Today, there is a presence of many different religions and in each one of them is a different view of God and his abilities, names and attributes. Add to that each individual person’s own interpretation of the religion he is following whether he is learned or not in his religion then we’d surely have a chaotic interpretation of one supreme being. .
But how do we really know God and if ever we have identified the criteria through which we will know Him, how do we accept the truth. I am about to relate to you the Islamic perspective on the topic which you may or not agree with but is indeed good know. It is good to understand how Islam simplify these issues and answer these issues.
IS THERE A GOD?
This is the most basic of things that needs to be address first before one delves deeper into the other truths about God. Allah said in the Quran,“Indeed in the creation of the heavens and the Earth and the alternation of night and day are signs for the people of understanding.” Quran 3:190.
The presence or existence of God has been debated ever since but this verse of the Quran simplifies this issue for us to understand. We may not see God Himself in all His majesty in this world but His existence is manifest in the greatness of His creation. That if one should contemplate upon the greatness of each of God’s creation, he could only come to the conclusion that there could only be a perfect God who created all these creations and is managing their affairs.
Atheists have long been staunch critics of whatever belief in a supreme being but all the arguments they give are simple denials of every argument that believers believe in. For what it’s worth, atheists never really proven that things could exist without a creator or maintainer. Their theory of life being created out of random events have even been denied by most scientist as next to impossible judging the probability or the improbability of it taking place.
HOW MANY GODS ARE THERE?
Another question that needs answering is that if there is indeed a God, how many of these supreme beings are there creating or managing the affairs of the creation. Allah said in the Quran,”If there are other gods other than Allah in managing the affairs of the heavens and the Earth, then these two shall be corrupted.” Quran 21:22.
It is clear here that there is no God except Allah who is the creator and the manager of the affairs of the creation because if there has been any other than Him then these other gods shall have dominion too over the creation. These will create confusion as to which god controls what or to which god we pray too for a particular occasion or event. We have seen many religions believe in many different gods and they seem to believe in a particular god for any particular wish they have or event that they wanted guidance or success.
Islam simplifies this issue by affirming that there is only one god and He is Allah. He is the creator, provider and manager of the affairs of His creations. There is no way that others other than Him shall have these abilities as anything else being worshipped besides Him are mere creation and cannot create anything even themselves. Statues, pictures, and idols even that of Jesus Christ, Virgin Mary, the angels and the saints have no ability to bring forth good or bad to themselves or others but they are themselves in need of help. This simple truth therefore simplifies for us that there is no god worthy of being worshipped other than Him. There is no need for us to pray to any tree, animal or anything.
GOD’S PERFECTION
Allah’s perfection is absolute. There is no way that Allah could be compared to any of His creation.
All of His names and attributes are exclusive to Him alone. There is no denying of any of these attributes by dismissing them as non-existent. There is no way that any of His attributes could be compared to humans or animals therefore Allah could not take incarnations in becoming Krishna or Jesus. There is no way that we could describe anything about Him except that which He has informed us about. There could be no knowledge about Allah that we could have except that which He allowed us to know. There is also no way that we could make our own interpretations of Allah’s names and attributes. Allah is not Jesus Christ or Krishna or anybody else. Allah cannot make himself less than being a God.
Allah’s justice is absolute therefore the belief in the original sin where we inherit the sins of Adam and Eve. Allah’s justice is absolute that no man shall be punished for the sins of another.
Allah said in the Quran, “Say O Muhammad, Allah is One, Allah is perfect. He neither had a child nor was given birth too. And there is no one similar unto Him.” Quran 112.
God’s perfection could only be properly understood by referring to the original teachings of Allah in the Quran and the knowledge that was brought down upon prophet Muhammad. Allah’s perfection could only be understood in these criteria. Any attempt of anyone to rationalize God using his own reasoning is bound to commit mistakes as many of the truths about Allah are never made known to us by mere observation the same way we study physical phenomenon in the world around us. Allah’s perfection transcends all these, that is why we have to refer to Allah’s teachings .
Allah’s perfection in his names and attributes also applies to His decisions and actions as we know that everything that happens in His creation is the result of His justice. We could not and should not question his wisdom and His will in making things happen or not happen even if we understood them or not. Whether we like it or not. Whether it benefits us or not.
