The Most Beautiful Names
For different people with different religious Backgrounds, God is conceived in different ways. To some, God is love, to others God is a force, a light or a spirit. Many people try to create a visual image of God in their mind. For them, doing so makes belief easier. For some God is impersonated with the head of an elephant, while to others God is an old white man with a beard who is sitting in the clouds and looking after all of us!
The Quranic perspective of this issue is simple: Do not try to visually conceive of God for the human being is not able to see or comprehend the greatness of God.
The Quran narrates the story of Moses when he asked to see God:
"When Moses came at our appointed time, and his Lord spoke with him, he said, "My Lord, let me look and see You." He said, "You cannot see Me. But look at that mountain; if it stays in its place, then you can see Me." Then, his Lord manifested Himself to the mountain, and this caused it to crumble. Moses fell unconscious. When he came to, he said, "Be You glorified. I repent to You, and I am the most convinced believer." 7:143
This incident is placed in the Quran to demonstrate the fact that nothing in the physical universe is able to withstand the presence of God.
Indeed, the Creator of this vast universe and everything that is in it must be far more greater than anything our imagination or understanding is able to comprehend. Our physical senses are given to us purely for communicating in our physical world. We are not able to employ any of our physical senses to comprehend God. We are only able to culture a mental image of God in our minds. For this reason, God refers in the Quran to some of His Glorious Names and attributes so that we may build a mental image of God rather than a visual one. The following are some of God's Names/attributes that are given in the Quran.
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God the Absolute
God the One
"Say, "He is the One and only God. The Absolute God. Never
did He beget. Nor was He begotten. None equals Him."
112:1-4
The words relative and absolute are quite straight forward in what they mean. Anything relative is that which can be compared to or related to other things. Whenever we describe that object we are always describing it in relation to other things. On the other hand an absolute is that which is self-existent and is independent of all other things.
We know that everything around us is relative. An athlete is a very fast runner compared to road pedestrians but is indeed very slow compared to a motor car, a sauna is very hot compared to our freezer, but is very cool compared to our oven, and so on until it becomes evident that nothing in the physical universe is absolute in its own right. Everything around us is relative because it can only be described in relation to other things. Any object will always have something else that is bigger, cooler, older, higher or faster than it .
However, the Almighty God created the universe, and thus could not be related to this universe in any physical sense, for God the Creator is clearly the cause and not the effect of the universe. Moreover, since God is the Creator of the universe then He must have existed before the universe was created. Consequently, God exists independent of the universe. Therefore, it follows that nothing in this universe can be compared to God, and if nothing can be compared to God then by definition God must be Absolute.
The absolute God then means that nothing is like or akin to Him, but if we were to consider the possibility of the existence of more than one god, immediately the question will arise as to: which god came first, which god is more powerful and so on, and that would ultimately reduce these gods to being relative because comparisons will arise.
If God is absolute, by definition, He must be One.
"If there were in them (the heavens and the earth) other gods beside God, there would have been chaos. Glory be to God; the Lord with absolute authority. He is high above their claims." 21:22
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God the Greatest
"They can never fathom the greatness of God. The whole earth is within His fist on
the Day of Resurrection. In fact, the universes are folded within His right hand.
Be He glorified; He is much too high above needing any partners."
39: 67
The Quran speaks of seven universes, layered as seven spheres one inside the other. Our universe is the innermost of the seven, and thus the smallest of the seven. All the heavenly bodies that we see in the sky (stars, nebulae, galaxies, quasars) are part of our innermost universe (41:12, 55:33, 67:5, & 72:8-12).
It is not possible to conceive of God's greatness, but by contemplating on the immensity of His creation, we get a modest indication of His greatness.
Light, which is the fastest mover in the universe, travels at a speed of 300,000 Km per second! For light to travel from one end of our galaxy across to the other end it takes 100,000 years, and this immense distance is only within our own galaxy! Our universe contains a billion or more other galaxies! Each of these galaxies contain billions of stars like our own sun!
If we attempt to simply count the stars in our own galaxy, which are estimated to be in excess of 100 billion stars (100,000,000,000), and count one star per second it will take us 3170 years to count them. To count the stars in all the universe becomes unthinkable. But this is only how long it takes to count them; but God "created" them. Such is the greatness of God.
If the diameter of our own galaxy is 100,000 light years, can you imagine the diameter of our innermost universe? What about the 4th and 3rd up to the 1st outermost universe? There becomes no words to even attempt to conceive of such magnitudes.
In 39:67 we are told that this incomprehensible vastness of the seven universes is "within the fist of God's hand." Can you imagine from the outer limit of the outermost universe, where is the planet Earth?
How significant is it? On the infinitesimal mote called Earth, such minuscule creatures as Mary, Jesus, and Muhammad lived. Yet, some people set up these powerless humans as god like figures, and others make them partners with God in everything they say or do!
God's greatness is represented not only by the fact that He holds the seven universes in His hand, but also by the fact that He fully controls every atom, even subatomic components, everywhere in the greater universe (6:59, 10:61, & 34:3).
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God the First
God the Last
"He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the Outermost
and the Innermost. He is fully aware of all things."
57:3
It is a very interesting fact that within the most accurate science we know, which is mathematics, there is no definitions for "first" nor "last"! What is the smallest/first figure? Is it One? no it is not! We can half the One to get 1/2. Is it 1/8 or 1/10000 ? No it is not, they too can be halved. As a matter of fact, however small the figure may be, it can always be halved. As much as it may seem strange, yet the truth is that we can never determine or obtain a "First". Mathematicians devised the figure zero (which is not a number) in order to deal with this unobtainable number.
The same puzzle exists at the other end of the scale. What is the largest/last figure? It is not one billion nor one billion billion billion. To each of these figures we are still able to add more. To obtain a practical solution for this situation mathematicians have devised the term Infinity.
When we try to translate these abstract values (first and last) into physical form, we find that these seemingly simple values are indeed outside our comprehension.
These abstract and incomprehensible terms are so because our minds are only trained to comprehend relative values and not absolute ones. For example the number 5 is relative to the number 10 since 5 is half the 10, and so on. However, the term infinity (or the first) cannot be compared to other numbers, and therefore they can be thought of as absolute terms.
It is not strange thus to learn that God being absolute has claimed these concepts for Himself. Indeed, God is the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega.
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God the Sole Law Giver
“Shall I seek other than God as a source of law,
when He has revealed to you this book fully detailed?"
6:114
Abiding by God’s Law is a true sign of sincere worship. Contained in all the Scripture delivered by God’s prophets, is the law prescribed for various peoples of various times and places. Within all the Scripture is a clear and firm command from God not to uphold any religious law except that which is from God. God alone is the sole Law Giver. To uphold other sources of religious law besides God’s Scripture is to uphold other gods besides God. This message is well pronounced in the Quran in a number of verses:
“Shall I seek other than God as a source of law, when He has revealed to you this book fully detailed? Those who received the scripture recognize that it has been revealed from your Lord, truthfully. You shall not harbor any doubt.” 6:114
“Then we revealed to you this scripture (Quran), truthfully, confirming previous scriptures, and superseding them. You shall rule among them in accordance with God's revelations, and do not follow their wishes if they differ from the truth that came to you. For each of you, we have decreed laws and different rites. Had God willed, He could have made you one congregation. But He thus puts you to the test through the revelations He has given each of you. You shall compete in righteousness. To God is your final destiny-all of you-then He will inform you of everything you had disputed.” 5:48
A similar command is contained in the Torah for the children of Israel to obey God's commands alone and not to follow any man made commands (Leviticus 18:1-5).
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The the only Saviour
The only Redeemer
"You shall glorify and praise your Lord, and implore
Him for forgiveness. He is the Redeemer."
110:3
Numerous letters have been received from our Christian brothers and sisters in which they preach to us that Jesus Christ is the Savior. With due respect to them, we cannot accept their notion as it contradicts every known divine scripture including the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Quran. Any sincere student of the scripture will find out that the One and Only Savior and Redeemer is the One God, the Almighty, the God of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammed.
To verify this issue we start with a number of verses from the New Testament which confirm that every person is responsible for his own deeds:
“A man will reap only what he sows.”Galatians 6:4 - 7
Also,
"Each of us shall give an account of himself to God." Romans 14:12
"Each one will receive his own reward according to his own labour." 1Corinthians 3:8
And from the Old Testament:
"Also to you O Lord, belong mercy; for you render to each one according to his work." Psalms 62:12
"And will he not render to each man according to his deeds?" Proverbs 24:12
"The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself." Ezekiel 18:20
The concept of each man being accountable to his own deeds expressed ithroughout the Bible clearly contradicts the concept of "atonement" (Jesus dying to atone for our sins) which does away with any accountability, since all our sins would be forgiven simply through the death of Jesus!
The Scripture (including the New Testament) stresses the fact that God alone is the "only true God":
"And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." John 17:3
Surely it is within the authority of God alone to exercise the right of our accountability. Indeed, only the One who accepts repentance and wipes out sins can do that.
Throughout the Old Testament, God Alone is referred to as the "Saviour". See: 2 Samuel 22:1-3, and Isaiah 43:3-11.
In Isaiah, God Himself speaks, saying clearly that He alone is the Saviour:
“For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour....It is I, the Lord; there is no saviour but me” Isaiah 43:3 &11
God repeats this categorical statement in Hosea:
“I am the Lord, your God, since the land of Egypt; You know no God besides me, and there is no Saviour but me.” Hosea 13:4
There is also a related concept, the idea of a “Redeemer”. This word has also been used exclusively for God in the Old Testament, e.g. Isaiah 44:24 and Isaiah 60:16
“You shall know that I, the Lord am your Saviour, your Redeemer, the mighty one of Jacob.” Isaiah 60:16
This term describing Jesus as the Savior was used only twice in the N.T. This is noted in Luke 2:11, where some vesions use the word "saviour" and others use the word "deliverer", also in John 4:42. Besides these two occurrences, the only other occurrence in the Gospels clearly refers to God, not Jesus. However, these two occurances are highly dubious since they are in complete contradiction to the Old Testament. God does not change His mind. God does not call Himself the "only Saviour" then decides to change that and call Jesus the Savior! They are also suspect because they are in contradiction to other New Testament verses where God is named as the only Saviour:
“Then Mary said: “My being proclaims the greatness of the Lord. My spirit finds joy in God, my Saviour, For He has looked upon his servant in her lowliness” Luke 1: 46-48
This verse is very significant. Mary was referring to God and not to Jesus. Mary was the mother of Jesus, and if Jesus was the "saviour" would Mary his mother not know it?
Also we cannot ignore the reminder in Isaiah 46:9 where God speaks of Himself
“I am God, there is no other, I am God, there is none like me.” (La Elaha Ella Allah).
In the Final Testament, the Quran, God clearly calls Himself the Redeemer and no savior besides Him:
"As for those who repent, reform, and proclaim, I redeem them. I am the Redeemer, Most Merciful." 2:160
"As for those who believe and lead a righteous life, He will fully recompense them, and shower them with His grace. As for those who disdain and turn arrogant, He will commit them to painful retribution. They will find no lord beside God, nor a savior." 4:173
"Do they not realize that God accepts the repentance of His worshipers, and takes the charities, and that God is the Redeemer, Most Merciful?" 9:104
"This is God's grace and mercy towards you. God is Redeemer, Most Wise." 24:10
".......You shall observe God. God is Redeemer, Most Merciful." 49:12
"You shall glorify and praise your Lord, and implore Him for forgiveness. He is the Redeemer." 110:3
The Quran confirms the basic principle in the Old and New Testaments, that a man will reap only what he sows.
"Every soul is responsible only for his/her own work" 53:39
".............no soul benefits except from its own work, and none bears the burden of another......" 6:164
We have Only One God who can redeem us, He is the same God who spoke in the Bible, the Gospel and the Quran reminding us that there is no god besides Him.
"Proclaim, "He is the One and only God. The Absolute God. Never did He beget. Nor was He begotten. None equals Him."112:1-4
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The Most Merciful
"Your Lord has decreed that Mercy is His attribute."
6:54
God's Mercy is infinite, but because man in comparison is so mean, man is not able to understand or appreciate God's Mercy.
Before presenting some of the signs of God's Mercy, let us first read some Quranic verses that speak of His Mercy:
"Proclaim, "If you possessed my Lord's treasures of mercy, you would have withheld them fearing that you might exhaust them. The human being is stingy." 17:100
"If they disbelieve you, then say, "Your Lord possesses infinite mercy, but His retribution is unavoidable for the guilty people." 6:147
"Our Lord, Your mercy and Your knowledge encompass all things. Forgive those who repent and follow Your path, and spare them the retribution of Hell." 40:7
"And decree for us righteousness in this world, and in the Hereafter. We have repented to You." He said, "My retribution befalls whomever I will. But My mercy encompasses all things." 7:156
"Say, "My Lord, shower us with forgiveness and mercy. Of all the merciful ones, You are the Most Merciful" 23:118
"Say, "To whom belongs everything in the heavens and the earth?" Say, "To God." He has decreed that mercy is His attribute. He will surely summon you all on the Day of Resurrection, which is inevitable. The ones who lose their souls are those who disbelieve." 6:12
The Quran speaks of God's infinite Mercy that is given to all those who believe in Him. So great is the magnitude of God's Mercy that God takes it on Himself to decree Mercy as one of His attributes. One of the signs of this infinite Mercy is evident in the following verse:
"Exempted (from the retribution) are those who repent, believe, and lead a righteous life. God transforms their sins into credits. God is Forgiver, Most Merciful." 25:70
In this glorious verse we are told how God in fact transforms the sins of those who repent, believe and lead a righteous life into credits. Indeed this is a sign of divine Mercy, a mercy that is not easily comprehended by the human being.
One other sign of God's infinite Mercy is given in 46:15 where the age of responsibility is set at 40:
"We enjoined the human being to honor his parents. His mother bore him arduously, gave birth to him arduously, and took intimate care of him for thirty months. When he reaches maturity, and reaches the age of forty, he should say, "My Lord, direct me to appreciate the blessings You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and to do the righteous works that please You. Let my children be righteous as well. I have repented to You; I am a submitter." 46:15
Because God is the Most fair Judge and also the Most Merciful, He will not hold anyone accountable until he/she reaches maturity. The ones who die before 40 die before attaining full maturity and thus they are exempt through God's Mercy. The human being's first reaction to this piece of information is objection: What if the person was really bad, evil, and an atheist, will he go to Heaven if he died before the age of 40?" We ask these questions because we are mean with our mercy, while God is the Most Merciful. Our tendency is to "put them all in Hell." People who objected strongly to this Divine mercy cannot come up with a cut-off age of responsibility. They ask questions like, "What if the person was really wicked?" The answer is, "Does God know that this person was wicked?" "Yes."
"Does God know that this person does not deserve to go to Heaven?" "Yes."
"Therefore, this person will not die before the age of 40." As simple as that.
God is the only one who terminates our lives on this earth. He knows exactly who deserves to go Heaven and who deserves to go to Hell.
Ultimately, the greatest sign of God's Infinite Mercy is associated with our very existence on earth. Every human being on this planet would not have been here but for God's Infinite Mercy. After our horrendous sin in the previous life, and our refusal to accept God's absolute authority, God could have banished us all or destroyed us, yet once again due to His Infinite Mercy, we have been given a second chance to redeem ourselves and submit to God's absolute authority.
For more details of the original sin please go to : Why we are here?
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The Initiator, the Creator
The Lord of the Universe
"Such is God your Lord, there is no god except He, the Creator of
all things. You shall worship Him alone. He is in control of all things."
6:102
The theory of the creation of the universe, which is known as the Big Bang theory, states that at a moment billions of years ago (between 15 and 18 billion) space, matter and time came into existence. The whole universe was created as a result. This initial moment of creation could not be explained through the general laws of physics as we know them. The universe was created by a divine power that is not restricted by the laws of physics.
However, the failure of some scientists to contribute this initial moment of creation to a divine force stems from the fact that they interpret this initial moment as the moment when all the laws of physics break down, rather than being the moment when all the laws of physics came to be.
The phrase "came to be" is understandingly in violation to the law of conservation of matter which states that matter cannot be created nor destroyed. But this law explains how things behave in the physical universe which we know, and since the creation of the universe preceded the physical universe and all its laws, then the moment of creation is not subject to any of the laws of this physical universe. Ultimately, since nothing comes from nothing, then the creation of the universe must have had an initiator.
"Say, "Shall I accept other than God as a Lord and Master, when He is the Initiator of the heavens and the earth" 6:14
It is God, who is not restricted by the laws of physics (since He is the one who set them), who created the universe and all that is in it:
"Such is God your Lord, there is no god except He, the Creator of all things. You shall worship Him alone. He is in control of all things." 6:102
Unlike the Biblical description of God who created the universe in 6 days and took a rest on the 7th day, the Quran speaks of God who does not need rest nor sleep, God who only says be and it is:
"He is the One who created the heavens and the earth, truthfully. Whenever He says, "Be," it is. His word is the absolute truth." 6:73
"God: there is no other god besides Him, the Living, the Eternal. Never a moment of unawareness or slumber overtakes Him. To Him belongs everything in the heavens and everything on earth." 2:255
For more scientific info about the Creation of the universe in the Quran please go to: Creation of the Universe
Indeed the creation of the universe was an awesome event. The precise proportions and measures of all things were meticulously set by God in order to maintain a perfect functioning of the universe. We constantly witness signs of God's perfect arrangements on earth whenever we upset the balance of nature. An example of this is the production of too much toxic gases which have an adverse effect on vegetation, pollution, ozone ... etc.
When we launch astronauts into space, we measure precisely the amount of food, water, oxygen, and other needs throughout the journey. Similarly, God has launched us into space-on board spaceship Earth-and He has designed all kinds of renewable provisions for us and other creatures, a perfect design. Think, for example, of the symbiotic relationship between us and the plants; we use the oxygen they produce in photosynthesis, while they use the carbon dioxide we produce in respiration.
"He created everything in exact measure; He precisely designed everything." 25:2
God's signs in His creation are infinite, however they are only recognised by the believers:
"God created the heavens and the earth, truthfully. This provides a sufficient proof for the believers." 29:44
However, for those who are uncomfortable in accepting a supreme God who's authority is Absolute, they will always ascribe the creation and sustenance of the universe to such abstract titles such as 'nature'! Somehow, they do not (or wish not) see that nature is not a creator, nature itself is created:
"Yet, they set up beside Him gods who do not create anything-they themselves are created-and who possess no power to even harm or benefit themselves, nor do they possess any power to control life, or death, or resurrection." 25:3
The challenge of creation is presented to us in the creation of the smallest of things in nature, yet even in these we stand helpless:
"O people, here is a parable that you must ponder carefully: the idols you set up beside God can never create a fly, even if they banded together to do so. Furthermore, if the fly robs them of anything, they cannot recover it; weak is the pursuer and the pursued." 22:73
"Such is the creation of God; show me what the idols you set up beside Him have created. Indeed, the transgressors are far astray." 31:11
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God the Master of the Day of Judgement
"Praise be to God, Lord of the universe. Most Gracious,
Most Merciful. Master of the Day of Judgment."
1:2-4
God alone possesses any authority on the Day of Judgement. Those who idolise Jesus have been tricked by Satan to believe that there is no salvation except through Jesus. Others who idolise Muhammad have also been duped by Satan to believe that they are first destined to hell then they will only exit hell and go to heaven through the intercession of Muhammad!
God answers all those with clear and unambiguous words:
"Awesome is the Day of Judgment. What a day; the Day of Judgment! That is the day when no soul can help another soul, and all decisions, on that day, will belong to God." 82:17-19
Clearly if Muhammad or Jesus are able to save anyone on Judgement Day, then God's words "no soul can help another soul"become meaningless!
God is indeed the Master of the day of Judgement. No soul has any authority whatsoever on that day. As a matter of fact, the Quran states that on that day all souls (messengers included) are summoned before the Almighty as humble servants:
"Every single one in the heavens and the earth returns to the Most Gracious as a servant." 19:93
The ones who believe that Muhammad will take them out of hell fire are answered with the following words:
"With regard to those who have deserved the retribution, can you (O Muhammad) save those who are in Hell?" 39:19
These words should assure all believers that neither Muhammad nor any human being is able to save whoever is in hell. Sadly, those who choose to idolise Muhammad and regard him as their intercessor on Judgement day insist on ignoring God's words in 39:19 and instead uphold false hadith which portrays Muhammad as the intercessor and saviour on Judgement Day.
The words of the Quran which mock their behaviour do not seem to have any effect on them:
"You have come back to us as individuals, just as we created you the first time, and you have left behind what we provided for you. We do not see with you the intercessors whom you idolized and claimed that they will help you. All ties among you have been severed; the idols you set up have abandoned you." 6:94
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