Introduction to Islam. Zahid Aziz

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СКАЧАТЬ Islamic concept of God?

      Yes. Islam teaches that Allah is “the Lord (Rabb) of all the worlds”. (Rabb is pronounced like the word rub.) Allah is, therefore, not just the ‘god’ of the Muslims, nor the god of a particular race, religion or nation, but the only One God for the whole of mankind. As the Lord of all the nations He has not only provided means of physical sustenance for all the countries on earth, but also sent His guidance to every nation for its moral progress. He is equally just and loving towards every section of humanity, and has no favourite or chosen people, or rejected ones.

      21. How does man stand in relation to God, according to Islam?

      God has given man not only a body, but also a soul through which he can come into contact with his Creator. But whereas the body, like the rest of nature, is bound to obey the laws of God, the soul is free to follow God’s guidance or to reject it. The soul’s development lies in willingly following the guidance God has revealed through His prophets.

      According to the Quran, each person’s soul is “God’s Spirit” which has been breathed into him or her (32:9). This means that man’s soul has a special relationship with God, and man is capable of emulating the Divine attributes on his own small scale (see no. 23 below). God is unimaginably near to man’s soul, nearer to it than even man himself. He knows a person’s innermost thoughts, even those which the person himself does not consciously realize. In man’s soul there is implanted love for God and yearning after God, and it cannot find complete contentment without God. (See, for example, the following verses of the Holy Quran for these ideas: 50:16; 56:85; 20:7; 2:165; 5:119; 89:27-30.)

      22. What are the other things the Holy Quran tells us about God?

      It tells us a great deal. Most frequently it calls God Rahmaan (Beneficent) and Raheem (Merciful). Rahmaan really means that God is so loving and generous that He has granted man innumerable blessings as free gifts without any effort on man’s part. God is Raheem means that He is merciful so that when man makes the effort to use his God-given bounties for good purposes, God helps him to succeed. For instance, God has given man all sorts of physical resources in this world, without any effort on his part. When man tries to exploit these resources for the good, God makes him successful. The Holy Quran also tells us that God is Forgiving, Compassionate, Just, Answerer of prayers, Creator of everything, All-powerful, All-knowing, etc.

      A passage of the Holy Quran which mentions several attributes of God is as follows:

      “He is Allah besides Whom there is no God. The Knower of the unseen and the seen. He is the Beneficent, the Merciful. He is Allah besides Whom there is no God; the King, the Holy, the Author of peace, the Grantor of security, Guardian over all, the Mighty, the Supreme, the Possessor of greatness … He is Allah, the Creator, the Maker, the Fashioner. His are the most beautiful names. Whatever is in the heavens and the earth declares His glory; and He is the Mighty, the Wise.” (59:22-24)

      23. What is the purpose of believing that God possesses these attributes?

      So that man can try to acquire and display the same kind of qualities in his life. The Quran says:

      “(Take) Allah’s colouring — and who is better than Allah at colouring.” (2:138)

      God is the Rabb (the Provider and Fosterer of the whole world), so man should try to provide for others. God is Rahmaan, and so man too should take the initiative in doing good to other people, whether they have done anything to deserve it or not. God is Raheem, and so man should join with, help and encourage those who are doing good. God is All-Knowing and Wise, so man too should try to perfect his knowledge and acquire wisdom.

      Believing in the Divine attributes also stops one from harming others for personal gain. A person who truly believes God to be his Rabb (Provider) knows that He will always look after him, and so such a person would never try to take someone else’s due. A person who truly believes that God is All-Seeing and All-Knowing would know that he could never hide any bad deed, however secret, from God.

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