God in Islam

Islam is purely monotheistic, as asserted by the shahadah, and God is thought to be strictly singular (tawhid). He possesses neither gender nor physical form, and has no children.

• File:Http://bagnewsnotes.typepad.com/bagnews/images/danish-cartoon1.jpg

Allah is considered the proper name of God used by Arabic speakers, irrespective of their religion. Many Arabic speakers of all faiths, whether Jewish, Christian or Muslim, use the word Allah to refer to their own conceptions of God. Similarly, words used in Aramaic such as Elah or in Hebrew such as Eloh are similar to Allah, meaning "the deity".

God's attributes

The Islamic view of God shares many qualities with Judaic and Christian conceptions of God: that he is omnipotent, omniscient, all-perceiving, and the creator of everything. The Quran lists numerous names for God that attribute additional properties to him. They include:

• The Most Gracious
• The Most Merciful
• The Ever Forgiving
• The Ever Providing
• The Lord and Cherisher of the Worlds
• The Self Subsisting (upon whom all creatures depend for sustenance)
• The Eternal Lord (who never dies)
• The Supremely Wise

The Qur'an describes the oneness of God in Sura 112:

1. Say: He is God, the One
2. God, the Self Sufficient (upon whom all the creatures depend)
3. He begets not, nor is He begotten
4. And there is none like unto Him.

— Sura 112

In the Verse of the Throne(Ayat al kursi), a more detailed summary of God's qualities are given:

Allah! There is no god but He - the Living, The Self-subsisting, the Eternal. No slumber can seize Him Nor Sleep. His are all things In the heavens and on earth. Who is there that can intercede In His presence except As he permitteth? He knoweth What (appeareth to His creatures As) Before or After or Behind them. Nor shall they compass Aught of His knowledge Except as He willeth. His throne doth extend Over the heavens and the earth, and He feeleth No fatigue in guarding and preserving them, For He is the Most High, The Supreme (in glory).

— Quran 2:255

God's omniscience

The Qur'an describes God as being fully aware of everything that happens in the universe, including private thoughts and feelings, and asserts that nothing can be hidden from Allah:

In whatever business thou mayest be, and whatever portion thou mayest be reciting from the Qur'an,- and whatever deed ye (mankind) may be doing,- We are witnesses thereof when ye are deeply engrossed therein. Nor is hidden from thy Lord (so much as) the weight of an atom on the earth or in heaven. And not the least and not the greatest of these things but are recorded in a clear record.

— [10:61]

Note the use of "We" in referring to God is due to the "royal plural" feature of semetic languages, and is not a reference to multiplicity.

An example of Allāh written in simple Arabic calligraphy

Prohibition of Idolatry and polytheism

Main article: Tawhid

Islam says that Allah is singular (Tawhid), rejecting trinitarian conceptions of God and labelling them as polytheism:

O People of the Book! Commit no excesses in your religion: Nor say of Allah aught but the truth. Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) a messenger of Allah, and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in Allah and His messengers. Say not "Trinity" : desist: it will be better for you: for Allah is one Allah: Glory be to Him: (far exalted is He) above having a son. To Him belong all things in the heavens and on earth. And enough is Allah as a Disposer of affairs.

— [4:171]

In Islam, there is only the Creator and his creation. And since Islam believes in the absolute singularity of God, it is heretical to attempt to equate created beings with the Creator, whether they are humans, prophets, idols, or anything else. Additionally, Islam holds that God cannot be seen or directly experienced by the earthly senses. Therefore, the belief that one may physically see God is held to be a sort of idolatry (except for Moses, Muhammad, and Adam). However, it is claimed that on the Day of Judgement, all creatures to be judged will see God and meet with him personally:

The people said, "O Allah's Apostle (Muhammad)! Shall we see our Lord on the Day of Resurrection?" He replied, "Do you have any doubt in seeing the full moon on a clear night?" They replied, "No, O Allah's Apostle!" He said, "Do you have any doubt in seeing the sun when there are no clouds?" They replied in the negative. He said, "You will see Allah (your Lord) in the same way."

— Volume 1, Book 12, Number 770:

See also

• God
• 99 names of God
• Conceptions of God
• Existence of God
• Monotheism
• Tawhid

External links

• Allah's 99 Names, their Meanings and related audio at www.SearchTruth.com
• Allah's Names and Attributes in the Qur'an
• Who is Allah?

Bibliography

• Al-Bayhaqi, (1999), "Allah's Names and Attributes", Publisher:ISCA, ISBN 1-930409-03-6, [1]
• Hulusi,Ahmed, (????), ""Allah" as introduced by Mohammed" , ISBN 975-7557-41-2 [2]
• Muhaiyaddeen,M. R. Bawa, (1976), "Asma'ul Husna - The 99 Beautiful Names of Allah: The 99 Beautiful Names of Allah", Publisher:The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship, ISBN 0-914390-13-9 [3]
• Netton,Ian Richard (1994), "Allah Transcendent: Studies in the Structure and Semiotics of Islamic Philosophy, Theology and...", Publisher:Routledge , ISBN 0-7007-0287-3 [4]