At times when we are alone in the dark of the night, just before we drift off to sleep, our heart skips a beat; we experience a strange feeling, a cross between fear and anxiety, anxiety of the unknown, fear of being alone. A strength from within makes us tell ourselves that there is nothing to be worried about, nothing will happen to us, this feeling of security is a faith within every human being, however weak it may be, in a Protector; One who is always present - the Owner of Eternity. The belief in God is a truth waiting in every heart to be acknowledged. No one can deny that every Human soul seeks truth; every soul is on a quest for an answer to all the beauties of this world, to the magnificence of creation, to the troubles one lives - ‘The Light of those who are alone in darkness’[1] - Allah (swt)

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

 

What is God in Islam?

 

‘Numbers scuffle and fight though they all derive from zero.’[2]

 

Humanity, nature, and all that we perceive with our senses, follow different patterns; they have different functions and purposes in this world, yet the commonality between them is evident, humans are bound by the same natural laws. Logic alone tells us that we exist; even if we doubt everything around us, we cannot deny that we are doubting, therefore we exist, no philosopher or theologian can refute Descartes ‘I think therefore I am’[3]. Logic then tells us that we must come from something. The existence of creation is the biggest proofs of all for the existence of God. Human beings are uniform in their natural instincts, we all hear, see, and have the same components and functions. No single human being can exclude himself from the laws of nature. The regularity of these laws denotes the existence of an Absolute Being, a Maker, for they are absolute truths; the earth never misses an orbit and the sun never misses its rise. Faith in the Creator of the most faithful of friends, earth and sky, is inherent within us. There is no reality but God, there is only God, we are all from God, and to Him we will return.

 

Allah is the Arabic word for the Lord; the Creator of all that exists, the Creator of all that we know, the Absolute Unique Divine. Call it Mother Nature, Yahweh, God or Allah, He (May He be glorified) is One. He has no partner, child or aid. He is beyond that, He is beyond what the human mind can comprehend.

 

Islam says we are all born with a natural inclination towards Tawhid: the belief in the oneness of the Creator. All humans have ideals, role models, aspirations or a beloved they seek. We all have a natural tendency towards what is ideal, towards our perception of perfection. This natural instinct that pulls us so hard towards the path we each individually choose to follow, is the natural instinct to worship something out of love of its perfection. Although different people may have different definitions and understandings of the beloved they seek, we all have the love of perfection at the core of our being. Ingrained within us is the yearning towards an Absolute Ideal that would quench the thirst of our soul for the supernatural and magnificent complexities that lie out of this world. Allah is that Absolute, the Ultimate Being that is perfect.

 

Allah is the Creator - the Sublime source of everything. The innate belief in His existence cannot be complete without the conviction in His Unity. The human mind, created by Allah, seeks Him; and out of His love and mercy for His creation, He manifests His being to humanity by means which we can understand; messages and revelations. To believe in the Prophethood of those appointed to convey the truth on this Earth becomes a necessity, as Allah is just, and He would not leave creation without proper guidance towards the purpose of their creation. Prophets are the intermediaries, who break down the complexity of the Divine Being and what lies beyond human intelligence, for human comprehension. Thus, the belief in the One God, His message, the Angels, the revelation of Divine Scriptures, the Day of Resurrection and the faith bestowed upon humankind are all one belief and are essential for the belief in the Absolute Truth.

 

The human being’s longing for the Perfect is the yearning for a saviour that need not be saved and for a sanctity that needs no sanctity of its own. It is the yearning for mercy that needs no mercy, and for love that needs no love. ‘They long for an absolute beauty and perfection which has no defect, for a knowledge that has no trace of ignorance in it and for a life that has no death.’[4]

 

In our worldly interactions, words sometimes limit us, and we find it difficult to express simple sentiments. How then can words constitute what is beyond words, the Creator of Knowledge?  We maintain however, that words are the means by which we understand. Our minds are limited but within the limits, great lengths of understanding can be achieved. Our eyes are small, they can only see so much, yet they behold the magnificent world. In this linguistic community, words must produce meaning for the Beloved.  Poetry once spoke for God saying, ‘The images that come with human language do not correspond to me, but those who love words must use them to come near.’[5]

 

1. The Most Beneficent
2. Has taught the Quran
3. He created man
4. He taught him eloquent speech[6]

 

Physical qualities cannot represent Him and imagination cannot picture Him, but the soul can fly to Him for He is the Light of every heart and the Love of every soul. He is the hope that every human has to escape from calamity. Thus, the most eloquent words of Imam Ali (as) describe the Being of God:

 

‘[God] is One but not by the first in counting, is Creator but not through activity or labour, is Hearer but not by means of any physical organ, is Looker but not by a stretching of eyelids, is Witness but not by nearness, is Distinct but not by measurement of distance, is Manifest but not by seeing and is Hidden but not by subtlety (of body). He is Distinct from things because He overpowers them and exercises might over them, while things are distinct from Him because of their subjugation to Him and their turning towards Him.

 

He who describes Him limits Him. He who limits Him numbers Him. He who numbers Him rejects His eternity. He who said "how" sought a description for Him. He who said "where" bounded him. He is the Knower even though there be nothing to be known. He is the Sustainer even though there be nothing to be sustained. He is the Powerful even though there be nothing to be overpowered. [7]’

 

And in the words of God Himself:

 

God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the Glass as it were a brilliant star: lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the East nor of the West, whose Oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it: Light upon Light! God doth set forth Parables for men: and God doth know all things.

 

                                                                                    Holy Quran 24:35

---

[1] Dua Kumail, Imam Ali (as)

[2] Talking and God’s Love of Variety, Jelaluddin Rumi

[3] In the Beginning was Consciousness, Sayed Hossein Nasr (The Dudleian Lecture for 2002-03)

[4] Forty Hadith, Imam Khumayni

[5] The Level of Words, Jelaluddin Rumi

[6] Holy Quran, Surah Al-Rahman, Chapter 55:1-4

[7] Nahjul Balagha, Imam Ali (as)

Anahita

There knelt an old man

With all his needs spread on the rug,

When there landed a raindrop on his head.

“This is my needs answered” said he,

“A blessing sent by God”; and with heart eased,

And prayer thought answered,

He drank the wine of satisfaction.

 

Elsewhere lay another overcome with tears of hope,

With forehead buried in the sand and cries of anguish

Begging for recompense.

There rained the sky and drenched the man,

In happiness and fulfilment,

“This is my prayer answered, the blessing of the Lord has descended”

 

And far away lay a young youth,

With all life’s hopes welling up his eye,

And questions of sincerity,

Love,

With endless prayer

Digging a lifeless grave in land.

Therein erupted a storm of hope,

And rain there swept the sand.

“This is my hope from God come, my life’s dreams reawakened”

“This is my blessing come from God, my trust in Him strengthened”

 

One by one they walk the street filled with love of God,

“My God has blessed me more than him,

For rain mercy showered me

Just at the right moment”

“This rain came down today for me and saved me from this earth”

 

But ceaseless things know timeless bounds,

And that is the work of He,

All must He say is bless this man,

And thus it shall be.

 

Blessings are boundless contingencies of this earth,

That must and are and will,

No one is blessed more than his brother,

Save what he makes his will.

 

So bless your days, they shall be blessed,

For Blesser is His name.

I wish

I wish I could paint your beautiful face, but the paint would dissolve at its sight.

I wish I could write the words of your song, but the tune would surpass the frequency of human ears,

I wish I could make a monument to your greatness but the clay would bow down in shame,

I wish I could speak your beauty but my tongue would tremble at the utterance,

I wish I could dance your dance but my ankles would twist in incapability,

I wish I did not need to wish,

But it is the wish that makes me desire,

Dream,

Float,

And reach.

They told me of Love

Fitra is the love of God inherent in the human being, blown into one on creation - 

"So when I complete him and breathe My spirit into him, you should fall down to him prostrating." The Rocky Tract (Sura Al-Hijr) Chapter 14 Verse 29.

Therefore children are the closest to the Love of God for their hearts have not been tainted by love of this world and the only thing they know when they are born is the only Love. 

Here is a wayfarer's lament on the Love they had misunderstood:

They told me of Love,

But I imagined a different type of love,

The love that brought pinkness to one’s cheeks,

The love that only adults could whisper about;

but Your Love is something else,

I wonder why they did not tell me of it when I was young,

Close,

In Love but not knowing.