Facts About Allah (SWT)

[HaziM]

حقائق عن الله سبحانه تعالى

THE FACTS ABOUT ALLAH (SWT)

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If we are interested to know details about a thing, like our human body, which is one of the illimitable creations of Allah (SWT), it requires special education, specific skills and years of dedicated research under competent scholars.

Imagine the complexities in knowing details about Allah (SWT) and this Cosmos. This is the reason many people developed strange theories which have nothing to do with Allah (SWT) or this Cosmos.

Correct faith about Allah (SWT) is an essential requirement for salvation on the Day of Judgment.

If you are mislead by unrelated philosophies developed by people who are blind (at heart) and are under veil from their Lord in this World, you run the risk of rejection by Allah (SWT) on the Day of Judgment.

It is in Quran - ‘It is never (as they consider it to be); rather they will be under veil from their Lord (they will not be able to see their Sustainer on the Day of Judgment)’. (Al-Mutaffifeen – 15).

O’ Allah (SWT), kindly reveal the facts of things, as they are, and keep us Muslim while dying and unite us with the group of righteous people for the sake of the happiness of your devoted beloved Prophet Mohammed (SAWS). Ameen.

There is nothing earlier than or after Allah’s (SWT) Being (existence).

It is in Quran - ‘He is the First, and the Last, He is the Manifest (apparent) and the Immanent (hidden and actually present through out the material world) and is the knower of all things’. (Al-Hadeed – 3).

It is in Hadith - Mohamammed Rasulullah (SAWS) said, ‘Allah (SWT) was Hidden Treasure; then He wanted to be known; therefore, He created this Cosmos’. This Hadith is accepted by almost all Muslims, except the followers of a particular sect.

There are three aspects of this Hadith, as follows.

• Allah (SWT) was Hidden Treasure
• then, He wanted to be known
• therefore, He created this Cosmos.

These aspects show the sequence of events unfolded in the shape of this cosmos.

Allah (SWT) was ‘Hidden Treasure’ (Kanzan Makhfiyan ) –

This is our first understanding of Allah’s (SWT) Existence. The definition of this state is clearly stated in the Holy Quran.

It is in Quran - ‘Say O’Prophet Allah (SWT) is one. Allah (SWT) is independent. He does not have children. Nobody has given birth to him. Nobody can match Him or equal Him”. (Al-Ikhlas - 1- 4).

Various terms are used to simplify the meaning of ‘Hidden Treasure’. We will use here only two terms, (i) Absolute Unity, and (2) Absolute Being, as these are widely accepted and are famous terms.

Allah (SWT) is independent. Everything in this cosmos is dependent upon Him. There is nothing which can equal him or match Him. He is absolutely one and whatever is there in the Cosmos has been derived from Him.

What is the meaning of everything has been derived from Him?

Every thing in the cosmos, from the invisible micro organism to the huge stars, including human beings, all are manifestations of Allah (SWT).

Meaning, the Absolute Being has the capacity to manifest ( become visible ) in various shapes and forms.

Will it mean that every thing is God?

No, it is not like that. There is difference between the Divinity (Uloohiyat) of Allah (SWT) and the manifestations of His Being.

Divinity is the attribute of Allah (SWT), who is the ‘essence of all existence’ in the cosmos. The Shapes and forms in this cosmos are creatures.

We are creatures and our attribute is ‘servant hood’. You, we or anything in this cosmos, though is the manifestation of His existence, but not God. The real worshipable God (Ilah) is Allah (SWT) who is the source of our existence.

This is denoted in Islamic Testimony (Kalima Tayyiba) - There is no (real) God, but Allah (SWT), and Mohammed (SAWS) is the messenger of Allah (SWT).

We are born, we grow old and die. Similar is the case with planets, trees and everything in this cosmos. Scientist say that the crust of Sun is burning at certain speed and one day it will turn into dark ash and vanish into oblivion.

It is in Quran - ‘All that there is in the Cosmos shall vanish. The Countenance (stand alone) 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 of time and vanish. If they were all gods, they would have lived indefinitely.

Please explain how do we understand the following verses of Holy Quran?

• It is in Quran - Allah (SWT) is the light (existence) of the Heavens and Earth’. (An-Noor -35).

• It is in Quran - ‘Allah (SWT) is the Manifest (apparent) and the Immanent (hidden - but actually present through out the material world) and He is the knower of all things’. (Al-Hadeed – 3).

• It is in Quran - Whichever side you turn, you will find Allah (SWT); Verily ( in truth ) Allah – (SWT) is Omnipresent (existing everywhere every moment) and Omniscient ( infinitely wise ). ( Al-Baqra – 115 ).

• It is in Quran - He is in your own self, will you not then see’. (Az-Zariyat – 21).

As we have described above, there are three aspects of the Hadith : (i) Allah (SWT) was Hidden Treasure, (ii) then, He wanted to be known, and (iii) therefore, He created this Cosmos. These aspects show the sequence of events unfolded in the shape of this cosmos.

As has been described above, the first perception (understanding) of Allah (SWT) is known as ‘Absolute Unity’. In this perception, His attributes and His creatures are not taken into account. He is one and one all the way. His Being does not contain elements. He is not a compound.

• It is in Quran – ‘Say O’Prophet (SAWS), Allah (SWT) is one’ (Al-Ikhlas – 1)

The second aspect as per the Hadith is, ‘ He wanted to be known ’. Known to whom? Obviously He wanted to be known to His creatures.

Where were the creatures?

The creatures were their in His knowledge.

Since the Being of Allah (SWT) is ‘Manifest’ (apparent – Zaher), (as per above Quranic verse) He wanted His creatures to become ‘apparent’ so that they recognize Him, praise His omnipotent Majesty and Worship Him.

It is in Quran – ‘ All praise is for Allah (WT) who is the cherisher of all Worlds. Who is 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).

Carpenter knows in his mind how the table will look like and what will be its dimensions and color etc. Then he crafts it and sees the table and appreciates its beauty. Look here, knowing in mind (knowledge) is different from seeing it in working condition on the floor of Office. The table is existed in the shape of a ‘fact’ in carpenter’s mind. When he crafted it, it came into external existence.

Similarly, we all were there in Allah’s (SWT) knowledge as individual ‘facts’. When He wanted to bring us out into external existence, He commanded ‘Be’, and there we were (born).

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 knowledge. Allah’s (SWT) knowledge is encircling us from all directions.

Allah (SWT) knew about Himself ( His potentialities and attributes) as well as knew about each of His creation. These two aspects are known as (i) Facts of Allah (SWT), and (ii) Facts of creatures.

What are Facts (attributes) of Allah (SWT)?

There are 7 basic attributes of Allah (SWT).

1. ‘Life’, meaning He is alive (Hayyi).
2. Knowledge, meaning He is knowledgeable (Aleem).
3. Seeing’ , meaning Allah (SWT) sees (Baseer) every thing in this cosmos.
4. ‘Hearing’, meaning Allah (SWT) hears (Same’e) whatever supplications we do.
5. ‘Speech’, meaning Allah (SWT) commands (Kaleem)
6. ‘Omnipotent’ (Qadeer), meaning Allah (SWT) is all powerful
7. ‘Will’ (irada), meaning Allah wills before creating His creatures.

Where did we find the above information?

Everything we are discussing here is abundantly mentioned in Quran and Ahadith.

• It is in Quran - Allah (SWT) - There is no god but He, the alive, the Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. Whatever is in the Heavens and whatsoever is in the Earth belongs to Him. (Al-Baqara – 255).

• It is in Quran - Allah (SWT) is ‘Hearer’, ‘Knower’ (Al-Baqara – 256).

• It is in Quran - ‘Allah (SWT) is all-embracing, ‘all knowing’. (Al-Baqara – 115).

• It is in Quran - ‘Allah (SWT), only Allah (SWT) is ‘Mighty’ and ‘Wise’ (Al-Baqara – 129)

• It is in Quran - ‘And a thing We (Allah-SWT) ‘ Will ’ (to create), We only ‘Say’ ‘Be’, and there it is (it comes into existence)’. (An-Nahl – 40).

When we take into consideration the attributes of Allah (SWT), His names are derived.

Name is the combination of the Unity of Allah (SWT) and His attribute.

Like Wisdom (Hikmah) is Allah’s (SWT) attribute, and Wise (Hakeem) is His name.

Similarly, Mercy is His attribute and ‘Merciful’ (Raheem) and ‘Compassionate’ (Rahman) are His names.

In the same way, ‘knowledge’ is His attribute and ‘Knowledgeable (Aleem) is His name.

There are 99 famous names of Allah (SWT).

Click Here to read Ninty nine (99) Names of Allah (SWT)

It is in Quran – ‘Call upon Allah (SWT), or call upon Rahman: by whatever name you call upon Him, ( it is well ) for, to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names’. (Al-Isra – 110).

What is the meaning of name of Allah (SWT)?

Names signify various potentialities of Allah (SWT). Like ‘Sustainer’ (Rab). This potentiality of Allah (SWT) sustains all that is there in Heavens and Earth.

Allah (SWT) is Sustainer, and we are ‘Sustainables’.

Allah (SWT) is permanent, independent, self subsisting and eternal. We are temporary, contingent and dependent servants.

It is in Quran - ‘His authority spreads over the heavens and Earth and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them (His creatures), for He is the Most High, the Supreme (in glory)’. (Al-Baqara – 255).

What are facts of creatures?

From the tiny invisible particles (like proton, electron) to the mighty stars and heavens, everything is to known to Allah (SWT) prior to their creation. He created them with His prior knowledge. Individual facts of these creatures along with their individual characteristics were their in Allah’s (SWT) knowledge.

It is in Quran – ‘And a thing, We (Allah-SWT) Will (to create), We only Say ‘Be’, and there it is (it comes into existence)’. (An-Nahl – 40).

When Allah (SWT) wants to create a thing, He looks at its ‘fact’ which is there in His knowledge and commands ‘Be’, and there it comes into existence. This is external existence of that fact (thing).

Before the command of ‘Be’, the things were in internal existence or in Allah’s (SWT) knowledge. Internal or external existence, both are within the Knowledge of Almighty.

Why the things are seen by us only in external existence and not seen when they are in Allah’s (SWT) knowledge?

When Allah (SWT) commands ‘Be’ to a fact, a contact with Allah’s potentiality of being ‘Apparent’ is established and we become noticeable.

Our facts in Allah’s (SWT) knowledge can be seen only by Him. Generally, there is no access for us to see those facts.

It is in Quran - ‘And they (Humans) will never compass anything of His Knowledge except that which He wills”. (Al-Baqara – 255).

The whole cosmos is not separately independently existing on its own. Every moment, every instant, we require Allah’s (SWT) assistance to survive in the world.

It is in Quran - ‘ No slumber can seize Allah (SWT) nor sleep’. (Al-Baqara – 255).

It is His perpetual attention towards us that keeps us going. His Unity is encircling us from all sides. No one is outside the circle of His knowledge. This is the meaning of the verse, ‘wherever we turn, we find Allah (SWT) only’. Indeed He is nearer to us than our jugular vein.

What is the meaning of the following verses?

It is in Quran - (When Adam –AS body was created, Allah –SWT says) I breathed something (into it) out of My Soul’ (Al-Hijr – 29).

It is in Quran - [For Jesus Christ (Isa –AS), Allah - SWT says] ‘And when you make a bird-like shape from the mud and blow into it your breath and it gets to life on My behest’. (Al-Ma’ida – 110).

It is giving life.

What is the meaning of giving life?

It is the reflection of Allah’s (SWT) Being on the fact of the creature. No sooner the command of ‘Be’ is given, the thing appears in a specific shape.

What is the meaning of reflection of Allah’s (SWT) Being?

It is in Quran - ‘ He is the Manifest (apparent) and the Immanent (hidden - but actually present through out the material world) and He is the knower of all things ’ . (Al-Hadeed – 3).

The reflection of Allah’s (SWT) Being means, the connection of the fact of the creature with Allah’s (SWT) potentiality of being ‘Apparent’.

Allah (SWT) is Manifest (apparent). When He reflects this potentiality on the fact of a creature, it also becomes apparent or it comes into life (for a specific period of time).

This is the reason our world is known as ‘the World of manifestation ’ ( Aalam - e - Shahadah ).

The World of Manifestation (or our physical world) is made up of matter. To appear in this world, our souls (Arwah) needed bodies of matter, which were provided to us.

After our death, these bodies have to remain here. This is the reason our bodies are buried under the ground in this world. Later they get decomposed and become part of earth.

After our deaths, we are required to move to another world which is known as ‘Hereafter’ or ‘world after death’.

The world after death is also made up of matter. But that matter is different from ours. When we move there, we are provided with another body made up of that matter.

Our shapes remain the same in both these worlds. A formal contact between the dead and the alive remains at the place where they were buried.

It is in Hadith - Prophet Mohammad (SAWS) said ‘when you go the graves of the dead, say ‘Assalamu alaikum ya ahlal quboor’ – meaning ‘peace be upon you O’ people of graves’.

When we meet each other in this world also, we are required to say ‘Assalamu Alaikum’, meaning peace be upon you. This greeting is returned by ‘Wa’alaikum Assalam’, meaning, peace be upon you too.

Our existence is the gift of Allah (SWT). He has given us our life, He has provided us our bodies as per the requirements of this physical world. We will die when our life time is over.

Everything came out of His Being and it will eventually return there. This is the meaning of the verse - ‘He is the light or existence of everything in this cosmos?

Please tell us in brief and simple terms what is true Islamic monotheism?

It is in Prophet’s (SAWS) Hadith - (accepted by all Muslims) . ‘One who knew about himself, without doubt he knew about his Sustainer (Allah –SWT)’.

One who considers the Unity of Allah (SWT) as the source of all manifestation, meaning, he considers the real source to be the Unity of Allah (SWT) and gains Allah’s (SWT) visualization in such a way that he considers himself a place of manifestation of the Being and sees the reflection of His Being ( Wajood-e-Elahi ) on the facts of creatures; certainly he recognizes his Sustainer (Rab).

This is the meaning of above Prophet’s (SAWS) Hadith ; and also this is the meaning of Hadith of Ihsan in which Prophet Mohammad (SAWS) said - ‘ you worship Allah (SWT) seeing Him, and in case you fail to see Him, do your prayer knowing fully well that He is seeing you’.

This is true Islamic monotheism explained to us by Prophet Mohammad (SAWS). Other than this, is philosophy invented by ignorant scholars.

Let us consider an example. Is water a real thing? General people will say that, yes, definitely, it is a real thing. We drink it and use it for our various needs.

Ask a Chemist? He will say that it is a compound ( meaning a thing in thought) , the real thing is hydrogen and oxygen, its elements, with which it is made.

Ask a philosopher? He will say that the real thing is matter. First it was in the shape of gasses, and now it is in the shape of liquid. All these people are looking at the same thing, but their perception and understanding is different as per their abilities.

The flight of materialistic philosophers is up to this extent only.

Now, you ask a Real Muslim Monotheist whose vision is always focused on Allah (SWT). He will say that ‘ water is the manifestation of Allah’s (SWT) Being (Existence)’.

It is in Quran – ‘Allah (SWT) is the light (existence) of Heavens and Earth’.(An-Noor -35).

Source : Qur'an Sunnah

Dr.Zakir Naik