The most concise definition of God in Islam is given in the four
verses of Surah Ikhlas which is Chapter 112 of the Qur'an:

"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 dependant on any person or thing, but all persons and
things are dependant 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.

What does Islam say about 'god-men'?

India is often called the land of 'god-men'. This is due to the
abundance of so-called spiritual masters in India. Many of these
'babas' and 'saints' have a large following in many countries. Islam
abhors deification of any human being. To understand the Islamic stand
towards such pretenders to divinity, let us analyze one such 'god-
man', Osho Rajneesh.

Let us put this candidate, 'Bhagwan' Rajneesh, to the test of Surah
Ikhlas, the touchstone of theology:

i)
The first criterion is "Say, He is Allah, one and only". Is Rajneesh
one and only? No! Rajneesh was one among the multitude of 'spiritual
teachers' produced by India. Some disciples of Rajneesh might still
hold that Rajneesh is one and only.

ii)
The second criterion is, 'Allah is absolute and eternal'. We know from
Rajneesh's biography that he was suffering from diabetes, asthma, and
chronic backache. He alleged that the U.S. Government gave him slow
poison in prison. Imagine Almighty God being poisoned! Rajneesh was
thus, neither absolute nor eternal.

iii)
The third criterion is 'He begets not, nor is He begotten'. We know
that Rajneesh was born in Jabalpur in India and had a mother as well
as a father who later became his disciples.


In May 1981 he went to U.S.A. and established a town called
'Rajneeshpuram'. He later fell foul of the West and was finally
arrested and asked to leave the country. He came back to India and
started a commune in Pune which is now known as the 'Osho' commune. He
died in 1990. The followers of Osho Rajneesh believe that he is
Almighty God. At the 'Osho commune' in Pune one can find the following
epitaph on his tombstone:

"Osho – never born, never died; only visited the planet Earth between
11th December 1931 to 19th January 1990."

They forget to mention that he was not granted visa for 21 countries
of the world. Can a person ever imagine 'God' visiting the earth, and
requiring a visa to enter a country! The Archbishop of Greece said
that if Rajneesh had not been deported, they would have burnt his
house and those of his disciples.

(iv)
The fourth test, which is the most stringent is, "There is none like
unto Him". The moment you can imagine or compare 'God' to anything,
then he (the candidate to divinity) is not God. It is not possible to
conjure up a mental picture of the One True God. We know that Rajneesh
was a human being, having two eyes, two ears, a nose, a mouth and a
white flowing beard. Photographs and posters of Rajneesh are available
in plenty. The moment you can imagine or draw a mental picture of an
entity, then that entity is not God.


Many are tempted to make anthropomorphic comparisons of God. Take for
instance, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the famous body builder and Hollywood
actor, who won the title of 'Mr. Universe', the strongest man in the
world. Let us suppose that someone says that Almighty God is a
thousand times stronger than Arnold Schwarzenegger. The moment you can
compare any entity to God, whether the comparison is to Schwarzenegger
or to King Kong, whether it is a thousand times or a million times
stronger, it fails the Qur'anic criterion, "There is none like unto
Him".

Thus, the 'acid test' cannot be passed by anyone except the One True
God.

The following verse of the Glorious Qur'an conveys a similar message:

"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]

By what name do we call God?

The Muslims prefer calling the Supreme Creator, Allah, instead of by
the English word 'God'. The Arabic word, 'Allah', is pure and unique,
unlike the English word 'God', which can be played around with.

If you add 's' to the word God, it becomes 'Gods', that is the plural
of God. Allah is one and singular, there is no plural of Allah. If you
add 'dess' to the word God, it becomes 'Goddess' that is a female God.
There is nothing like male Allah or female Allah. Allah has no gender.
If you add the word 'father' to 'God' it becomes 'God-father'. God-
father means someone who is a guardian. There is no word like 'Allah-
Abba' or 'Allah-father'. If you add the word 'mother' to 'God', it
becomes 'God-mother'. There is nothing like 'Allah-Ammi', or 'Allah-
mother' in Islam. Allah is a unique word. If you prefix tin before the
word God, it becomes tin-God i.e., fake God. Allah is a unique word,
which does not conjure up any mental picture nor can it be played
around with. Therefore the Muslims prefer using the Arabic word
'Allah' for the Almighty. Sometimes, however, while speaking to the
non-Muslims we may have to use the inappropriate word God, for Allah.
Since the intended audience of this article is general in nature,
consisting of both Muslims as well as non-Muslims, I have used the
word God instead of Allah in several places in this article.

God does not become a human being:

God does not take human form:



Some may argue that God does not become a human being but only takes a
human form. If God only takes a human form but does not become a human
being, He should not possess any human qualities. We know that all the
'God-men', have human qualities and failings. They have all the human
needs such as the need to eat, sleep, etc.

The worship of God in human form is therefore a logical fallacy and
should be abhorred in all its forms and manifestations.

That is the reason why the Qur'an speaks against all forms of
anthropomorphism. The Glorious Qur'an says in the following verse:

"There is nothing whatever like unto Him."
[Al-Qur'an 42:11]

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.

The Qur'an says:

"Allah is never unjust In the least degree."
[Al-Qur'an 4:40]

God can be unjust if He chooses to be so, but the moment God does
injustice, He ceases to be God.

God does not make mistakes

God can make mistakes if He wants to, but He does not make mistakes
because making a mistake is an ungodly act. The Qur'an says:

"…my Lord never errs."
[Holy Qur'an 20:52]

The moment God makes a mistake, he ceases to be God.

God does not forget


God can forget if He wants to. But God does not forget anything
because forgetting is an ungodly act, which reeks of human limitations
and failings. The Qur'an says:

"…my Lord never errs, nor forgets."
[Al-Qur'an 20:52]


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):

"For verily Allah has power over all things"

Further, the Glorious Qur'an says:

"Allah is the doer of all that He intends."
[Al-Qur'an 85:16]

We must keep in mind that Allah intends only Godly acts and not
ungodly acts.

PHILOSOPHY OF ANTHROPOMORPHISM

Many religions at some point believe, directly or indirectly, in the
philosophy of anthropomorphism i.e. God becoming a human. Their
contention is that Almighty God is so pure and holy that He is unaware
of the hardships, shortcomings and feelings of human beings. In order
to set the rules for human beings, He came down to earth as a human.
This deceptive logic has fooled countless millions through the ages.
Let us now analyze this argument and see if it stands to reason.

The Creator prepares the instruction manual:

Suppose I manufacture a video cassette recorder (VCR). Do I have to
become a VCR to know what is good or what is bad for the VCR? What do
I do? I write an instruction manual: "In order to watch a video
cassette, insert the cassette and press the play button. In order to
stop, press the stop button. If you want to fast forward press the FF
button. Do not drop it from a height or it will get damaged. Do not
immerse it in water or it will get spoilt". I write an instruction
manual that lists the various do's and don'ts for the machine.

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

Similarly, our Lord and Creator Allah (swt) need not take human form
to know what is good or bad for the human being. He 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:

Not only does God possess unique attributes, but also each attribute
of Almighty God is sufficient to identify Him. I shall clarify this
point in detail. Let us take an example of a famous personality, say
Neil Armstrong. Neil Armstrong is an astronaut. The attribute of being
an astronaut possessed by Neil Armstrong is correct but not unique to
Neil Armstrong alone. So when one asks, who is an astronaut? The
answer is, there are hundreds of people in the world who are
astronauts. Neil Armstrong is an American. The attribute of being
American possessed by Neil Armstrong is correct but not sufficient to
identify him. So when one asks, who is an American? The answer is,
there are millions of people who are American. To identify the person
uniquely we must look for a unique attribute possessed by none except
that person. For example, Neil Armstrong was the first human to set
foot on the moon. So when one asks, who was the first man to set foot
on the moon, the answer is only one, i.e. Neil Armstrong. Similarly
the attribute of Almighty God should be unique. If I say God is the
constructor of buildings, it is possible and true, but it is not
unique. Thousands of people can construct a building. But each
attribute of Allah is unique and points to none but Allah. For
example, 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:

Besides the attribute being unique, it should not contradict other
attributes. To continue with the earlier example, suppose somebody
says that Neil Armstrong is an American astronaut who was the first
human to set foot on the moon and was an Indian. The attribute
possessed by Neil Armstrong of being the first man to set foot on the
moon, is correct. But its associated quality of being an Indian, is
false. Similarly 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. To say that Neil Armstrong was an American astronaut
who first set foot on the moon, but he was born in 1971 is wrong. Both
these unique qualities belong to one and the same person, i.e. Neil
Armstrong. Similarly to say that the Creator of the universe is one
God and the Cherisher is another God is absurd because God possesses
all these attributes combined together.


Unity of 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.


TAWHEED:

Definition and Categories:

Islam believes in 'Tawheed' which is not merely monotheism i.e. belief
in one God, but much more. Tawheed literally means 'unification' i.e.
'asserting oneness' and is derived from the Arabic verb 'Wahhada'
which means to unite, unify or consolidate.

Tawheed can be divided into three categories.

1. Tawheed ar-Ruboobeeyah
2. Tawheed al-Asmaa-was-Sifaat
3. Tawheed al-Ibaadah.

A.
Tawheed ar-Ruboobeeyah (maintaining the unity of Lordship)


The first category is 'Tawheed ar-Ruboobeeyah'. 'Ruboobeeyah' is
derived from the root verb "Rabb" meaning Lord, Sustainer and
Cherisher.

Therefore 'Tawheed-ar-Ruboobeeyah' means maintaining the unity of
Lordship. This category is based on the fundamental concept that Allah
(swt) alone caused all things to exist when there was nothing. He
created or originated all that exists out of nothing. He alone is the
sole Creator, Cherisher, and Sustainer of the complete universe and
all between it, without any need from it or for it.

B.