The Philosophy of Islamic Teachings (14)

The Attributes of God 

We have given only these few proofs of God's existence, in the hope that they will serve as examples. Next we will consider the attributes of God, towards Whom the Holy Quran calls us. They are as follows: 

"He is Al'lah, and there is none worthy of worship except Him, the Knower of the Unseen and the Visible. He is the Gracious, the Merciful." (59:23) 

"Sovereign of the Day of Judgment." (1:4) 

"The Sovereign, the Holy One, the Source of Peace, the Bestower of Security, the Protector, the Mighty One, the Subduer, the Exalted One." (59:24) 

"He is Al'lah, the Creator, the Maker, the Fashioner. His are the most beautiful names. All that is in the heavens and on earth glorifies Him, for He is the Mighty, the Wise." (59:25).

"Al'lah has power to do whatever He wills." (2:21) 

"Lord of all the worlds. The Gracious, the Merciful. Sovereign of the Day of Judgment." (1:2-4) 

"I answer the prayer of the supplicant when he calls upon Me." (2:187) 

"The Living One, the Self-Subsisting and sustaining everything." (2:256) 

"Say: "He is Al'lah, the One", "Al'lah: the Independent and Implored by all". "He begets not, nor was He begotten", "And there is none like Him". (112:2-5) 

This means that God is Unique and without a partner, and that none other than Him is worthy of worship and obedience. This claim is made because if He had a partner there might be a fear that a rival would surpass Him, in which case divinity would always be in jeopardy. The assertion that none but He is worthy of worship means that He is so perfect, and His attributes so excellent and lofty, that if we were to choose a god from the universe of perfect attributes, or if we were to consider the best and highest attributes that God should possess, He would be above all that we could imagine, above all His rivals. Such is God, and it would be utterly wrong to mix partners in His worship.  

He is the Knower of the unseen, that is to say, He alone knows Himself. No one can comprehend His Being. We can fully comprehend the sun and the moon, but we cannot fully comprehend God. He is the Knower of the visible, for nothing is hidden from Him. It cannot be imagined that He is ignorant of anything. He has all the particles of the universe in view, but man does not possess such a complete vision. God knows when He can bring this system to an end and bring about the Day of Judgement. No one else knows when this will happen. Only God has knowledge of such events.  

It is said: "He is the Merciful". This means that before He creates animate beings, and before they perform any act, He provides them with everything, not in payment for what they have done to Him, nor for any other reason, but out of His pure goodness. For example, He created the sun and the earth, and many other things, for our happiness before He created us, and before we performed any action. This divine goodness is designated "Rahmaniyyat" in the Book of God, and for this reason God Most High is called "Rahman". He fully rewards good deeds, and does not despise anyone's effort. Because of this attribute, He is called "Rahim", and the attribute is called "Rahimiyyat". 

It is further said: 

"Sovereign of the Day of Judgment" (1:4). 

This means that He, personally, rewards everyone. He has not transferred to any other His dominion of the earth and the heavens, so as to depart totally from His relations with His creation; nor has He entrusted to any other the determination of the reward for all things and at all times.  

It then goes on to say: 

"The Sovereign, the Holy One" (59:24). 

It is evident that human sovereignty is not without flaws. For example, if all the subjects of an earthly king were to leave his country to migrate to another, his sovereignty would end. Or if all subjects suffered from hunger, how could taxes be collected? Or if the subjects asked him what attribute he had that they did not have that would justify their duty to obey him, what could he answer them?  

God's sovereignty is free from all defect. He can destroy everything in a moment and create another kingdom. Had He not been Omnipotent Creator, His kingdom would not have endured without injustice. For example, having once forgiven and saved the peoples of the world, how could He acquire another world? Would He have tried to return to the world those He had already saved, to test them again? Would He have so unjustly revoked His forgiveness and salvation? In that case, His divinity would have been defective, and He would have become an imperfect king, like the earthly kings who never cease to enact new laws for their people, and who lose patience many times; and when in their selfishness they see that they cannot go on without committing injustice, they commit it without scruple. In earthly kingdoms, for instance, it is considered permissible to sink a small boat, with all its crew, in order to secure the safety of a larger vessel, but God is free from such obligations. Had he not been Omnipotent and had he not had the power to create something out of nothing, God would have been forced to resort to injustice, as weak kings do, or he would have clung to justice, losing his divinity. God's ship sails on, basing its power on justice.  

(lpbD) - God's peace and blessings be upon him. 

[We will continue with the 15th installment, where we will continue to expound on the theme of "The Attributes of God": the Source of Peace, the Departer of Security, the Protector, the Mighty, the Exalted, the Supreme. The Holy Quran describes many attributes of Al'lah. We will detail some of them].