not know ( do not know the objective of their world life-or the down life ).( 44 / 38,39 )

The proof of God’s ability to recreate us in the Day of resurrection is also proved in Koran.

Is not He, Who created the heavens and the earth Able to create the like of them ( i.e. to recreate us in the day of resurrection ) ? Yes, Indeed ! He is the All-Knowing Supreme Creator.

Verily, His Command when He intends a thing, is only that He says that it will be, and it is done. ( 36 / 81, 82 ).

The examples also for the God’s ability to do that is seen in  life or in   history as mentioned in the Koran.

Then look at the signs of Allah’s Mercy, how He revives the earth  after its death ( by plants ). Verily! That ( Allah ), Who revived the earth after its death, shall indeed raise the dead people ( on the Day of Resurrection ) and He is Able to do all things. ( 30/50)

And He is Allah Who sends the wind to evolve water vapor ( from seas  ) to raise the clouds, and He drives them ( the winds and clouds ) to a dead land, and revive  therewith ( falling rains from such clouds  ) the earth after its death. Similarly, as such will be the resurrection! ( 35 / 9 )

However, in Koran’s stories which states what happened to the previous people we can find how God proves His Ability to raise dead people and get them back to  life.

Or like the one ( He is Hozkial when he passed by Bethlem after its destroying by Pochtonser ) who passed by a village and it had tumbled over its roofs. He said “ Oh! How Allah ever bring this village to life after its death? So Allah caused him to die for a hundred years, then He raised him up (again  ) and then He asked him: “ How long did you remain (dead ) ? The man answered “ (Perhaps ) I remained  ( dead) a day or a part of a day “ He said “ Nay, you have remained ( dead) for a hundred  years, look even at your food and your drink, they show no change, and look at your donkey! Thus We have made of you a sign for the people, and look to the bones how We set them up ( or weaves them ) and then clothe them with flesh.” When this was clearly shown to him ( to the man ), he said “ I know ( now) that Allah is Able to do All things.”

And ( remember ) when Abraham said, “ My Lord! Show me how You give life to the dead.” He ( Allah ) said “ Do you not believe?” He ( Abraham ) said “ Yes indeed, but to assure my heart.” Then He said “ Take four birds, then cut them into pieces and put each portion of them on every hill. Then call them, they will come to you in haste. So you should know that Allah is All-Mighty and All-Wise.( 2/ 259-260 )

So, God asks us as Muslim to recite  the following verses if we are real Muslims.

And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and Allah has power over all things. Verily! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding. Those who remember Allah ( always, and in prayers in all positions ) standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides. They are thinking deeply about the creation of the heavens and the earth, ( expressing their respect and saying ) “ Our Lord! You have not created ( all ) this with no objectives, Glory to You!( Exalted be You above all that they associate with You as partners). Give us salvation from the torment of fire. Our Lord! Verily, whom You admit to the Fire, indeed, You have disgraced him, and never will the Zalimun ( polytheists and wrong- doers) find any helpers ( in the day of resurrection ). “ Our Lord! Verily, We have heard the call of one ( Mohammed ) calling to Faith: “ Believe in Your Lord,” and we have believed. Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and remit from us our evil deeds, and make us die in the state of righteousness along with Al-Abrar ( those who are obedient to Allah and follow strictly His Orders ). Our Lord! Grant us what You promised unto us through Your Messengers and disgrace us not on the Day of resurrection, for You never break Your Promise.” ( 3 / 190 - 194 )


* Go straight, i.e. they followed really the religion of Islamic Monotheism, believed in the O neness of Allah, and worshipped none but Him Alone, performed all that was ordained by Allah ( good deeds) and abstained from that was forbidden by Allah ( sins and bad deeds )

 

Those who commit sins, crimes, opressors, tyrants, mischief-makers, corrupts.

** Some explanation relates it to the mental or the psychological  state of the human being..

***Or the soul or spirit, and it  is a sign to something which differentiates between the living and non-living human being. It is unknown to us and the Koran tells that it is something that belongs to Allah.

And they ask you  ( O Mohammad ) concerning the Ruh, Say : “The Ruh is the concern of my Lord, and what knowledg you have gained is too little.”( 17 / 85

Good deeds which follows the wisdom of God.

Bad deeds that are against the submission  to the Will of God.

By Dr: Salama A. El-Hady

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