(part 1 of 3)
Introduction
The heart of Islam is belief in God.
At the core of Islamic belief is the commitment to the phrase: La ilaha illa Allah, “There is no true deity worthy of worship except Allah”. The testimony to this belief, called tauhid, is the axis around which everything in Islam revolves.
It is also the first of two confessions that make a person a Muslim. The quest for the realization of this unity, or tauhid, is the core of Islamic life.
Many non-Muslims think of the word Allah – the Arabic name of God – of a distant, foreign deity that the Arabs worship. Some of them even believe that it is some pagan “moon god”. Be that as it may, in Arabic, the word Allah means One, True God with all His perfect names and qualities revealed and undisclosed by Him. Arabic-speaking Jews and Christians also call the
god of their imagination Allah.
Find God
Western philosophers as well as Eastern mystics and contemporary scientists try to reach God in their own way. Mystics teach from a God who can be found through spiritual experimentation, a God who is part of the world and lives in His creation. Philosophers seek to find God through pure reason and often speak of God as if they were a separate watchmaker with no interest in His creation. A group of philosophers teach agnosticism, an ideology that claims that God’s existence can neither be proven nor denied. In practice, an agnostic’s claim means that he must be able to perceive God directly to believe. God says:
“And those who do not know, say: ‚Oh God would speak to us or a sign would come to us!‘ The same words were used by those who were before them. Their words are similar to each other… ”(Quran 2: 118)
This claim is nothing new; people have always raised the same objections in the past and now.
According to Islam, the right way to find God is through the preserved teachings of the prophets. Islam maintains that the prophets have always been sent by God Himself to lead people to Him. God says in the Venerable Quran that the right way to believe is to think carefully about His signs that lead to Him:
„We made the signs clear to people who are convinced.“ (Quran 2: 118)
The mention of God’s work often appears in the Quran as the subject of divine revelation. Anyone who looks at nature with all its wonders with open eyes and an open heart will recognize the flawless signs of the Creator.
“Say: Travel the earth and see how He made creation in the beginning. Then God creates the last creation. Certainly, God has power over everything. ”(Quran 29:20)
God’s works are omnipresent and also in the individuals themselves:
“ And on earth there are signs for the convinced and also in yourself. Don’t you see? ” (Quran 51: 20-21)
The beauty and complexity of our universe. The funnel nebula captured by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. (AP Photo / NASA)
(part 2 of 3)
Belief in God in Islam consists of four things:
(I) Belief in the existence of God.
(II) God is the Supreme Lord.
(III) God alone is entitled to worship.
(IV) God is known for His Most Beautiful Names and Attributes.
(I) belief in God’s existence
There is no need to prove God’s existence scientifically, mathematically, or philosophically. Its existence is not a “discovery” that has to be made by scientific means or proven by mathematical theorems. Straight out: simple, general sensations already testify to the existence of God. You learn about ships from shipbuilders, you learn about the cosmos from His creator. God’s existence is also known through the answer to prayers, the miracles of the prophets, and the teachings of all the scriptures revealed.
In Islam, man is not seen as a sinful creature to whom the message was sent down from heaven to heal the wound of sin itself, but as a being that bears his original nature (Al-Fitrah), an imprint on his Soul buried deep under layers of negligence. People are not born sinful, but forgetful, as God says:
“… Am I not your Lord?” They said: „Yes, we testify (it)!“ (Quran 7: 172)
“You” in this verse refers to all human beings, male and female. „Yes“ confirms the testimony of God’s unity in our pre-cosmic status. Islamic teaching states that men and women still carry the echo of this „yes“ deep down in their souls. The call of Islam is aimed at this pristine nature, which answered “yes” even before it inhabited this earth. In Islam, knowing that this universe has a creator is something instinctive, so it doesn’t need proof. Scientists such as Andrew Newberg and Eugene D’Aquili, both closely associated with the University of Pennsylvania and pioneers in the neurological science of religion, say, “We are connected to God.” [1]
The Venerable Quran asks rhetorical:
“… Is there a doubt about God, the creator of the heavens and the earth? …” (Quran 14:10)
One might ask: ´If belief in God is natural, why do some people lack this belief? ´ The answer is simple: every human being has an innate belief in a creator, but this belief is neither a learning result nor the result of logical thinking. Over time, external influences affect this innate belief and confuse the person. So the environment and the upbringing of a person cover up the original nature of the truth. The Prophet of Islam, may God praise all prophets, said:
„Every child is born in the state of ‚fitrah‘ (a natural belief in God), then his parents make him a Jew, a Christian or a magician“ (Sahieh Muslim)
Often these veils lift in the face of a spiritual crisis when man feels helpless and vulnerable.
(II) God is the Most High Lord
God is the only Lord of Heaven and Earth. He is the ruler of the universe and the legislator for human life. He is the master of the visible world and the ruler of human affairs. God is the Lord of every man, woman and child. Few in history have denied the existence of their Lord, which means that through the centuries most people have believed in the One God, the Most Highest Being, a Supernatural Creator. That God is Lord includes the following meanings:
First: God is the only lord and ruler of the physical world. The word „Lord“ means He is the creator, maintainer and owner of the kingdom of heaven and earth; they belong to Him alone. He alone created existence from non-existence, and all existence depends on Him for its preservation and continued existence. He did not create the universe in order to let it follow its own course according to fixed rules, and then to let go of it and to show no further interest in it. The power of the Living God is needed in every moment to sustain all creatures. Creation has no Lord but Him.
“Say: Who cares for you from heaven and earth, or who has hearing and eyesight? And who brings the living out of the dead and brings the dead out of the living? And who takes care of the matter? They will say: ´Allah.´ Say: don’t you want to be godly? ” (Quran 10:31)
He is the ever-reigning king and the Redeemer, the God who loves believers and God-fearing, full of wisdom. Nobody can change his decisions. The angels, prophets and humans as well as the animal and plant kingdom – they are all under His power.
Beauty of nature. The Great Waterfalls of the Chaudiere River near St. Georges, Quebec. (AP Photo / Robert F. Bukaty)
Second, God is the sole ruler over human affairs. God is the highest lawyer, [2] the absolute judge, legislator and He distinguishes the right from the wrong. Just as the physical world submits to its master, people must submit to the moral and religious teachings of their master, the master who separates what is right for them from what is wrong with them. In other words, God alone has the authority to make laws, lay down worship, prescribe moral principles, and establish rules for interpersonal relationships and behaviors.
His command is:
“Certainly, being is creation and command. Blessed is God, the Lord of the World Inhabitants. ” (Quran 7:54)
Footnotes:
[1] “Why God Wouldn’t Go Away”. Science and the Biology of Belief, p. 107.
[2] God’s existence proven by the existence of a supreme lawyer is called an „ethical argument“ by Western theologians.
(part 3 of 3)
(III) God alone deserves worship
Islam places much more emphasis on how faith in God is translated into a righteous, obedient life and in good moral decency, rather than increasing its existence through theological complications to prove. The Islamic motto is the same as the first message that the prophets preached: to surrender entirely to God’s will and worship and not to be so fixated on proving God’s existence:
“And We have not sent a Messenger before You, whom We would not have given (the instruction): ‚There is no God but Me, so serve Me!’” (Quran 21:25)
God has the exclusive right, internally and externally, to be worshiped with the heart and limbs. Nobody but Him can be worshiped and no one else can be worshiped besides Him. He has no partner or partner in worship. Worship, in its broad sense and all of its appearances, is due to Him alone.
“Your God is One God. There is no god but Him, the Most Merciful, the Most Merciful. ” (Quran 2: 163)
God’s right to be worshiped cannot be overstated. It is the essential meaning of the Islamic Creed: La ilah illa Allah. You become a Muslim by witnessing the divine right to worship. It is the core of Islamic belief in God, even all of Islam. It was the central message of all the prophets and messengers that God sent – the message of Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Moses, the Hebrew prophets, Jesus and Muhammad, that God’s peace be with them. For example, according to the Old Testament, Moses said,
„Listen, Israel, the Lord is our God alone.“ (Deuteronomy 6: 4)
And according to the New Testament, Jesus repeated the same message 1500 years later when he said:
“The noblest commandment is: ‚Hear Israel, the Lord our God, is the Lord alone‘. ”(Mark 12:29)
And he also reminded Satan in the New Testament:
“ Stand away from me Satan! For it is written: ‚You shall worship God your Lord and serve Him alone. ‚”(Matthew 4:10)
Finally, the call of Muhammad over 600 years after Jesus” echoed over the hills of Mecca:
“Your God is one God. There is no god but Him, the Most Merciful, the Most Merciful. ” (Quran 2: 163)
They all clearly stated:
“… Serve God! You have no god other than Him … ”(Quran 7:59, 7:65, 7:73, 7:85; 11:50, 11:61, 11:84; 23:23)
What is worship?
In Islam, worship consists of every act, every conviction, every statement or every feeling in the heart that God supports and loves; all things that bring the believer closer to his creator. It includes “external” worship, such as daily ritual prayers, fasting, alms and pilgrims, as well as “internal” worship, such as belief in the six principles of faith, worship, worship, love, gratitude and trust. God is entitled to worship with body, heart and soul, and worship is incomplete as long as one of the four basic elements is missing: respectful fear of God, divine love and worship, hope for God’s reward and extreme humility.
One of the greatest acts in worship is prayer, in which the divine being is asked for help. Islam emphasizes that prayer can only be addressed to God. He has absolute control over everyone’s destiny and is able to meet his needs and avert distress. In Islam, God reserves the right to pray for himself.
“And do not call anything other than God that neither benefits you nor harms you! So if you do, you are wrongful. ” (Quran 10: 106)
Giving someone else – prophets, angels, Jesus, Mary, idols or nature – a part of worship or prayer that is basically only due to God is called Shirk and is the worst sin in Islam. Shirk is the only unforgivable sin when it is not repented and it denies the real purpose of creation.
(IV) God is known by His most beautiful names and characteristics.
God is known in Islam by His most beautiful names and characteristics, as they emerge from the Islamic revelations, without changing the interpretation or denial of their obvious meanings, to paint them out or by them on a human scale to think.
“God’s are the most beautiful names; so call on him … ”(Quran 7: 180)
For this reason, it is inappropriate to use author, author, substance, pure ego, absolute, pure idea, logical concept, bodily, unknown, unconscious, ego, idea or great man as divine names. They simply lack beauty and it is not what God described Himself. Instead, God’s name shows His Majestic Beauty and Perfection. God does not forget, does not sleep and does not get tired either. He is not unjust and he has no son, mother, father, brother, partner or helper. He was not born and does not father. He doesn’t need anyone because He is perfect. He does not become human to „understand“ our suffering. God is the Almighty (al-Qawyy), the one incomparable (al-‚Ahad), the one who repents (at-Tawwaab), the merciful (ar-Rahiem),
The most common names are: „The Gracious“ and „The Merciful“. All but one chapter of the Muslim Scriptures begin with the sentence: „In the name of God, the Merciful, the Merciful.“ One can say that this phrase is usually used more often by the Muslims than the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in Christian invocations. Muslims start everything in the name of God and remember God’s grace and mercy every time they eat, drink, write a letter, or do anything else important.
Forgiveness has a very important meaning in man’s relationship with God. People are indeed weak and prone to sin, but God in His loving grace is inclined to forgive. The Prophet Muhammad said:
“God’s grace outweighs his anger. ”(Sahieh Al-Bukhari) In
addition to the divine names“ The Gracious ”and“ The Merciful ”, the names“ The Forgiver ”(al-Ghafur),“ The Often Forgiver ”(al-Ghaf-faar),“ The Die Repentant ”(at-Tawwaab) and“ The Forgiving ”(al-Afuw) to those most used by Muslims in their prayers.
Source: https://www.islamland.com/deu/articles/glaube-an-gott