Volume - IV / CHAPTER - 1 / LESSON NO: 1
ISLAAMIC BELIEFS
PERSON & ATTRIBUTES OF ALLAH
Q 1. Who is the Creator, Controller, Maintainer and Owner of the whole world?
A. He is One Allah. He alone is the Supreme Creator of everything irrespective of mankind (all creatures) and their actions. He alone controls the whole universe and causes the evolution and transformation of His creatures from one condition into other thereby to develop them to the perfection. He creates actions (to be done till the end of time) with His Wisdom and Command. He is the Owner of the earth and the sky. We are His mere servants. Our entity and everything belongs to Him. All these wonders and phenomena of the earth and the sky which defy human attainment and science are self-proofs of the fact that all these things have neither come into being by themselves nor can sustain unless created and sustained by the All-powerful Creator and Sustainer Who can be none but Allah alone, the Unique, the Subduer, the Lord of Majesty and Bounty.
Q 2. What does Allah mean?
A. Allah is the proper and personal name of God Who is Eternal, Self-existent and embodies all attributes of goodness, glory and perfection and is free from all blemishes.
Q 3. What does "Sifaat-e-Kamaaliah" mean?
A. Allah Almighty is Self-existent. His Person possesses all excellences, best attributes and perfection and is beyond all blames, shortcomings and weakness. Such great attributes, Allah Almighty is possessed of, are called "Sifaat-e-Kamaaliah".
Q 4. How many "Sifaat-e- Kamaaliah" are there?
A. Allah Almighty is the perfect embodiment of innumerable attributes and excellences. Of which nine are the most prominent. However, the remaining attributes belong to these nine ones directly or indirectly: (1). "Hayaat" (Self-Existence, Eternity), (2). "Qudrat" (Omnipotence, All-powerfulness), (3). "Iraadah-o-Mashi-yat"(the will to do what He wills), (4). 'Ilm (Omniscience, All-knowledge), (5). "Samta"(All-hearing), (6). "Basar"(All-seeing), (7). "Kalaam" (Speech,Word), (8). "Takveen-o-Takhleeq" (Creativeness) and (9). "Razzaaqi-yat" (Provision of subsistence, food).
Q 5. What does "Hayaat" mean?
A. "Hayaat" means "Haiee" (Eternally living). He is not only Himself living but also infuses life into all things (creatures) and makes them survive and then annihilate them when He wills.
Q 6. What does the attribute "Qudrat" mean?
A. "Qudrat" means "Qadeer" (Omnipotent, All powerful). Allah Almighty is Omnipotent and is All-able to do what He wills. Nothing is out of His control and beyond His Power. He can create a (living) thing out of nothing and destroy a living into nothing. He may crown a beggar and dethrone a king throwing him in
ignominy. He may evolve or create a particular effect in a thing when He wills and may strip a thing of its effect or replace with any other efficacy or potency.
Q 7. Does Allah also have the command of lie?
A. Allah Almighty is free from every sort of defect and imperfection like lie, fraud, dishonesty, tyranny, ignorance, shameful acts etc. He is beyond and high above all blemishes. To say or consider that Allah Almighty has also the command of lie is the worst sin and denial of Allah's perfection in every respect. Lie is such an abhorring act that nobody wants it to be attributed to him even a sweeper and "Chamaar" (the lowest caste Hindu).
No Muslim can think so about his Creator (Allah) even a Jew and Christian can not brook such nonsense about their God. He who attributes such an abomination to Allah is worse than a Jew and Christian.
Q 8. What does "Iraadah-o-Mashi-yat" mean?
A. Allah Almighty is possessed of the attribute of "will and intention". Nothing can happen unless He wills and intends. He creates and develops each and every thing with His intention and will. His no action or creation is unintentional. What has happened or is happening or will happen is all with His eternal will. Nothing is binding on Him nor anyone can question His authority. He is All-independent and Supreme Sovereign to do or to command what He wills.
Q 9. What does the attribute of 'Ilm mean?
A. 'Ilm means 'Aleem (Omniscience, All-knowing). Allah Almighty embodies the attributes of "Omniscience". His knowledge is eternal and infinite which encompasses each and every thing. He has the eternal knowledge of what has come to pass or is comming to pass or will come to pass. Things change but there is no change in His eternal knowledge. Nothing is concealed from His vision even the tiniest particle of dust. He sees all hidden and open and visible and invisible things alike. Self-Omniscience is His trait.
Q10. What is meant by the attribute of "Sam'a-o-Basar"?
A. Allah Almighty is Samee' (the All-hearing) and "Baseer" (the All-seeing) which means that "Sam'a" and "Basar" are His attributes. He hears sound even at the lowest pitch and sees the most thin and tiniest thing which can not be seen even by the microscope.
Q11. What does the attribute "Kalaam" mean?
A. The attribute "Kalaam" means Allah Almighty has the command of speech. He speaks to His Prophets when He wills without the aid of tongue as He hears and sees sans the ears and eyes since these things are limbs and parts of the body and Allah Almighty is Pure and free from such things. His "Kalaam" does not need sound or voice and is eternal like His other attributes. All the Divine books and the Holy Qur-aan which we read and write are also eternal. Our reading (recitation), writing, hearing and committing the Holy Qur-aan to memory is "Haadis"(created act) and what we have read (recited), written, heard and committed to memory is "Qadeem"(eternal).
Q12. What are these afore-mentioned seven attributes called?
A. "Hayaat" (Life, Self-existence), "Qudrat" (Omnipotence), "Sam'a" (the All-hearing), "Basar" (the All-seeing),' Ilm ( Omniscience), "Iraadah"(the Will) and "Kalaam" (Speech, Word) are the Self-attributes of Allah.
Q13. What does "Takveen-o-Takhleeq" mean?
A. "Takveen-o-Takhleeq" means creation of all the worlds. Allah Almighty is the Supreme Creator Who has created all the universes and will create what He wills. Each and every thing is His creature like "Arb'a ' Anaasir" (the four elements - fire, water, air and the earth of which the world and men are composed) and even the tiniest particle of dust. He is neither incapable of nor He needs anyone's help for creation. If He wills to create anything He simply says "Kun" (be) and that immediately comes into being. All men and their words and actions are His creation. The attributes of causing death, life, health, sickness, richness, poverty etc. which concern the mankind and other creatures are called extra,additional attributes or attributes of actions. These sub-attributes are subject to "Sifaat-e-Takveen"(the attributes of creativeness).
Q14. What is meant by "Sifat-e-Razzaaqi-yat"?
A. "Sifat-e-Razzaqi-yat" means Allah Almighty is "Razzaaq" (Provider of Subsistence,food). He provides subsistence to all His creatures irrespective of the smallest and the biggest one. He alone brings up His creatures, sustains the whole world and develops and evolves each and every thing to the full
bloom.
He is the Sovereign Lord and Cherisher of all the worlds and the Real Provider of Subsistence. The angels are a mere means of the Divine system to this
effect.
Q15. What are "Sifaat-e-Sulbi-yah"?
A. "Sifaat-e-Sulbi-yah" are those from which Allah Almighty is Pure and free like: He is not ignorant, powerless, incapable, blind, deaf, dumb, tyrant, He has no figure, He is free from time and space, direction, movement, changes, eating, drinking and all human needs and activities. He is also Pure and high above any sort of assimilation, affiliation and alliance like ice which on being put into the water becomes water. He has no father, no son, no wife nor His ilk(s).
Q16. Is "Deedar" (sight) of Allah possible or not?
A. Allah's "Deedar" (sight) in the mortal world is an exclusive privilege for His Beloved Prophet Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa (may Allah's choicest blessings & peace be upon him) and in the next world every "Sunni Muslim" (true believer) will be graced with Allah's Sight which is the greatest blessing in paradise.
As for Allah's Deedar (Sight) in dream and through the eyes of heart, the Prophets even saints have been honoured with.
Hadrat Imam-e-A'zam Abu Haneefah (may Allah be pleased with him) was blessed with Allah's Sight a hundred times.
May Allah Almighty also grace us with the greatest blessing - Aameen.
Q17. Does Allah Almighty need any cause or interest for His doings?
A. Each and every action of Allah Almighty carries numerous "Hikmah" (hidden causes,uses,blessings and favours) which are known only to Him. His doings need no cause or interest i.e. are not intended to be useful to Him. His created things are causes for one another.
The eye sees, the ear hears, the fire burns and the water quenches thirst, but He can change function and effect of these things if He wills like the eye may begin to hear, the ear to see, the water to burn and fire to quench thirst and if He does not will no one even millions of people can not see mountain in the broad day-light and a raging fire can not burn a straw. How dreadful fire was that in which Prophet Abraham(peace be upon him) was thrown by infidels but it was turned into a heavenly garden for him. Allah Almighty said (addressing to the fire): O' fire! be you cool and safety for Abraham.