The Holy Quran : Miracle Of Miracles

The Holy Quran : Miracle Of Miracles

«"Say: If the whole of mankind and jinns were to gather together to produce the like of this Qur`an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they backed up each other with help and support."»

What is a miracle?

I think it is necessary that we have a clear picture of what we mean by a miracle. Here are some definitions:

"An event that appears so inexplicable by the laws of nature, that it is held to be supernatural in origin or an act of God."

"A person, thing or event that excites admiring awe."

"An act beyond human power, an impossibility."

It is logical that greater the impossibility, greater the miracle. For example, should a person expire before our very eyes and is certified dead by a qualiified medical man, yet later on a mystic or a saint commands the corpse to 'arise!', and to everybody's astonishment the person gets up and walks away , we would label that as a miracle. But if the resurrection of the dead took place after the corpse had been in the mortuary for three days, then we would acclaim this as a greater miracle. And if the dead was made to arise from the grave, decades or centuries after the body had decomposed and rotted away, then in that case we would label it the greatest miracle of them all!

A Common Trait

It has been a common trait of mankind since time immemorial that whenever a guide from God appeared to redirect their steps into the will and plan of God; they demanded supernatural proofs from these men of God, instead of accepting message on its merit.

For example, when Jesus Christ (pbuh) began to preach to his people - "the children of Israel" - to mend their ways and to refrain from mere legalistic formalism and imbibe the true spirit of the laws and commandments of god, his 'people' demanded miracles from him to prove his bona fides ( his authenicity , his genuineness), as recorded in the Christian scriptures:

Then certain of the scribes and the Pharisees answered, saying master, we would have a sign ( miracle ) from thee. But he answered and said unto them, "an evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign (miracle) and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas ( Matthew 12:38-39 holy bible)

Though on the face of it, Jesus (pbuh) refuses to pamper the Jews here, in actual fact, he did perform many miracles as we learn from the gospel narratives.

The bible is full of supernatural events accredited to the prophets from their Lord. In reality all those 'signs' and 'wonders' and 'miracles' were acts of God, but since those miracles were worked through his human agents, we describe them as the miracles of prophets (i.e. Moses or Jesus (pbuh) by those hands they were performed).

Some six hundred years after the birth of Jesus (pbuh), Muhammad (pbuh) the messenger of God was born in Makkah in Arabia. When he proclaimed his mission at the age of forty, his fellow countrymen, the mushriks (polytheists) of makkah made an identical request for miracles, as had the Jews, from their promised Messiah. Text book style, it was as if the Arabs had taken a leaf from the Christian records. History has a habit of repeating itself!

And they say: why are not signs sent down to him from his lord? (holy Qu`ran 29:50)

SIGNS! WHAT SIGNS!!

"Miracles ? Cries he, what miracles would you have? Are not you yourselves there? God made you 'shaped you out of a little clay.' Ye were small once; a few years ago ye were not at all. Ye have beauty, strength, thoughts, 'ye have compassion on one another.' Old age comes-on you, and gray hairs; your strength fades into feebleness: ye sink down, and again are not. 'Ye have compassion on one another': This struck me much: Allah might have made you having no compassion on one another, how had it been then! this is a great direct though, a glance at first-hand into the very fact of things...." (On heroes, hero-worship and the heroic in history) by Thomas Carlyle.

"This Struck Me Much"

This, that "ye have compassion on one another", impressed Thomas Carlyle most from his perusal of an English translation. I presume that verse that motivated this sentiment is:

1. And among his signs is this, that he created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquility with them. and he has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are signs for those who reflect. (emphasis added) Translation by A Yusuf ALi (Qu`ran 30:21)

2. And one of his signs it is, that he hath created wives for you of your own species that ye may dwell with them, and hath put love and tenderness between you. herein truly are signs for those who reflect (emphasis added) Translation by Rev. J.M. Rodwell(M.A.)

3. By another sign he gave you wives from among yourselves, that ye might live in joy with them, and planted love and kindness into your hearts. surely there are signs in this for thinking men (emphasis added) Translation by N.J. Dawood.

The first example is from the translation by Yusuf Ali, a muslim. The second is by a christian priest the rev. Rodwell and the last example is by an iraqi Jew, N.J. Dawood.

Unfortunately Thomas Carlyle had no access to any one of these because none of them had seen the light of day in his time. The only one available to him in 1840 was as he said on page 85 of his book under reference - "We also can read the Koran; our translation of it, by sale, is known to be a very fair one."

Taint Is In The Motive:

Carlyle is very charitable to his fellow countryman. The motives of George Sale, who pioneered an English translation of the Holy Quran, were suspect. He makes no secret of his antagonism to the holy book of Islam. In his preface to his translation in 1734 he made it known that it was his avowed intention to expose the man Mohammad and his forgery. He records: "who can apprehend any danger from so manifest a forgery?... The protestants alone are able to attack the Qur’an with success; and for them, I trust, providence has reserved the glory of its overthrow." George Sale, And he set to work with his prejudiced translation. You will be able to judge how 'fair' and scholarly George Sale was from the very verse which 'struck' (Carlyle) 'much!' Compare it with the three example already given by a muslim, a christian and a jew: And of his signs another is, that he had created you , out of yourselves, wives that ye may cohabit with them, and hath put love and compassion between you.

I don’t think that George Sale was a 'a male chauvinist pig' of his day to describe our mates, wives or spouses as sexual objects. He was only keeping to his promise, which Carlyle overlooked. The Arabic word which he (Sale) perverted is 'li-tas-kunoo' which means to find peace, consolation, composure or tranquility; and not 'cohabit' meaning 'to live together in a sexual relationship when not legally married' (the reader's digest universal dictionary.)

Every word of the Qur’anic text is meticulously chosen, chiseled and placed by the All-Wise himself. They carry God's 'fingerprint', and are signs of God. And yet, the spiritually jaundiced....

Ask For A Sign:

What signs?? They mean some special kinds of signs or miracles such as their own foolish minds dictate. Everything is possible for God, but God is not going to humour the follies of men or listen to their false demands. He has sent his messenger to explain his signs clearly, and to warn them of the consequences of rejection. Is that not enough? The trend of their demand is generally as follows:

In specific terms they asked that he - Muhammad (pbuh) - 'Put a ladder up to heaven an bring down a book from God in their very sight' - "Then we would believe," they said. Or "ye see the mountain yonder, turn it into gold' - "then we would believe." or 'make streams to gush out in the desert' - "then we would believe."

Now listen to the soft, sweet reasoning of Muhammad (pbuh) against the unreasonable and skeptical demands of the mushriks (polytheists) - "Do I say to you, verily I am an angel? Do I say to you, verily in my hands are the treasures of God? Only, what is revealed to me do I follow." Listen further to the most dignified reply he is commanded by his Lord to give the unbelievers.

Say (O Muhammad): 'The signs (miracles) are indeed with Allah: And most certainly I am only a clear warner!'

In the following verse the holy prophet is made to point to the holy Qur`an itself as an answer to their hypocritical demand for some special kind of 'sign' of 'miracle' for which their foolish pagan mentality craved. For indeed all miracles are 'signs'; and it is their disbelief, their skepticism, their lack of faith which motivates their request for a sign. They are asked to - 'look at the Qur`an' and again, 'look at the Qur`an!'

It is not enough for them that we have sent down to thee (O Muhammad) the book (al-Qur`an) which is rehearsed to them? Verily, in it (this perspicuous book) is a mercy and reminder to those who believe. (Qur`an 29:51).

Two Proofs:

As a proof of the divine authorship and the miraculous nature of the Qur`an, two arguments are advanced by the almighty Himself:

1. 'That we' (God Almighty) have revealed to you (O Muhammad!) 'the book to you' who art absolutely an unlearned person. An 'ummi' prophet. One who cannot read or write. One who cannot sign his own name. Let Thomas Carlyle testify regarding the educational qualifications of Muhammad - 'one other circumstance we must not forget: that he had no school learning; of the thing we call school-learning none at all.' Moreover the divine author(God Almighty) himself testifies to the veracity of Muhammad’s (pbuh) claim that he could never have composed the contents of the holy Qur`an; he could not have been its author:

And thou (O Muhammad) was not (able) to recite a book before this (book came), nor art thou (able) to transcribe it with thy right hand: In that case, indeed, would the talkers of vanities have doubted (Qur`an 29:48).

The author of the Qur`an is reasoning with us, that had Muhammad (pbuh) been a learned man, and had he been able to read or write, then in that case the babblers in the market places might have had some justification to doubt his claim that the holy Qur`an is God's word. In the event of Muhammad (pbuh) being a literate person, the accusation of his enemies that he had probably copied his book (Qur`an) from the writings of the Jews and Christians, or that perhaps he had been studying Aristotle and Plato, or that he must have browsed through the 'Torat,' (Torah) the 'Zabur' (Psalms) and the 'Injeel' (Gospel) and had rehashed it all in a beautiful language, might have carried some weight. Then, 'the talkers of vanities' might have had a point. But even this flimsy pretence has been denied to the unbeliever and the cynic: a point hardly big enough to hang a fly upon!

2. 'The book'? Yes, the 'book' itself, carries its own evidence proving its divine authorship. Study the book from any angle. Scrutinize it. Why not take up the author's challenge if your doubts are genuine? “Do they not consider the Qur`an (with care) had it been from other than Allah, they would surely have found therein much discrepancy”. Consistency:

It is inconceivable that any human author would remain consistent in this teachings and his preachings for a period of over two decades. From the age of forty, when Muhammad (pbuh) received his first call from heaven to the age sixty-three when he breathed his last, for twenty-three years the holy prophet practiced and preached Islam. In those twenty-three years, he passed through the most conflicting vicissitudes of life. Any man, during the course of such a mission, would be forced by circumstances to make 'honourable' compromises, and cannot help contradicting himself. No man can ever write the same always, as the message of the holy Qur`an is: consistent with itself, throughout! Or is it that the unbelievers objections are merely argumentive, refractory, against their own better light and judgement.?

Furthermore, the holy Qur`an contains or mentions many matters relating to the nature of the universe which were unknown to man before but which subsequently through evolution and discoveries of science have fully confirmed - a field where an untutored mind would have most certainly lost in wild and contradictory speculations!

Self-Evident Proof:

Again and again when miracles are demanded from the prophet of God by the cynical and frivolous few, he is made to point to the Qur`an - message from high - as 'the miracle.' The miracle or miracles! And men of wisdom, people with literary and spiritual insight, who were honest enough to themselves, recognized and accepted al-Qur`an as a genuine miracle.

Says the holy Qur`an: Nay here are signs self-evident in the hearts of those endowed with knowledge: And none but the unjust reject our signs. (qur`an 29:49).

Formation Of Iron

Formation Of Iron

«"This is no less than a reminder to (all) the worlds. And you shall certainly know the truth of it (all) after a while."» (Quraan 38:87-88).

Thus, the Quraan is a reminder for all of mankind until the Last Hour. It contains information that man discovers in due time. Because this Quraan was revealed from Allah’s knowledge and every single verse in it was revealed with Allahs knowledge, as He Himself said:

Professor Armstrong works at NASA, otherwise known as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, where he is a well-known scientist there. We met with him and asked a number of questions about Quraanic verses dealing with the expertise in Astronomy. We asked him about iron and how it was formed. He explained how all the elements in the earth were formed. He stated that the scientists have come only recently to discover the relevant facts about that formation process. He said that the energy of the early solar system was not sufficient to produce elemental iron.

In calculating the energy required to form one atom of iron, it was found to be about four times as much as the energy of the entire solar system. In other words, the entire energy of the earth or the moon or the planet Mars or any other planet is not sufficient to form one new atom of iron, even the energy of the entire solar system is not sufficient for that. That is why Professor Armstrong said that the scientists believe that iron is an extraterrestrial that was sent to earth and not formed therein.

We read to him the Quraanic verse saying: «"And we sent down Iron, in which is Great might, as well as many benefits for mankind"» (Quraan 57-25).

Then we asked him about the sky and whether it had any gaps or rifts in it. He disproved this and replied that what we are talking about is a branch of Astronomy called the "Integrated Cosmos" which we scientists have only come to know recently. For example, if you have a body in outer space which travels a certain distance in any direction and then travel the same distance in a different direction, you will find that the mass weight is the same in all directions. Because this body has its own equilibrium, the pressures from all directions are the same. Without this equilibrium, the whole universe would collapse. I recalled Allah’s verse in the Quraan: «"Do they not look at the sky above them? How we have made it and adorned it, and there are no flaws in it?"» (Quraan 50:6).

Then we talked to Professor Armstrong about the attempts of scientists to reach the edge of the universe, and we asked him whether they were successful in this. He replied that they are fighting an uphill battle to the edge of the universe, we construct more powerful equipment to observe the universe only to discover that the new stars we see are still within our galaxy and that we have not yet reached the edge of the universe. He is aware of the Quraanic verse which says: «"And we adorned the lowest heaven with lamps and we made such (lamps) missiles to drive away Satans."» (Quraan 67:5).

Indeed, all these stars are adornments for the lowest heaven. He says that scientists have not reached the end of the universe. Professor Armstrong added that because of this, they are thinking of stationing more telescopes in outer space so that their observations will not be obstructed by dust and other atmospheric impediments. Vision telescopes using light are unable to travel long distances, so we replaced them with radio operated ones enabling us to see further, but we nevertheless are still within the boundaries. I mentioned to him this verse: «"So turn thy vision again: Do you see any flaw? Again turn your vision a second time: (your) vision will come back to you dull and discomfited, in a state worn out"» (Quraan 67:3-4).

Each time Professor Armstrong told us some scientific fact, we mentioned to him the relevant verse which he agreed with. Then we said to him: You have seen and discovered for your self the true nature of modern Astronomy by means of modern equipment, rockets, and space ships, developed by man. You have also seen how the same facts were mentioned by the Quraan 14 centuries ago, so what is your opinion about these?

He replied: That is a difficult question which I have been thinking about since our discussions here. I am impressed that how remarkably some of the ancient writings seem to correspond to modern and recent astronomy.

Suicide - It's Not An Escape!

Suicide - It's Not An Escape!

In a society that prides itself for freedom and liberty to attain maximum happiness, suicide ought to be the furthest thing from the mind. Yet it is not an uncommon practice which people resort to in times of crisis as an end to their worries, troubles and guilt. It maybe someone who is close to you, someone you love and maybe the only person who can help.
In Islam suicide is not only prohibited but it is also not an escape. This article illustrates how Islam provides an alternative that is worth living for!

All praise and gratitude is to Allah – our Creator, Provider and the Maintainer of all the worlds.

In Allah’s care…
The Creator brought together the sperm and the ovum from deep within two separate individuals, lodged the fertilized egg safely and prepared the uterus for the creation of a life. The stages of life began, from the day of conception and beyond its birth, the vibrant youth, prudent adulthood up to its death at a senile old age and beyond to another life - its real home.
Life remains helpless and dependent on its Creator and not a day passes except that the same Creator sustains this life – and the six billion others like it on the planet – with attention to the most minute of its needs.


Why despair then…
With such care and attention for detail in each individual, is it then reasonable to despair of the help of the most Merciful?
Along the same lines we find these verses in the Qur’an where Allah says «“Has there not been over man a period of time, when he was nothing worth mentioning? Verily, We have created man from drops of mixed semen (of man and woman), in order to try him, so We made him a hearer and seer. Verily, We showed him the way (gave him guidance in all matters), whether he be grateful or ungrateful."»[Surah Insan 76:1-3]


For us is to worship and the provision is from Him…
He created us with such care and attention for a noble purpose and assured us that He will sustain and look after each and every need. The Creator informs in the Qur’an, «“I did not create the Jinn or the human except that they worship me; I do not want any provision from them (neither for themselves nor for any creatures) nor do I seek that they should feed Me (i.e. provide for whom I provide). Verily, Allah He is the Provider (of all), possessor of Power, the Most Strong.” »[Surah Dhariyat 51:56-58]


Why the trials and hardship…
Thus Allah took the responsibility of providing for and looking after all the affairs of each and every individual and reassured He is the One fully capable of that. Our concern is not to be anxious even in the most trying circumstance, because Allah promised to provide a way out. Rather our concern is to worship Him by living a life of obedience to Him and excellence in every walk of life.
Any hardship faced is no more than a trial to prove that our only concern is the approval of our actions by Allah, before anyone else in the community and even before our own pleasure. Allah promised in the Qur’an, «“Do people think that they will be left alone on (merely) saying: ‘We believe,’ and not be tested (in their claims)? We have indeed tested those who were before them; and Allah will certainly make it known those who were truthful and He will certainly make known the liars.” »[Surah Ankabut 29:1-2]


Thus suicide forbidden in Qur’an and Prophetic example…
Given that Allah promised to undertake the sustenance and any delay thereafter or withholding of any of its needs being merely for a trial, then there is no room for a person to take away the life that Allah has created for an important purpose.
He prohibited the destroying of ones life in any manner as understood by the general meaning of the wording of this verse, «“And do not throw (yourselves) with your own hands to destruction; but work (deeds of) excellence for verily Allah loves the people of excellence.”» [Surah Baqarah 2:195]
Thus we are ordered not to destroy ourselves, rather to direct the mind and energies to doing good deeds that please Allah. In another verse Allah says, «“And do not kill yourselves. Surely, Allaah is Most merciful to you.” »[Surah Nisaa 4:29]

In fact the taking of even one life is regarded as the taking of the life of the whole of mankind, «“Whoever kills a soul – unless for another soul or for corruption (vice and mischief spread) in the land – it is as if he had slain the whole of mankind. And whoever saves one – it is as if he had saved the whole of mankind.”» [Surah Ma’idah 5:32]

The Messenger of Allah (May the peace and blessings be on him) also prohibited it as learnt from the following hadith. “"Whoever throws himself down from a mountain and kills himself, he will be in the Fire of Hell throwing himself down for ever and ever. Whoever drinks poison and kills himself will have the poison in his hand, drinking it in the Fire of Hell for ever and ever. Whoever kills himself with a piece of iron (i.e. a weapon) will have that piece of iron in his hand, stabbing himself in the stomach with it in the Fire of Hell forever and ever."” (Compiled in Sahih Bukhari).


The pain of suicide is for ever…
A person, who commits suicide, does so believing it an escape from his crisis so he ends his life willing to bear a moment of pain and may throw himself of a cliff. Yet this hadith shows that he actually brings upon himself that pain not just momentarily but again and again in Hell-fire.

But from His mercy He may forgive suicide – so why not stay alive in His mercy…
However, from the mercy of Allah, the Exalted, He may forgive any sin committed by a person no matter how grave or He may punish in this life or in Hell-fire, except for Shirk (Associating partners to Allah). Shirk in divinity, Lordship and worship is the only sin that Allah does not forgive. The one doing shirk may seek forgiveness from the partner he claims to Allah in divinity, but he is seeking forgiveness from someone who doesn’t have the authority to forgive!
This principle of forgiveness is established clearly in the Quran, «“Verily Allah does not forgive that you set up partners with Him but He forgives anything else for whoever He wishes.” »[Surah Nisaa 4:48]


A day’s worth for a Muslim…
An extra day alive is that much longer to work good deeds to distance oneself from the eternal torment of Hell-fire and a golden opportunity to win a better place in Paradise. He / she is deserving of this mercy of Allah: Paradise which no eye has ever seen, nor any ear has ever heard nor conceived by any mind.
It is for this a Muslim is directed to strive every moment he is alive by the favour of Allah. A Believer capitalizes on each breath Allah allows him – only the ignorant would throw away such a bargain! Allah says, «“And whoever does good equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant) will see it (on the Day of Resurrection to be rewarded) and whoever does mischief equal to the weight of an atom shall see it.” »[Surah Zalzalah 99:7-8]00


Reassurances in Qur’an and a purpose to live…
Thus a person contemplating suicide finds reassurance in the Qur’an and purpose for life. He finds an explanation for ease or hardship. He realizes that every hardship expiates for his sins and elevates his rank in Paradise. He finds internal peace and pleasure even in external hardship and suffering and strives to acquire or lose the eternal comfort in the Hereafter. The feelings of depression, anxiety, hopelessness and self-loathing diminish as a Believer contemplates on the message of the Qur’an, reflects on life and patterns the life according to its wise injunctions. Initially, this achievement may be for moments only but with time and following the guidance of the Qur’an it may become a constant state.


Mixing with people…
The effectiveness of this process can be enhanced tremendously by interaction with other people, righteous Muslims and especially the people with Islamic knowledge and counselors. As negative feelings develop and pessimism sets in, they can draw attention to vital realities of this life and the Hereafter, as well as be the encouraging spirit. Not everyone will be sensitive nor can the person open up to just anyone, however it is good to at least be open with someone who is understanding and able to help.


Self-worth… with people…and with Allah…
No matter how insignificant a person is in the eyes of his peers, he is important enough in the sight of The Creator, that He created him with such care from even before birth. The society judges a person for wealth, power, success in career, physical attraction and other worldly traits. But a person who has none of this or has lost everything may still be the dearest to Allah, the angels and the believers who are rightly guided!
In Islam, the worth of an individual is solely based on taqwa – God consciousness that produces righteousness and piety. A peasant or a bankrupt businessman may be superior to a CEO of the most successful organization on earth – if he excels in taqwa!
Allah makes this point clear in the Qur’an, «“O mankind, We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honourable of you with Allah is that (believer) who has the most taqwa (piety). Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-aware.”» [Surah Hujurat 49:13]


Even at times of weakness, step at a time…
Although reassured that in the sight of Allah the worthiness of an individual is measured only by taqwa, a person may still be weary - especially at times of high stress, depression and anxiety - of him being able to attain this taqwa and self-worth.

Yet the Quran inspires and motivates even the weakest of the Believers to achieve the highest success. Allah declares in the Quran reassuringly, «“Whoever works righteousness – whether male or female – while he (or she) is a Believer, verily, to him We will give a good life (in this life with contentment etc), and certainly We shall give them a reward (in the eternal Hereafter) according to the best of what they used to do.”» [Surah Nahl 16:97]
Thus when overwhelmed by stress and concerns, doing noble and pious deeds may seem far, but a believer finds reassurance that he or she will be rewarded by the best acts he does at any time in his life and momentary lapses may well be forgiven by Allah the Oft-Forgiving, Merciful.

And at that moment of trauma when little seems possible, a believer is reminded in the Quran, «“And whoever does good equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant) will see it (on the Day of Resurrection to be rewarded) and whoever does mischief equal to the weight of an atom shall see it.” »[Surah Zalzalah 99:7-8]
So instead of despair, a believer is found unconcerned of the society’s estimation of him or of a major worldly loss, there is neither grief over what destroyed the past nor anxiety over what the future holds, rather the only concern is to do even an atoms weight of good at that difficult moment – even if it is merely persevering patiently till a better moment later on, when big acts of piety can be performed. This is because the reward from Allah, the most Merciful, is in accordance to the best actions performed by the person. In fact patiently persevering in such a difficult moment may rank as the best of deeds!


Even the worst moment can actually become the best…
In fact not a moment passes by in the life of a Muslim even if a catastrophe befalls him, except that it can be a success and a bonus for the Believer if he bears it patiently! Even while overwhelmed by grief, anxieties and a desire to finish it all with suicide, merely holding on till it passes away even without doing any other good deed in that state can actually turn that depressing moment into one of triumph and sure success.
The Messenger of Allah (May the peace and blessings be upon him) said, ““The case of a believer is amazing! Every affair of his is good for him, and this is not for anyone except a believer: if he experiences something pleasant, he is grateful to Allah and that is good for him; and if he comes across some adversity, he is patiently persevering (i.e. has sabr) and that too is good for him!”” [Compiled in Sahih Muslim]

In fact we learn from another hadith that, ““When Allah wants well for a slave of His, He hastens the punishment in this world (rather than the severe and eternal Hereafter). And when Allah wants for His slave bad, He withholds from him (the punishment for) his sin until he takes it from him on the Day of Resurrection.” ”[An authentic hadith collected by Tirmidhi]
Thus the one suffering hardship may actually be more beloved to Allah than one who is being left and not punished despite sins and impiety. The Prophet informed, ““Nothing strikes a Muslim – no fatigue, illness, worry, grief, hurt nor sorrow; not even a prick of a thorn – except that Allah wipes off due to it some of his sins.”” [Collected in Sahih of Bukhari & Muslim]


Even if his world seems to be falling apart…
With a sense of worth for even the smallest good deeds, a believer bears the most trying of hardships reassured that as the Messenger of Allah (May the peace and blessings be upon him said, ““Verily, the greatness of the reward is with the greatness (or severity) of the trial. Verily if Allah loves a people He tries them (with trials).”” [An authentic hadith collected by Tirmidhi]

Thus, what may seem to another as his world falling apart in front of his eyes and nothing to live for, a Believer sees in the same an equally great world of unending bliss and comfort being prepared for him or her in Paradise so long as he bears it with patience for although this life is for being tried repetitively, «“Verily along with every difficulty is relief (that comes thereafter).” »[Surah Inshirah 94:6]


The relief is near – a guarantee from Allah…
If the relief doesn’t come immediately, it’s not far. This, Allah guarantees, «“Or did you think that you will enter Paradise without such (trials) that came to those who passed away before you? They were afflicted with severe poverty and ailments and were so shaken that even the Messenger and those who believed along with him said, ‘When will come the help of Allah?’ Yes! Certainly, the help of Allah is near!” [»Surah Baqarah 2:214].


So why then would anyone want to commit suicide!!
It is not surprising then, with such compelling reasons to live for and reassurances of help, Allah warned of some of the most severe punishments for the one who ends his own life – a life that in fact belongs to Allah! As the above mentioned hadith of the punishment of the one who committed suicide shows, the self-infliction of the same fatal blow repeatedly in hell-fire again and again, a person who commits suicide hasn’t found an escape from his worries; in fact, it’s just the beginning.

Monotheism

               Monotheism, Worship

Repentance In Islam  The word Tawbah(Repentance) in Arabic literally means 'to return'. In an Islamic context, it refers to the act of leaving what Allah has prohibited and returning to what He has commanded. The subject of repentance is one which concerns all people who believe in God, and is vital one for the Muslims to understand because our salvation in the hereafter is dependent on our repentance to Allah, as is shown by Allah's order: «"And turn you all together in repentence to Allah O Believers, that you may be successful." »[Qur'an, Chapter 24: Verse 31] In the Quran, Allah also tells us: «"Surely Allah loves those who turn unto Him in repentence and loves those who purify themselves."» [Qur'an, Chapter 2: Verse 222] This shows how pleasing our repenting is to Allah. Also, the Prophet, (peace be upon him) gave us an example of just how pleasing to Allah our repenting is. In an authentic hadith (saying of the Prophet) he said: “"Allah is more delighted with the repentance of His servant than one of you would be, who suddenly finds his camel laden with supplies after losing it in a barren land"” (1) Try to imagine your joy if you were to suddenly retrieve everything you ever possessed after losing all hope of recovering what you had lost. Then think that Allah's delight is even greater than this when His slave repents to Him. So much so, that if man stopped repenting to Allah, Allah would replace us with another creation that would turn to Him for forgiveness. The Prophet PBUH said: “"If you did not commit sins, Allah would sweep you out of existence and replace you by another people who would commit sins, ask for Allah's forgiveness and He would forgive them."” (2) The problem with many of us today is that we don't fear Allah, which means that we don't think twice about disobeying Him and therefore falling into sin. So perhaps we should think about the statement which Ibn Mas'ood (3) made: "A believer sees his sins as if he were sitting under a mountain which he is afraid may fall on him, whereas the wicked person considers his sins as flies passing over his nose and he just drives them away like this (and he moved his hand over his nose in illustration)." (4) Never despair Someone might say, 'I want to repent but my sins are too many.' But Allah says in the Qur'an:« "O My salves who have transgressed agaisnt themselves! Despair not for the Mercy of Allah, verily Allah forgives all sins. Truly He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." »[Qur'an, Chapter 39: Verse 53] Therefore, we should never lose hope or stop asking for Allah's forgiveness. Its importance is shown to us in a hadeeth in which the Prophet PBUH said: “ "O people! Turn to Allaah in repentance and seek His forgiveness, for surely I make repentance a hundred times every day." ”(5) Repentance is such a great act of worship that doing it can totally erase our sins altogether, as the Prophet PBUH said: “"One who repents from sin is like one without sin."” (6) Only Allah can forgive sins Forgiveness for our sins is not something that comes automatically; it is something that must be sought sincerely and with consciousness. Also we should remember that it is only through Allah's Mercy that anyone will ever enter Paradise. The Prophet PBUH advised:“ "Do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately, and rejoice, for no one's good deeds will put him in Paradise." The Companions asked, "Not even you O Messenger of Allah?" He replied. "Not even me unless Allah bestows His pardon and mercy on me."” (7) Therefore in Islam, salvation rests on faithm good actions and hope in Allah's mercy, all combined in truly unique manner which is not found in any other religion or system. Furthermore, it is only Allah who can forgive our sins and He is not in need of any intercessor. The proof for this is in a du'a (supplication) which the Prophet PBUH taught his closest companion Abu Bakr(8): “"O Allah, truly I have wronged myself and none can forgive sins except you." ”(9) Therefore it is a complete waste of time asking forgiveness from the people such as "saints", pious people or even the Prophet PBUH himself. Allah says in reply to people who do such things: «"Verily, those you call besides Allah are only slaves like yourselves."» [Qur'an, Chapter 7: Verse 194] It is important that we never despair of Allah's Mercy. No sin is too great to repent for -or too little for that matter. As one of the salaf(pious predecessors) said: "Do not look at the insignifance of your sins, but consider the greatness of The One you are disobeying." (10)

The Concept Of God In Islam

                     The Concept Of God In Islam

            The most concise definition of God in Islam is given in the four verses of Surah Ikhlaas which is Chapter 112 of the Qur’an:

«"Say: He is Allah, The One and Only. Allah, the Eternal, Absolute.He begets not, nor is He begotten. And there is none like unto Him."»

            To Muslims, this four line definition of Almighty God serves as the touchstone of the study of God. Any candidate to divinity must be subjected to this ‘acid test' and since the attributes of The Creator given in this chapter are unique, false gods and pretenders to divinity can be easily dismissed using these verses.

1. The first criterion is «"Say, He is Allah, one and only". »
 Can there be more than one god? This verse tells us that The Creator is the only one who     has total and absolute power, unique in His names and attributes.

2. The second criterion is, «'Allah is absolute and eternal’»
The word that is translated as “The Eternal, Absolute” from Arabic is something that can be attributed only to The Creator, as all other existence being temporal or conditional. It also means that Allah is not dependant on any person or thing, but all persons and things are dependant on Him.

3. The third criterion is «‘He begets not, nor is He begotten’».
This means God was not born, nor does He give birth and share his divinity with others. Nor does He have a family or relationship with another being.

4.The fourth test, - which is the most stringent - is, «"There is none like unto Him".»
The moment you can imagine or compare ‘God’ to anything, then he (the candidate to divinity) is not God. It is not possible to conjure up a mental picture of the One True God because of the simple fact, as creation, we only know creation.

            Many are tempted to make anthropomorphic comparisons of God. For example, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the famous body builder and Hollywood actor, who won the title of ‘Mr. Universe - the strongest man in the world.'Suppose someone says “Almighty God is a thousand times stronger than Arnold Schwarzenegger.” This is a false claim to make because the moment you can compare any entity to God, whether the comparison is to Schwarzenegger or to King Kong, whether it is a thousand times or a million times stronger, it fails the Qur’anic criterion, «"There is none like unto Him".»

            Thus, the ‘acid test’ cannot be passed by anyone except the One True God. The following verse of the Glorious Qur’an conveys a similar message: «"No vision can grasp Him but His grasp is over all vision: He is above all comprehension, yet is acquainted with all things."»[Al-Qur’an 6:103]


                             By what name do we call God?

            The Muslims prefer calling the Supreme Creator, 'Allah', instead of the English word ‘God’. The Arabic word, ‘Allah’, is pure and unique, unlike the English word ‘God’, which can be played around with.

For example, If you add ‘s’ to the word God, it becomes ‘Gods’, that is the plural of God. Allah is one and singular, there is no plural of Allah. If you add ‘dess’ to the word God, it becomes ‘Goddess’ that is a female God.

 There is nothing like male Allah or female Allah. Allah has no gender. If you add the word ‘father’ to ‘God’ it becomes ‘God-father’. God-father means someone who is a guardian. There is no word like ‘Allah-father’. If you add the word ‘mother’ to ‘God’, it becomes ‘God-mother’. There is nothing like ‘Allah-mother’ in Islam.

            Allah is a unique word, which does not conjure up any mental picture nor can it be played around with. Therefore the Muslims prefer using the Arabic word ‘Allah’ for the Almighty.


                                        Unity of God.

            Some say that the existence of more than one God is not illogical. Let us point out to them that if there were more than one God, they would dispute with one another, each god trying to fulfill his will against the will of the other gods. This can be seen in the mythology of the polytheistic and pantheistic religions.

            If a ‘God’ is defeated or unable to defeat the others, he is surely not the one true God. Also popular among polytheistic religions is the idea of many Gods, each having different responsibilities. Each one would be responsible for a part of man’s existence e.g. a Sun-God, a Rain-God, etc. This indicates that one ‘God’ is incompetent of certain acts and moreover he is also ignorant of the other Gods’ powers, duties, functions and responsibilities. There cannot be an ignorant and incapable God.

            If there were more than one God it would surely lead to confusion, disorder, chaos and destruction in the universe. But the universe is in complete harmony. The Glorious Qur’an says: «"If there were, in the heavens and the earth, other gods besides Allah, there would have been confusion in both! But glory to Allah, The Lord of the Throne: (High is He) above what they attribute to Him!" »[Al-Qur’an 21:22]

            If there were more than one God, they would have taken away what they created. The Qur’an says: «"No son did Allah beget, nor is there any god along with Him: (if there were many gods), behold, each god would have taken away what he had created, and some would have lorded it over others! Glory to Allah! (He is free)from the (sort of) things yhey attribute to Him!" »[Al-Qur’an 23:91]

            Thus the existence of oneTrue,Unique,Supreme,Almighty God, is the only logical concept of God.


                             God does not take human form:

            Many religions at some point believe, directly or indirectly, in the philosophy of anthropomorphism i.e. God becoming a human. Their contention is that Almighty God is so pure and holy that He is unaware of the hardships, shortcomings and feelings of human beings. In order to set the rules for human beings, He came down to earth as a human. Let us now analyze this argument and see if it stands to reason.

            Suppose I manufacture a video cassette recorder (VCR). Do I have to become a VCR to know what is good or what is bad for the VCR? What do I do? I write an instruction manual. "In order to watch a video cassette, insert the cassette and press the play button. In order to stop, press the stop button. If you want to fast forward press the FF button. Do not drop it from a height or it will get damaged. Do not immerse it in water or it will get ruined". This instruction manual lists the various do’s and don’ts for the machine.

            Similarly, our Lord and Creator, Allah need not take human form to know what is good or bad for the human being. He chooses to reveal the instruction manual. The last and final instruction manual of the human beings is the Glorious Qur’an. The ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ for the human beings are mentioned in the Qur’an.

            If you allow me to compare human beings with machines, I would say humans are more complicated than the most complex machines in the world. Even the most advanced computers, which are extremely complex, are pale in comparison to the physical, psychological, genetic and social factors that affect individual and collective human life.
The more advanced the machine, greater is the need for its instruction manual. By the same logic, don’t human beings require an instruction manual by which to govern their own lives?

            Therefore Allah does not come down personally for giving the instruction manual. He chooses a man amongst men to deliver the message and communicates with him at a higher level through the medium of revelations. Such chosen men are called messengers and prophets of God.


                            God does not perform ungodly acts:

            The attributes of Almighty God preclude any evil since God is the source of justice, mercy and truth. God can never be thought of as doing an ungodly act. Hence we cannot imagine God telling a lie, being unjust, making a mistake, forgetting things, or having any such human failings. Similarly God can do injustice if He chooses to, but He will never do it because being unjust is an ungodly act.

 The Qur’an says: «"Allah is never unjust in the least degree."»[Al-Qur’an 4:40] God can be unjust if He chooses to be so, but the moment God does injustice, He ceases to be God.


                               God does not make mistakes

            God can make mistakes if He wants to, but He does not make mistakes because making a mistake is an ungodly act. The Qur’an says: «"…my Lord never errs."»[Holy Qur’an 20:52] The moment God makes a mistake, he ceases to be God.


                                 God does not forget

            God can forget if He wants to. But God does not forget anything because forgetting is an ungodly act, which reeks of human limitations and failings. The Qur’an says: «"…my Lord never errs, nor forgets."»[Al-Qur’an 20:52]


                             God only performs Godly acts:

            The Islamic concept of God is that God has power over all things. The Qur’an says in several places (Al -Qur’an 2:106; 2:109; 2:284; 3:29; 16:77; and 35:1): «"For verily Allah has power over all things"»

            Further, the Glorious Qur’an says:«"Allah is the doer of all that He intends."»[Al-Qur’an 85:16] We must keep in mind that Allah intends only Godly acts and not ungodly acts.


                                 Attributes of God:

            To Allah belong the most beautiful names. The Qur’an says: «"Say: Call upon Allah, or Call upon Rahman (The Most Merciful): By whatever name you call Upon Him, (it is well): For to Him belong The Most Beautiful Names."[»Al-Qur’an 17:110]

            A similar message regarding the beautiful names of Allah is repeated in the Qur’an in Surah Al-A’raf (7:180), in Surah Taha (20:8) and in Surah Al-Hashr (59:24).
The Qur’an gives no less than ninety-nine different attributes to Almighty Allah. The Qur’an refers to Allah as Ar-Rahman (Most Gracious), Ar-Raheem (Most Merciful) and Al-Hakeem (All Wise) among many other names.

Allah is Beatiful and loves Beauty

Allah is Beatiful and loves Beauty

            From 'Abdullaah Ibn Mas'ood (radiyallaahu 'anhu: may Allah's mercy be upon him) who said that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam: peace be upon him) said, "No one will enter Paradise who has an atom's weight of pride in his heart." A man said, "What if a man likes his clothes to look good and his shoes to look good?" He said, "Allah is beautiful and loves beauty.Pride means denying the truth and looking down on people.” [1]………
Ibnul-Qayyim (d.751H) - may Allah bless him- said, commenting upon this hadeeth: "The phrase 'allah is beautiful and loves beauty, includes the beautiful clothing which was asked about in the same hadeeth.

It is included by way of generalization, meaning that beauty in all things is what is meant here. In Saheeh Muslim, it says: "Allah is good and only accepts that which is good." [2] In Sunanut-Tirmidhee it says: "Allah loves to see the effects of His blessing on His slave.'' [3] It was reported that Abul-Ahwas al-Jashamee said: The Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) saw me wearing old, tattered clothes, and asked me, "Do you have any wealth?" I said, "Yes." He said, "What kind of wealth?" I said, "All that Allah has given me of camels and sheep." He said, "Then show the generous blessings that He has given you." [4] Allaah, may He be glorified, loves the effects of His blessings to His slave to be made manifest, for this is part of the beauty that He loves, and that is part of the gratitude for His blessings which forms an inner beauty (beauty of character).

Allah loves to see the external beauty of His slaves which reflects His blessings on them, and the inner beauty of their gratitude to Him for those blessings. Because He loves beauty, He sends down on His slaves clothes and adornments with which they may make their outward appearance beautiful and He gives them taqwaa which makes their inner characters beautiful.

Allah Says :

"O Children of Adam! We have bestowed raiment upon you to cover yourselves (screen your private parts, etc.) and as an adornment, and the raiment of righteousness, that is better."

[Sooratul-A’raaf,7:26]

            AndHesays,speakingofthepeopleofParadise:

"[...]and He gave them Nadrataan (a light of beauty) and joy. And their recompense shall be Paradise and silken garments, because they were patient." [Sooratul-Insaan 76:11-12]

            Their faces will be made beautiful with the nadrah (light of beauty), their innermost being with joy and their bodies with silken garments. Just as Allah loves beauty in words, deeds, garments and outward appearance, so He hates ugliness in words, deeds, garments and outward appearance. He hates ugliness and its people, and loves beauty and its people.

 But two groups are misguided with regard to this issue: a group who say that everything that He has created is beautiful, so He loves all that He has created and we should love all that He has created and not hate anything. They say: whoever realizes that all that exists comes from Him will see that it is beautiful. these people have no sense of jealousy for the sake of Allah or hatred and enmity for the sake of Allah, or denouncing what is evil (munkar), or jihaad (struggle) for the sake of Allah, or adhering His limits.

 They regard the beauty of images, male or female, as being part of the beauty that Allah loves, and seek to worship Allah through immoral acts. Some of them may even go so far as to claim that the One Whom they worship is manifested or incarnated in those images.

            The second group, on the other hand, say that Allah condemns the beauty of images, forms and outward appearances. Allah says about the munaafiqoon (hypocrites):

"And when you look at them, their bodies please you." [Sooratul-Munaafiqoon 63:4]

"And how many a generation have We destroyed before them. Who were better in wealth, goodsandoutwardappearance?"[SoorahMaryam19:54]

            In Saheeh Muslim it is reported that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam: peace be upon him) said: "Allah does not look at your outward appearance and your wealth, ratherHelooksatyourheartsanddeeds."[5]

According to another hadeeth: "Shabbiness is part of faith." [6] Allah condemns those who are extravagant, which applies to extravagance in clothing as well as in food and drink.

            In order to settle this dispute, we may say that beauty in clothing and outward appearance is of three types, one of which is commendable, one is blameworthy and one of which is neither. The kind of beauty which is to be commended is that which is done for the sake of Allah, to help one to obey Allah and fulfil His commands, such as when the Prophey (sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam: peace be upon him) made himself look beautiful (i.e. handsome) when meeting the delegations that came to him.

This is like wearing armour or battle-dress when fighting, or wearing silk and showing off (in front of the enemy). This is commendable because it is done to make the word of Allah supreme and to support His religion and annoy His enemies. The blameworthy kind of beauty is that which is done for the sake of this world, for reasons of power, false pride and showing off, or to fulfil some (selfish) desires. This also includes cases where beauty is an end in itself for a person and is all he cares about.

 Many people have no other concern in life. As for the kind of beauty which is neither commendable nor blameworthy, it is that which has nothing to do with either of the two purposes mentioned above (i.e., it is neither for the sake of Allah nor for the sake of worldlypurposes).

The hadeeth under discussion refers to two important principles: knowledge and behaviour. Allah is to be acknowledged for beauty that bears no resemblance to anything else, and He is to be worshipped by means of the beauty which He loves in words, deeds and attitudes. He loves His slaves to beautify their tongues with the truth, to beautify their hearts with sincere devotion (ikhlaas), love, repentance and trust in Him, to beautify their faculties with obedience, and to beautify their bodies by showing His blessings upon them in their clothing and by keeping them pure and free of any filth, dirt or impurity, by removing the hairs which should be removed, by circumcision, and by clipping the nails.

Thus they recognize Allah through these qualities of beauty and seek to draw close to Him through beautiful words, deeds and attitudes. They acknowledge Him for the beauty which is His attribute and they worship Him through the beauty which He has prescribed and His religion.

The hadeeth combines these two principles of knowledge and behaviour.'' [7]

Allah(God)

Allah(God)

Islam is the complete submission and obedience to Allah (God). The name Allah (God) in Islam never refers to Muhammad (peace be upon him), as many Christians may think; Allah is the personal name of God.

What do Muslims believe about Allah?

1. He is the one God, Who has no partner.

2. Nothing is like Him. He is the Creator, not created, nor a part of His creation.

3. He is All-Powerful, absolutely Just.

4. There is no other entity in the entire universe worthy of worship besides Him.

5. He is First, Last, and Everlasting; He was when nothing was, and will be when nothing else remains.

6. He is the All-Knowing, and All-Merciful,the Supreme, the Sovereign.

7. It is only He Who is capable of granting life to anything.

8. He sent His Messengers (peace be upon them) to guide all of mankind.

9. He sent Muhammad (peace be upon him) as the last Prophet and Messenger for all mankind.

10. His book is the Holy Qur'an, the only authentic revealed book in the world that has been kept without change.

11. Allah knows what is in our hearts.

These are some of the basic guidelines Muslims follow in their knowledge of God:

1. Eliminate any anthropomorphism (human qualities) from their conception of Allah. His attributes are not like human attributes, despite similar labels or appellations.

2. Have unwavering faith in exactly what Allah and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) described Allah to be, no more, no less.

3. Eradicate any hope or desire of learning or knowing the modality of His names and attributes.

4. Believe totally in all the names and attributes of Allah; one cannot believe in some and disbelieve the others.

5. One cannot accept the names of Allah without their associated attributes, i.e. one cannot say He is Al-Hayy - 'The Living' and then say that He is without life.

6. Similarity in names (or meanings) does not imply similarity in what is being described (referents). As a robotics arm differs from a human arm, so the "hand" of Allah is nothing like a human hand, His speech is nothing like human speech, etc.

7. Certain words are ambiguous or vague in their meanings, and thus may be susceptible to misinterpretation. Only those meanings that are in accordance with what is specified by Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him) are acceptable.

Who Is Allah?

Who Is Allah?

            Some of the biggest misconceptions that many non-Muslims have about Islam have to do with the word "Allah". For various reasons, many people have come to believe that Muslims worship a different God than Christians and Jews. This is totally false, since "Allah" is simply the Arabic word for "God" and there is only One God.

             Let there be no doubt, Muslims worship the God of Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus, peace be upon them all. However, it is certainly true that Jews, Christians and Muslims all have different concepts of Almighty God. For example, Muslims, like Jews, reject the Christian beliefs of the Trinity and the Divine Incarnation.

 This, however, doesn't mean that each of these three religions worships a different God because, as we have already said, there is only One True God. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all claim to be "Abrahamic Faiths", and all of them are also classified as "monotheistic". However, Islam teaches that other religions have, in one way or another, distorted and nullified a pure and proper belief in Almighty God by neglecting His true teachings and mixing them with man-made ideas.

            First of all, it is important to note that "Allah" is the same word that Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews use for God. If you pick up an Arabic Bible, you will see the word"Allah"beingusedwhere"God"isusedinEnglish.

            This is because "Allah" is the only word in the Arabic language equivalent to the English word "God" with a capital "G". Additionally, the word "Allah" cannot be made plural or given gender (i.e. masculine or feminine), which goes hand-in-hand with the Islamic concept of God. Because of this, and also because the Qur'an, which is the holy scripture of Muslims, was revealed in the Arabic language, some Muslims use the word "Allah" for "God", even when they are speaking other languages.

This is not unique to the word "Allah", since many Muslims tend to use Arabic words when discussing Islamic issues, regardless of the language which they speak. This is because the universal teachings of Islam, even though they have been translated in every major language,havebeenpreservedintheArabiclanguage.

            It is interesting to note that the Aramaic word "El", which is the word for God in the language that Jesus spoke, is certainly more similar in sound to the word "Allah" than the English word "God". This also holds true for the various Hebrew words for God, which are "El”, "Elah", and the plural form "Elohim".

 The reason for these similarities is that Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic are all Semitic languages with common origins. It should also be noted that in translating the Bible into English, the Hebrew word "El" is translated variously as "God", "god" and "angel"! This imprecise language allows different translators, based on their preconceived notions, to translate the word to fit their own views.

The Arabic word "Allah" presents no such difficulty or ambiguity, since it is only used for Almighty God alone. Additionally, in English, the only difference between "god", meaning a false god, and "God", meaning the One True God, is the capital "G". In the Arabic alphabet, since it does not have capital letters, the word for God (i.e. Allah) is formed by adding the equivalent to the English word "the" (Al-) to the Arabic word for "god/God" (ilah).

So the Arabic word "Allah" literally means "The God”: the "Al-" in Arabic basically serving the same function as the capital "G" in English. Due to the above mentioned facts, a more accurate translation of the word "Allah" into English might be "The One -and-Only God"or"TheOneTrueGod".

            More importantly, it should also be noted that the Arabic word "Allah" contains a deep religious message due to its root meaning and origin. This is because it stems from the Arabic verb ta'allaha (or alaha), which means "to be worshipped". Thus in Arabic, the word "Allah" means "The One who deserves all worship". This, in a nutshell, is the Pure Monotheistic message of Islam. According to Islam, "monotheism" is much more than simply believing in the existence of "only One God" - as seemingly opposed to two, three or more.

 If one understands the root meaning of the word "Allah", this point should become clear. One should understand that Islam's criticism of the other religions that claim to be "monotheistic" is not because they are "polytheistic" in the classic sense, but because they direct various forms of worship to other than Almighty God. We will discuss the meaning of worship in Islam below, however, before moving on it should be noted that many non-Muslims are unaware of the distinction between simply believing in the existence of only One God and reserving all worship for Him alone.

 Many Christians are painfully unaware of this point, and thus you often find them asking how Muslims can accuse the followers of Jesus, peace be upon him, of being "polytheists" when they were all "monotheistic Jews". First of all, it should be clarified that the word "polytheist" doesn't really sound right in this context, since to many it implies simply believing in the existence of more than one God. So in an Islamic context, "associators", "man-worshippers" or "creature worshippers" might be more accurate and appropriate terms, especially since Christians believe Jesus to be both "100% God and 100% man", while still paying lip-service to God's "Oneness".

However, as we're previously touched upon, what is really at the root of this problem is the fact that Christians as well as the members of other religions don't really know what "monotheism" means especially in the Islamic sense. All of the books, articles, and papers that I've read which were written by Christians invariably limit "monotheism" to believing in the existence of "One Sovereign and Creator God". Islam, however, teaches muchmorethanthis.

            Suffice is to say that just because someone claims to be a "monotheistic" Jew, Christian or Muslim, that doesn't keep them from falling into corrupt beliefs and idolatrous practices. Many people, including some Muslims, claim belief in "One God" even though they've fallen into acts of idolatry.

 Certainly, many Protestants accuse Roman Catholics of idolatrous practices in regards to the saints and the Virgin Mary. Likewise, the Greek Orthodox Church is considered "idolatrous" by many other Christians because in much of their worship they use icons. However, if you ask a Roman Catholic or a Greek Orthodox person if God is "One", they will invariably answer: "Yes!” This lip-service, however, does not stop them from being "creature worshipping" idolaters.

The same goes for Hindus, who just consider their gods to be "manifestations" or "incarnations"oftheOneSupremeGod.

            Everyone should be aware of the fact that throughout the long history of the "Abrahamic Faiths", there have people who, while believing in "One God", have adopted beliefs and practices that completely nullify their claim to "monotheism". This is the Muslim view of Christians. We're well aware of the fact that they claim belief in "One God" with their lips, but this doesn't mean that they don't nullify their claim in other ways.

 This is because many people simply haven't been taught everything that Pure Monotheism entails. From an Islamic point of view, "monotheism" can be nullified in many ways. For example, simply believing that it is permissible to rule by Western "liberal" and "democratic" laws in lieu of the Divinely Revealed Law of Almighty God makes one a "polytheist". Certainly, a person who does such a thing, whether Jewish, Christian or Muslim, doesn't ever believe that there is another Almighty Creator and Sovereign Lord. However, for all practical purposes, such a person has taken another "god", whether they choose to admit it or not.

In this way they are associating partners with Almighty God (Arabic: shirk), and thus become a "polytheist" in a practical sense, regardless of their lip-service to "monotheism". This holds true even if the person doesn't believe what they are doing is "worship". For example, Roman Catholics who pray to the Virgin Mary will staunchly deny that they are "worshipping" her. They instead call it "adoration" or some other watered-down term. However, from an Islamic point of view, what is worship if not this? Islam teaches that prayer and supplication are the marrow of worship, so if one directs their prayers to an intermediary (even if the pray is "ultimately" meant for God), then what is left of worship? Additionally, how can someone who believes in Almighty God follow man-made laws instead of God's Law, without admitting that they've begun worshipping other thanGod?DotheyknowbetterthanGod?

            Additionally, the Old Testament makes it perfectly clear that making a "graven image" of any created thing (not to mention ones which are supposed to "represent" Almighty God) is prohibited. Please see Exodus 20:4-6, Leviticus 26:1 and Deuteronomy 4:16, 23, 25, 5:8 and Nehemiah 9:6 for some statements in regards to this point.

 Without addressing the issue that Christians commonly violate the unambiguous commandment not to even "make" representations of anything that is in the "heavens above or on the earth beneath", these verses not only teach that worshipping idols is prohibited, but also that Almighty God is eternally distinct from His creation and thus nothing in His creation can represent Him. To believe otherwise is to be a de facto idol worshipper - even if one claims belief in one, and only one, "True God". In Exodus 20:4-6 and Deuteronomy 4:16, Almighty God, who is a "Jealous God”, makes it perfectly clear that He is distinct from His creation.

            By giving such clear and merciful guidance to human beings, God is establishing a universal and eternal Truth for the benefit of mankind. This eternal Truth is the bedrock of religious guidance, since once people begin to believe that Almighty God mixes with or can be represented by His creation, they can be duped into believing almost anything.

Once someone accepts that God has become "incarnate" in His creation, or that someone or something is a "manifestation", and thus representation of Him, the floodgates are open and "Truth" becomes a matter of subjective guesswork. Once the first and most basic concept is violated, regardless of how complicated and sophisticated the rationale for it might be, it is very easy to fall further and further away from the Eternal Truth of Pure Monotheism.

 In the final analysis, it is not a question of whether God is capable of becoming a man, but rather a question of whether one bases their beliefs about God on clear, unambiguous and authentic guidance. Once it is left up to the human mind to decide what Almighty God can and cannot do, the stage is set for misguidance to take root. Human speculation about God only ends up leading to misguidance and despair, since no clear conclusions can ever be reached.

 For example, is God capable of creating an object so heavy that He is incapable of moving it? If not, does that mean that He is incapable? It is because of misguided questions like this that Islam clearly teaches that mankind should only say about God what He has said about Himself. This means all of our ideas about God must be based on Revelation and not on human speculation. In short, the final prophet of Islam ,Muhammad(peace be upon him), was sent by Almighty God to preach the same Pure Monotheism that was practiced by Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus, peace be upon them all.

This Pure Monotheism means not only believing that there is only One God in existence, but realizing that He is transcendent above His creation and that all worship is duetoHimalone.

            Before concluding, we should probably address the practice of those Muslims who insist on using the Arabic word "Allah" even when speaking English. Even though this practice certainly is not to be condemned when it is done around those who understand the meaning of the Arabic word "Allah", it is my experience ,both during my years as a non-Muslim and my years as a Muslim ,

that such a practice can (and usually does) breed misunderstanding. It seems that often times, many of the Muslims who use the word "Allah" in lieu of the word "God", even when trying to attract people to Islam, are unaware of the severe misunderstandings that many non-Muslims have about Islam (and the distorted way which Islam has been portrayed in the West).

 Insisting on using the word "Allah" only fuels the flames of misunderstanding, so there's no good reason to do it. I've often wondered what value some Muslims think that using the word "Allah" adds to the Pure Message that they are trying to convey. (. . . and I'm still waiting for an answer!) Unfortunately, those Muslims who insist on using the word "Allah" even when addressing non-Muslims who are unfamiliar with Islam and the Arabic language, do both a disservice to themselves and their religion.

 Unfortunately, this practice is usually based on the false assumption, by a non-native speaker of English, that the word "God" in English is incapable of expressing a pure and proper belief in Almighty God. This is certainly false.

 If someone says that the English word "God" cannot be used to express the Pure Islamic Belief in Tawhid, they are wrong not because they don't understand Tawhid, but simply because they don't understand the English language.

Many people who insist on using the Arabic word "Allah" usually don't realize this, because in reality, they are not so much affirming the word "Allah" as they are rejecting the word "God" as unsuitable based on incorrect assumptions. For someone to assume that the word "God" presupposes a certain theological point-of-view (such as the Trinity) is simply Wrong, and that's Wrong with a capital "W". To say the word "God" should be rejected because it can be changed into "god", "gods" or "goddess" is illogical because each of these words has a distinctive meaning and a distinctive spelling, at least to someone who knows how to speak English correctly.

 Using the same logic, I can demonstrate that the root letters "ktb" can be used to form the Arabic words "kitab" (book), "maktabah" (library), "maktab" (office) and "kaatib" (writer), but does that mean that these words have the same meaning? Do Arabic-speaking people go through life confusing libraries with writers and offices with books (both in conversation and in reality)? I think not! This is not to mention the fact that if the Arabic "Al-" was put in front of these words in order to make them definite, confusion would be even less likely. So the logic in both cases is the same, and this is because even though the same letters are used in "God" and "god", these two words have two different meanings in the English language.

The capital "G" implies something different than the small "g” and anyone who denies thissimplydoesn'tknowhowtospeaktheEnglishlanguage.

            In concluding this point, it should be mentioned that Arabic-speaking Muslims who believe in Pure Tawhid, Arabic-speaking Christians, the idol worshippers of Mecca and (so-called) Muslims who believe in "Wahdat al-Wujud" all use the word "Allah". However, does this guarantee all of them proper belief in "Allah"? Certainly not, because if they have a corruptconceptof"Allah"itdoesn'tmatterwhatwordtheyuse.

            This brings us to a more important point: It should be clearly understood that what Islam is primarily concerned with is correcting mankind's concept of Almighty God. What we are ultimately going to be held accountable at the end of our life is not whether we prefer the word "Allah" over the word "God", but what our concept of God is. Language is only a side issue.

 A person can have an incorrect concept of God while using the word "Allah", and likewise a person can have a correct concept of God while using the word "God". This is because both of these words are equally capable of being misused and being improperly defined. As we've already mentioned, using the word "Allah" no more insinuates belief in the Unity of God than the use of the word "God" insinuates belief in the Trinity or any other theological opinion.

Naturally, when God sends a revelation to mankind through a prophet, He is going to send it in a language that the people who receive it can understand and relate to. Almighty God makes this clear in the Qur'an, when He states: «"Never did We send a Messenger except (to teach) in the language of his (own) people in order to make (things) clear to them."»(Qur'an,Chapter14-"Abraham",Verse4)

            As Muslims, we think that it is unfortunate that we have to go into details on such seemingly minor issues, but so many falsehoods have been heaped upon our religion, that we feel that it is our duty to try to break down the barriers of falsehood. This isn't always easy, since there is a lot of anti-Islamic literature in existence which tries to make Islam look like something strange and foreign to Westerners.

There are some people out there, who are obviously not on the side of truth, they want to get people to believe that "Allah" is just some Arabian "god", and that Islam is completely "other" ,meaning that it has no common roots with the other Abrahamic religions (i.e. Christianity and Judaism).

 To say that Muslims worship a different "God" because they say "Allah" is just as illogical as saying that French people worship another God because they use the word "Dieu", that Spanish-speaking people worship a different God because they say "Dios" or that the Hebrews worshipped a different God because they sometimes call Him "Yahweh". Certainly, reasoning like this is quite ridiculous! It should also be mentioned,

that claiming that any one language uses the only the correct word for God is tantamount to denying the universality of God's message to mankind, which was to all nations, tribes and people through various prophets who spoke different languages.

Before closing, we would like everyone to be aware of the fact that some Christian missionary organizations print English literature intended to teach Christians about Islam which say such things as: "Allah is the god of the Muslims" and that "Muhammad came to get people to believe in the god Allah" implying that "Allah" is some sort of false "god". However, when these same organizations print literature in the Arabic language, hoping to lead Arabic-speaking Muslims "to Christ", they use the word "Allah" for God. It seems that if they were on the side of truth, they would not have to resort to such inconsistencies. And on an even more ridiculous note there are also missionary organizations that exceed this in ignorance (or deceit) by writing books that call on Muslims to give up their belief in "Allah", and instead worship the "Lord" Jesus, "the Son of God".

Besides making it abundantly clear that they are outside the community of Pure Monotheism, the people who write such material don't even realize that if they wrote such a pamphlet in Arabic, it would be self-contradictory. This is because in an Arabic Bible Jesus is the "Son of Allah"! If an Arabic-speaking person gave up the worship of "Allah", they would have no God to worship, since "Allah" is simply the Arabic word for God!

            Before we conclude, however, we would like to ask our readers to ask themselves what they think the reasons are behind all of these lies? If Islam was just some false religion that didn't make any sense, would so many people, from Western scholars to Christian missionaries, have to tell so many lies about it? The reason is that the Ultimate Truth of Islam stands on solid ground and its unshakable belief in the Unity of God is above reproach.

 Due to this, Christians can't criticize its doctrines directly, but instead make up things about Islam that aren't true so that people lose the desire to learn more. If Muslims were able to present Islam in the proper way to people in the West, it surely might make many people reconsider and re-evaluate their own beliefs.

It is quite likely that Christians, when they find out that there is a universal religion in the world that teaches people to worship and love God, while also practicing Pure Monotheism, would at least feel that they should re-examine the basis for their own beliefs and doctrines.