Part 3

THE ONENESS OF GOD AND OTHER
QUALITIES OF PERFECTION
1-HIS ONENESS
       God, who has created this world, is one unified power.The godly power has not, as the dualists profess, a double aspect, one standing for good and light, and the other for evil and darkness. Neither is God, as Christians believe, one of a trinity -a belief that has led man far astray.

      The evidence that goes to prove this Oneness of God is expressed in these two verses:
1.     "Had they (i.e. heaven and earth) deities beside God they would have fallen into corruption." The Prophets ,22 .

2.    "God hath not begotten issue; neither is there any other god with Him; otherwise every god had surely taken away that which he had created; and some of them had exalted themselves above the others". The True Believers, 91.

     If we assume the existence of more than one God it would then go without saying that each must have a knowledge, a will and a power that can run contrary to those of the other. This would in its turn lead to a difference in the line of action and in the very deliberation of the world and would in the end lead to a deterioration of both heaven and earth, all matter and life, that lie between them. Not only this, but such a conflict between those qualities of each and the results that ensue from them, might rob the world of its very existence. But the universe with its constituent parts run according to a perfect order, a fact that makes us conclude that the power that gives it creation and existence must be a unified one.

     But someone might say, "Can we not assure the existence of several gods who can at the same time agree among themselves that each were to have under him a certain area to control and influence? Our answer to this would be that we would then be left with more than one universe, each having its own laws and pattern of control. But as a matter of fact there cannot be but one universe, the constituent parts of which are so integrated as to run according to the same principles and laws. Consequently the creator is but one and one alone.

     And if Islam is a religion that basically rests on, the absolute oneness of God who orders us to request - "Say, God is one God; the Eternal God; not, neither is He begotten and there is not any one like unto Him", it follows that we are to pray for and fear none but him; these two acts being the very heart and axis of the act of worship.

      Thus we cannot consider as faithful the acts performed by the common layman in soliciting the favour of holy and faithful men, and carrying to their tombs offerings for which they themselves stand in need. Such acts he does in the hope that some wishes of his might come true or that he may acquire some good in this world or the next. When asking for help to withstand any worldly catastrophe, just as in his worship, man must direct his steps towards God alone. Has not God himself taught us to say in the Preface. "Thee do we worship, and of thee do we beg assistance.'' And has not the Prophet said, "if
you do beg, beg only from Him; and if you do ask for help, ask from Him alone."?

       We should not, however, get so confused as not to realize that a visit to the tomb of a holy man soliciting his aid in some good does not run contrary to the doctrine of the oneness of God as long as the pleader's heart abounds in faith in God and in a belief that God is the one active force to bring about whatever he wants, and that the holy man is only a means of interceding with God.

       In this connection we should also like to mention another misconception that some people may have. There are some who believe that God may answer the appeal of the faithful, especially as it is mentioned in the Quran that the prayer or appeal which a prophet or holy man directs to God is most liable to be answered, for does not God say "but if they, after they have injured their own souls, come unto thee, and ask pardon of God, and the apostle ask pardon for them, they shall surely find God easy to be reconciled and merciful."The Women, 64.

       We also read in Ibn Saad's Al Tabaqqat that when, in the year 18 A.H., known as the ''Ash Year", people turned  their back on pilgrimage, a wave of dearth swept over the land, bringing death to both men and cattle. Omar was then the Khalif and he spent some months in supplication, praying God to forgive them and send them rain, as did all the Muslims. One day the Khalif, deeply immersed in his prayers, grasped the hand of AI-Abbas (the Prophet's uncle) and, holding it fast in his, said these words

     "O, Lord, let the Prophet's uncle intercede in my supplication to you and send us rain. " Al-Abbas remained beside Omar and with tears filling his eyes, joined him in his prayers. shortly after, the rains came and the skies poured down their rain for many days.

     Thus we see that a true believer in God the one and only, and who can overhear whispered secrets, should make his prayer direct to-God, letting none intercede for him. Omar called upon Al-Abbas to intercede for them, yet he kept on with his own prayers. We say this to rule out as irreligious the visits which people pay to the tombs of holy men, promising them offerings if their intercession to God answers their prayers.

Does not God say:
1-     "When my servants ask thee concerning me, verily I am near; I will hear the prayer of him that prayer, when he prayeth unto me.,, The Cow,186. Is He not worthy Who heareth the afflicted, when He calleth upon Him, and taketh off the evil which distressed him." The Ant, 62.

       The belief in the oneness of God leaves also a great imprint on the hearts and souls of men and consequently upon their deeds. If man is faithful to God alone, and if he fears and pleads to none but him, soliciting him alone to bestow upon him whatever is good and to save him from ills - if man does that he is consequently rendered strong in himself, becomes capable of upholding truth and would in all that which concerns him depend on God alone.

       To pray to be near God can only be realized if one carries out God's demands (that is by giving full support to his decrees and those of his Prophets), and if good is bestowed upon all believers in his faith. In the Prophets words "Never has one come close to me as through the fulfilment of my precept, and often would he seek that proximity through supererogative prayer till he gains my love' ... if he asks; I give him; and if he calls for me, I readily answer his call."

       It is thus evident that to God pertains all qualities of perfection, or else he would never be the power that creates and deliberates over the entire world. Among the qualities that pertain to him are:

       Life, hearing, seeing, speech, knowledge, will, power in all of which has been conceded to God by all men of the Islamic faith.

2. LIFE
     God is the source of life, endowing every living creature with it. It thus follows that he cannot but enjoy this gift in its fully perfect form. In the Quran God is referred to in these words.

     "God ! There is not God but He; the living, the self subsisting; neither slumber nor sleep seizeth Him." The Cow, 255.

     He is being in its highest form of existence which must but be; this is in itself a quality that cannot be given him by a power, outside him.

     His being lies in his very divine essence which is the intrinsic quality of his existence as the creative power from which the entire universe has proceeded. He is the source of all existing beings which we feel, see and know and also beings that we do not know.

       He creates life out of death, bestows life upon earth after death. If He is the life-giving source bestowing it upon every living creature, then he himself is the perfect image of life. He is eternal and everlasting; he is above sleep or dozing, and above tiredness or fatigue - things which come over other living creatures. Also, because his existence cannot but be, he consequently ranks above all other beings and is perfection incarnate. From this it logically proceeds that he should have perfect living qualities which convene with this high degree of existence.

3. SEEING AND HEARING
      For the creator to be perfect and wise in his creation his power to conceive all that he makes or creates must he all-embracing. This presupposes his possession of all means of conception. Thus hearing and seeing are among the attributes of God, the full attributes without which he would not be the perfect creator, neither would lie be the one, and only one, who is to be truly worshipped.

      In this light we should mention the words of Ibrahim to his father - "Father, why do you worship that which does not see nor hear, nor does it avail you in the least ?". Mariam, 42.

     This is to indicate that the worshipped God must have those powers, which has been stated in several other verses, such as the following:
I-     "and God bath heard your mutual discourse; for God both heareth and seeth." The Chapter of the Women Who Disputed, 1.

2.    "What thinkest thou of him who forbiddeth our servant, when he prayeth? What thinketh thou, if he followeth the right direction? or command piety? What thinkest thou ,if he accuseth the divine revelations of falsehood and turn his back? Doth he not know that God seeth?" The Chapter of Congealed Blood, 9-14.

      We would also mention in this connection the word with which God addressed Moussa and Haroun when He sent them to Pharaoh-

     "Go ye to Pharaoh, for he is excessively impious; and speak mildly unto him; peradventure he will consider or will fear Our threats. They answered, O God, we fear lest he be precipitately violent against us, or lest he transgress more exhorbitantly. God replied, Fear not, for l am with you; I will hear and I will see".Taha,43-46.

And finally we mention these-
     "God will know the deceitful eye, and that which their breasts conceal; and God will judge with truth; but the false gods which they invoke besides Him, shall not judge at all; for God is He Who heareth and seeth".The True Believer,19 and 20.

4. SPEECH
        Speaking is an act through which the speaker expresses to the addressee what passes within himself; such an expression takes the form of words, either spoken or written. If man, who is not himself a true creator and initiator of an action, can do this, it is all the more reasonable to believe that God, who is the true Creator and Initiator, is to be qualified with the power of communicating through the word whatever he wants to express.

       But as in the other qualities so it is with this one, there lies a great difference between the divine and the human power over them. Man expresses himself in either the spoken or the written word. But the word of God takes the form of inspiration and revelation created in the soul of whoever he chooses; it also takes the form of words that are created in his addressee, and in the form of an angel or a spirit whom he sends to whoever he chooses of his prophets or apostles. All this has been referred to in these verses - " It is not fit for man that God should speak unto him otherwise than by private revelation, or from behind a veil, only his sending of a messenger to reveal, by his permission, that which he pleaseth; for he is high and wise. " The Chapter of Consultation,51.

      In his book, Manahig el-Addelah, Ibn Rushd says that the words, "from behind a veil", mean speech that takes the form of words created by God Himself in the heart of whom He places high by addressing him. This is the favour shown to Moses and is recorded in The Women, "God spoke to Moussa", and in the Cow he says -

"These are the apostles; We have preferred some of them before others; some of them God spoken unto (1), and hath exalted the degree of others of them. " 

Thus a Muslim should believe that seeing, hearing and speaking are attributes of God, for besides these being facts recorded in the Quran, our minds also conceive God as the true and perfect God. At the same time man must not conceive of God as possessing the human physical organs by which these powers could be exercised, such as ears, eyes and tongue. Beyond that man may not go.

For to conceive a belief in these divine qualities in that simple and uncomplicated way, as did Muslims in the godly generation of early Islam, would convince us to follow suit and adopt their view that God is the all-hearing and all seeing power; that it is He Who has, through his words and inspiration to His prophets, led us the right way, and that He is eternal and everlasting.

It is clear that to believe in these divine qualities does have a great influence upon man's life and work. Thus we should depend and rely on God, for He is the everlasting power; fear Him in whatever we do or say, for he is seeing and hearing; be grateful to Him for it is He who had led us in the right way through the inspiration he bestowed upon His prophets; besides, to be grateful is a source of bounty, for as God says- "If you be thankful, I will surely increase My favours towards you." Ibrahim, 7.

5. KNOWJNG, WILLING, POWER
These are the remaining qualities that a Muslim should attribute to God. All are necessary attributes to the divine quality, and dictates the view that God's existence cannot but be and that it is He Who has created the entire universe according to the most perfect and fine designs and principles,

Knowing:  
This is a divine attribute that is fully certified in many verses of the Quran, which all point out that God overhears secrets and private discourse, knows what lies in the hearts and wombs, in heaven and earth,knows all that was, is and will be.

In this connection we mention these verses:
1." He knoweth whatsoever entereth into the earth, and whatsoever cometh out of the same and whatsoever descendeth from heaven, and whatsoever ascendeth thereto." Sabaa,2.

2. " He knoweth whatever is in heaven and earth; and He knoweth that which ye conceal, and that which ye discover. " Mutual Deceit, 4.

3. "Dost thou not perceive that God knoweth whatever is in heaven and earth ? There is no private discourse among three persons, but He is the fourth of them; nor among five, but He is the sixth of them, neither among a smaller number than this, nor larger, but He is with them, wheresoever they be; and He will declare unto them that which they have done, on the day of resurrection; for God knoweth all." The Woman Who Disputed, 7.

4. " Thou shalt be engaged in no business, neither shalt thou be employed in meditating on any passage of the Quran; neither shall ye do any action, but We will be witnesses over you, when you are employed therein. Nor is so much as the weight of an ant hidden from thy Master in earth or in heaven; neither is there anything lesser than that, or greater, but it is written in the perspicuous book." Yunus,61.

These verses do afford the believer in God and the Quran with a faith that God is all-knowing. As for the unbelievers, we can refer  to evidence extracted from modern natural science and which is undoubtedly convincing .The Quran refers equally to this evidence in these verses -

"Either conceal your discourse, or make it public; He knows the innermost parts of your breasts. Shall He not know all things Who hath created them; since He is the sagacious, the knowing?," The Chapter of the Kingdom, 13 and14.

In the second verse we find a reference to the fact that this world, earth, heaven and all intervening matter coexist within a harmonious pattern that so fits its constituent parts one with the other as to perform the purpose that informs the pattern as a whole. Such an order evidently tells of a creator or maker whose knowledge is all comprising, and consequently it is knowledge existing on a level which is perfect, an attribute which renders God's knowledge eternal, standing above change.

In this manner we read Ibn Rushd in Manahig al-Ad dellah:
"The proofs that should be advanced for the establishment of the attribute of knowledge to God should rest on evidence that is to appeal both to the common man as well as to the learned, despite the fact that the latter is distinguished by his more perfect degree of knowledge which can penetrate to the perfect pattern behind the universe and to the purpose which each part has been created to fulfil."

"Besides, we have, when speaking about the evidence that goes to prove the creation of the universe according to a perfect order behind it, advanced evidence for the existence of God who by definition exists and has created to perfection the universe. This goes also to support the fact that his knowledge is existing. Yet we shall better quote here Muhammad Abdou who says in his Risalet al-Tawhiid." (1)

Among the evidences that go to prove the existence of God is the consistent and precise pattern behind all creation, each constituent part being rightly placed in relation to all that it needs for its persistent existence. Such a pattern is to be seen everywhere in earthly and heavenly bodies, irrespective of their size. The link and consistent relation between stars and their organized movement within their fixed orbits is such that the slightest aberration would upset the whole pattern such an order tells of the perfection and wisdom of its maker.

This deliberating power we see in all creations around us. Consider how plants and animals are so constructed as to seek and extract what ever they need of nourishment. Plants, for instance ,are given a natural drive to lean or to stretch for their nourishment. They are given a natural power to extract what goes to feed them so that if two different kinds of plants, a bitter one like the colocynth, for example, and a sweet one like a watermelon are planted side by side we shall find that each extracts different nourishing elements from one and the same soil.

As for the creation of man, a look into that process along its different embryonic stages and its further development after birth points to the deliberate changes so made as to prepare man to face his surroundings and then to master them.

Such patterns in all creation cannot be directed by mere chance, but tell of a deliberating power behind it, a power that is all-knowing.

God is the source of all creation. He has created what we know and what we are yet to know. He is the incarnation of will, for it is evident that the active power must be directed in its movement by a power of will and this in its turn is one of his eternal qualities.

The intrinsic quality of this attribute lies in the fact that it fixes in time and in form the creation of a certain thing. Such a creation (though harmonized to a moment that is temporal) proceeds from a source that is eternal in both power and knowledge.

After advancing this logical affirmation of the divine attribute of will, and after looking in its working we find in the Quran many verses that point to its existence:
I. "And when we wish to destroy a town, We send Our commandment to the people of it who lead easy lives but transgress therein; thus the word proves true against it, so We destroy it with utter destruction." (The Night Journey), i6.

2. ''So that your Master desired that they should attain their maturity and take out their treasure, a mercy from your Master (The Cave, 82).

3. "Surely Allah does what he pleases: (The Pilgrimage, 14).

In the chapter of The Pilgrimage we read the words - "God wills whatever He wants." God's will is absolute, and is to be enacted in the entire universe. He creates what He wishes and what He chooses; none of His creatures has the power of choice in whatever carries the will of God,the knowing and the wise.

The Attribute of Power. It is only evident that God is power incarnate. For through this attribute He is able to create and bring to nothingness. For He has given existence to all living things according to His knowledge and will. Thus He must be capable of doing what He wants according to His Almighty knowledge. In the Chapter of The Stars He says that God "does whatever He wishes to".

In the Chapter of "the Pilgrimage", 6, He says -"This is because God is the Truth and because He gives life to the dead and because He has power over all things Thus his power is unlimited; it realizes the object of His absolute power which nothing can obstruct. No wonder He is the one God who has no other beside Him, no higher will than His and no other power to reverse His will; nothing, whether in heaven or earth, can be far removed from His power.

If modern science were able to make man control the material world, submitting it to the convenience and advancement of man, this was the last resort achieved only through the power of God. Man should place this fact before him so as to realize that this power to discover or to create goes back finally to God Who equally is the very source of the existence of man.

And here we should like to mention these verses from The Pilgrime 73and,74:
"O people ! a parable is set forth, therefore listen to it; surely those whom you call upon besides God can not create a fly, and should the fly carry off aught from them, they could not take it back from it; weak are the invoker and the invoked. They have not estimated God with estimation that is due to Him, most surely God is Strong, Mighty."

Besides, if God is all-knowing, wilful and powerful, then from his power emanates existence according to the knowledge, will and power _these things have been proved by the intellect and are recorded in the Quran, which stands above all doubts. It follows that the power to choose what He wants and what He does is one of His attributes.For He is an absolute power that towers above all, a power that cannot be forced to do what it does not wish to do.

Thus it is not in the least true what some Islamic philosophers say, echoing the great philosophers by whom they were influenced, that existing things emanate from God without either His knowledge or will. For He is the primal cause of all things and His existence demands that they- created objects - should emanate from Him, for He is ever kind, ever giving and ever active. And if man himself is ever conscious of what proceeds from him and what he wishes to do, God is all the more so. He is all conscious of, and all willing to what He brings about, whether it is creation or negation, giving or deprivation. As is said in the Quran ".. and your Master creates and chooses whom He pleases; to choose is not theirs; glory be to God, and exalted be He above what they associate"; "He is all-knowing"; "He does whatsoever He wishes to ";"is all powerful."

These are, then the perfect attributes which Muslims have agreed as belonging to God. They place God above the opposites of these attributes and, indeed, above every  attribute that tells of want or detraction. These acknowledged attributes are knowledge, will and power; qualities which do have a great effect upon man and his deeds.

Whoever believes in God and believes that He is all- knowing, fully acquainted with everything, knows our secrets, our intimate talk and that which is hidden in our breasts; whoever believes that should not commit wrong, nor should be harbour an ill for anyone.

Whoever believes that all that happens in this world runs according to God's will and deliberation, that nothing is except what he himself wishes, will feel content when he carries out his duties and will believe that whatever befalls him may be after all to his own good.

He who believes in the power of God, a power that can reach to whatever it wants, whether in heaven or earth, will not despair if any ill befalls him, for relief is ever to follow. He should not feel too much what he sees and comes to know of injustice, for God can punish the unjust for their misdeeds. Nevertheless he should exert all the effort he can to resist injustice, answer aggression and then leave the rest to God.