Allah, The Lord Of Creation, The Unique
قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ
“Say (O’Prophet ﷺ), Allah is one.” (Al-Ikhlas – 1)
Islam teaches that Allah is The Unique, The Single, the sole One deserving of worship. There is nothing like Him. Images of Allah cannot be drawn, and He is not compared to His creation. Allah is greater than anything we can imagine. Muslims repeat the words “Allahu Akbar” (Allah is the Greatest) many times a day to remind themselves of His Greatness and Ability over everything in existence. Allah says:
ذَٰلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ فَاعْبُدُوهُ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَكِيلٌ
“That (is) Allah your Lord, (there is) no god except Him, (the) Creator (of) everything, so worship Him. And He (is) on everything a Guardian.” (Surah Al-An’am 6:102)
Faith about Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) is an essential requirement for salvation on the Day of Judgment. If you are misled by unrelated philosophies developed by people who are under a veil from their Lord in this World, you run the risk of being rejected on the Day of Judgment. Allah says:
كَلَّا إِنَّهُمْ عَن رَّبِّهِمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ لَّمَحْجُوبُونَ
“It is never (as they consider it to be); rather they will be under a veil from their Lord (they will not be able to see their Sustainer on the Day of Judgment).” (Surah Al-Mutaffifeen – 15)
Everything in the Cosmos, every existence in the Cosmos is dependent upon His existence or His Being. Everything is derived from Him. His existence can manifest/appear in limitless shapes and forms in consideration of the individual facts and natures of His creatures. All shapes and forms and bodies in this Cosmos are His creatures and the source and origin of these creatures is Allah’s Unity (ذاتِ الہى) who is real worshipable God. Allah says:
قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ – اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ – لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ – وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ
“Say ( O’Prophet ﷺ) Allah is one. Allah is independent. He does not have children. Nobody has given birth to him. Nobody can match Him or equal Him.” (Al-Ikhlas – 1- 4)
“And your god is one God. There is no deity [worthy of worship] except Him, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.” (Surat Al-Baqarah 2:163)
How do we understand the following verses?
It is in Quran – فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللَّهِ [Whichever side you turn, you will find Allah. ] (Al-Baqara – 115)
It is in Quran – وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كُنتُمْ [Wherever you are, He is with you.] (Al-Hadid – 4).
It is in Quran – وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ [And We are nearer to him than his jugular vein.] (Qaf – 16)
It is in Quran – وَفِي أَنفُسِكُمْ ۚ أَفَلَا تُبْصِرُونَ [ And Allah is in your self, will you not then see. ] (Adh-Dhariyat – 21)
We are born, we grow old and die. Similar is the case with plants, trees and everything in this cosmos. Scientist says that the crust of the Sun is burning at a certain speed and one day it will turn into dark ash and vanish into oblivion.
It is in Quran – كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَانٍ – وَيَبْقَىٰ وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِ
“All that there is in the Cosmos shall vanish. The Countenance (standalone) of your Lord (by Himself) shall endure, the Lord of Majesty and Glory.” (Ar-Rahman – 26-27)
All things in this cosmos remain for a specific period and vanish. If they were all gods, they would have lived indefinitely. The entire cosmos is within the expanse of Divine Knowledge. Many things are manifest, many more will become manifest (come into external existence) at their appropriate time. Whatever it is, there is nothing outside Allah’s (سبحانه و تعالى) knowledge. Allah’s
(سبحانه و تعالى) knowledge is encircling us from all directions. It is in Quran – وَكَانَ اللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ مُّحِيطًا [And Allah encompasses all the things.] (An-Nisa – 126)
Here are some facts about Allah (God):
- He sent Muhammad (PBUH) as the last Prophet and Messenger for all mankind
- There is no other entity in the entire universe worthy of worship besides Him
- Allah has sent all of His messengers to invite people to worship Him Alone
- Nothing is like Him. He is the Creator, not created, nor a part of His creation
- He sent His Messengers (peace be upon them) to guide all of mankind
- Allah is near and he responds to the invocations of the supplicants
- Allah does not forgive setting up partners (in worship) with Him
- Allah not only warned us against Satan but also his footsteps
- Allah knows what is in our hearts
- He is All-Powerful, absolutely Just
- He is the one God, Who has no partner
- Allah is very Gracious and Kind to His slaves
- He knows what we conceal and what we reveal
- Allah is with those who fear Him (keep their duty unto Him) and the good-doers
- Allah is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful and he is also severe in punishment
- He is First, Last, and Everlasting; He was when nothing was and will be when nothing else remains
- His book is the Holy Qur’an, the only authentic revealed book in the world that has been kept without change
- Allah says in the Quran, “Why should Allah punish you if you have thanked (Him) and have believed in Him.”
- Allah promises who obey Him to enter Paradise in the hereafter and warned who disobey Him against the Hell
It is in Quran – الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ – الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ – مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ – إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ – اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ – صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ
All praise is for Allah who is the Cherisher of all Worlds. Who is the most Beneficent and Most Merciful? The Lord of the Day of Retribution. We pray (worship) You (our servitude is only for You) and seek help from You only. Lead us to the straight path. The path of those whom You have awarded Your bestowal. And not the path of those who have been subjected to your Wrath and the path of those who have gone astray (Al-Fatiha – 1-7)
We all were there in Allah’s (سبحانه و تعالى) knowledge as individual ‘facts’. When He wanted to bring us into external existence, He commanded ‘Be’, and there we were (born). Allah says:
وَمَا قَدَرُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ وَالْأَرْضُ جَمِيعًا قَبْضَتُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَالسَّمَاوَاتُ مَطْوِيَّاتٌ بِيَمِينِهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ
“And not they appraised Allah (with) true appraisal, while the earth entirely (will be) in His Grip (on the) Day (of) the Resurrection, and the heavens (will be) folded in His Right Hand. Glory be to Him! And High is He above what they associate (with Him).” (Surah Az-Zumar: 39:67)
Our existence is the gift of Allah (سبحانه و تعالى). He has given us our life, He has provided us with our bodies as per the requirements of this physical world. We will die when our life span is over. Everything came out of His Being and it will eventually return there.
