The Philosophy of Islamic Teachings (15)

[We continue to describe in this installment some of the attributes of God, described in The Holy Quran].

The next attribute of God is that He is the Source of Peace, السَّلٰمُ. That is, He is free from all defects, misfortunes and calamities, and provides security for all. If He had fallen prey to suffering, if His people had been able to kill Him, or His designs had been frustrated, how could the hearts of the people have been comforted with the conviction that He would deliver them from their misfortunes?

God Most High describes the condition of the false deities in the following words:

"O humans, an example is proposed to you, so listen to it! Verily, those whom ye call upon in the place of Al'lah cannot create even a fly, even if they were all united for that purpose. And if the fly were to take anything from them, they could not recover it. Indeed, they are weak, both the seeker and the sought. They do not appreciate Al'lah with the appreciation it deserves. Verily, Al'lah is Mighty, Mighty."  (22:74-75)

Furthermore, God is the Departer of Security, and provides us with proofs of His attributes and His Oneness. This is an indication that the one who believes in the true God is not ashamed of any company, nor should he be ashamed before God, because he has conclusive proofs at his disposal. But he who believes in a false god is deeply troubled. He calls everything meaningless a mystery, lest he should be mocked, and tries to conceal palpable errors.

Also:

"The Protector, the Mighty, the Subduer, the Exalted." (59:24), meaning that He safeguards all and is Supreme over all, restores all that degenerates and is completely Self-Sufficient.

"He is Al'lah, the Creator, the Maker, the Fashioner. His are the most beautiful names" (59:25). This means that He is the Creator of both bodies and souls. He determines the characteristics of a baby in the womb. To Him belong all the beautiful names that can be thought of. 

It further says:

"All that is in the heavens and on earth glorifies Him, for He is the Mighty, the Wise" (59:25).  The inhabitants of heaven and the inhabitants of earth glorify Him. This is an indication that the heavenly bodies are also populated and their inhabitants follow Divine guidance..

"Surely Al'lah has power to do whatever He wills." (2:149). This brings great comfort to His worshippers, for what can one expect from a god who is weak and powerless?

Moreover the Holy Quran records: 

"He is the Lord of all the worlds, the Gracious, the Merciful, Sovereign of the Day of Judgment" (1:2-4). This means that He provides for the universe and is Himself the Owner of the Day of Judgment and has not entrusted the Judgment to anyone else.

Further on:

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

Also:

"The Living One, the Self-Subsisting and the All-Sustaining" (3:3). That is, He provides life to all lives, and is the Sustainer of all being. He is the Living One, for if He were not, His worshippers would be apprehensive that He would die before them.

He continues: 

"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). 

The righteousness that man owes to his Creator consists in firmly believing in the Oneness of God, without the slightest deviation from this belief. We have expounded the moral teachings of Islam, through the Holy Quran. Its basic principle is that there should never be either excess or lack; it is characteristic of moral quality that it should neither exceed nor fall below the proper limit. It is clear that virtue lies between the two extremes.

Only those habits which claim to lie between the extremes can become moral qualities. The recognition of the right place and the right occasion itself represents the middle ground. For example, a farmer who sows too early or too late deviates from the middle way. Virtue, truth and wisdom are in the middle ground, and the right time is the right time; that is, truth always lies between two opposing falsehoods. There is no doubt that by awaiting the right occasion a person stands in the middle ground. To be in the middle ground with respect to God means that in expounding the divine attributes, a person should not have a tendency to deny the divine attributes, nor to assert that God resembles material things. This is the position adopted by the Holy Quran with regard to the divine attributes. It states that God sees, hears, knows, speaks; and lest we compare Him to His creation, it also states:

"There is nothing like Him" (42:12)

and

"Make not up analogies, therefore, concerning Al'lah" (16:75).

This means that God's Being and attributes have no equal, and He is nothing like His creatures. The middle ground lies in a conception of God between likeness and transcendence. Sura Al-Fatiha also recommends the adoption of the middle way. 

He teaches us to pray that He would lead us in the way of those who have received God's blessings, not in the way of those who have deserved His wrath, nor in the way of those who have gone astray (1:7). By "those who have deserved His wrath" are meant those who in juxtaposition to God give in to anger, and behave like savages; and by "those who have gone astray" are meant people who behave like animals. The middle way is what has been described as the way of those who have received God's blessings. In short, to these blessed people the Holy Quran recommends the adoption of the middle path. In the Torah, God Most High emphasises retribution, and in the Gospel He emphasises forbearance and forgiveness. Muslims are taught to seek what is expedient, and to stick to the middle way, as it says:

"And so We made you a middle nation" (2:144), meaning that Muslims are taught to always stick to the middle ground. Blessed are those who choose the middle way. "The middle way is best.

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

(We will continue with the 16th installment, where we will discuss the topic of "Spiritual conditions").