Islamic concept of God

 

Islamic concept of God

Jafar Wafa

 Apart from the blasphemous remarks of a 14th century Byzantine emperor about our holy Prophet (ﷺ), quoted by Pope Benedict XVI in his speech at a German University, a point has been raised by him indicating the difference (in his opinion) between the concept of God in Christianity and Islam. 

An attempt has been made, hereunder, to present the conceptual image of God, purely in the light of Qur'anic pronouncements. In fact, what appears to be the Pope's intention is to bring into discredit the institution of Jihad as sanctioned by Islam's Holy Scripture - an armed struggle in the cause of the faith and to fight aggression and oppression mounted by the unbelievers.

 

In the words of the Pope, for Muslim teaching, God is absolutely transcendent. His will is not wound up with any of our categories, even that of rationality, the image of a capricious God Who is not bound to truth and goodness. Obviously, this conclusion about God being 'absolutely transcendent', or transcending all limitations stem from the Pope's irritation over the Qur'anic sanction of Jihad which he terms as violence - a thing which is not compatible with 'God's nature.' 

Before coming to the main theme --Islamic concept of God -- it would be prudent to ask a question. How does the Pope then reconcile his proposition that violence does not dove-tail with Divine nature with the detailed account of Moses (A.S.) leading the Israelites on their exodus from Pharaoh's Egypt and fighting with 'the original inhabitants of the 'holy land' and occupying it to settle the Israelites there, because God had promised that He will destroy the indigenous tribes already living there? 

The concept of God constitutes the main plank of any religious infrastructure; and if one were to make an objective study of Islam from this perspective alone. One will have to admit its distinctive character. 

There is nothing mythical about the Divine Being in Islam. Allah describes Himself right in the opening Surah of the Quran (Al-Fatiha): "Praise and glory belong only to Allah, the sustainer of all the worlds, the most Beneficent and the most Merciful, the Lord of the Day of Judgment. It is thee that we worship and thee we seek help and succour....". 

In consonance with its monotheistic teaching, the Qur'an inculcates belief in an all-pervasive, non-physical, omnipotent, omniscient, benevolent Creator and Sustainer Who "neither begets nor was begotten and like whom nothing exists" (112:3,4). Throughout in the Qur'an, there is nothing occult and obscure or esoteric and enigmatic about the Self and Attributes of Allah except a couple of cryptic references to His throne (Al-Kursi) and His seat of power (Al-Arsh), to convey the Divine magnificence and majesty through symbols and metaphors, which the human intellect can perceive, and to clear the cobwebs of false connotations that got attached to these symbols in the extant texts of the ancient scriptures and narratives. 

The following verses regarding the Divine 'throne' (Kursi) will elucidate the point: "His throne extends over the heavens and the earth and the up-keep of either (i.e. heaven and the earth) is not a burden unto Him..." (2:255) 

George Sale says in his translation of the Qur'an, that the "Corsi (actually 'Kursi') allegorically signifies the Divine providence which sustains and governs the heavens and the earth and is infinitely above human comprehension". Yes, most of the metaphysical symbols and ideas are above human comprehension and it is not peculiar in this particular case. To make God properly understood by humans without predicting to Him anything evenly remotely suggesting sensuous or anthropomorphic associations and at the same time, the words would touch the chord of the human heart was a task to be accomplished by divine dictation alone. 

God is Omnipresent according to all religions. But it is only according to the Qur'an that He can be worshipped anywhere individually or collectively. Obligatory Muslim prayers (salat) can be offered even in a private living room or at a public place, or on a jumbo jet during flight, or on a sickbed in a hospital. Neither a cloister nor a clergyman is needed except for the Friday congregation. Each human-being can establish direct communion with God, Who in the words of the Qur'an is "close to him than his jugular vein". 

Knowing as we do, that there are countless, myriads of life forms on land, in air and water as also, swarm after swarm of micro-organism which all subsist on one kind of nourishment or the other, it is mind-boggling to contemplate how to provision reaches all who need it wherever they happen to be. 

The Qur'an, however, says that there is nothing mysterious about God's laws once we recognise His omnipotence without question. 

The divine revelation throws light on the subject: "To Him belongs the Keys of the heavens and the earth; He enlarges and restricts the sustenance to whom He wills; for He knows full well all things." (42:12) 

The question arises as to why God does not enlarge the sustenance of everyone and do away with the prevailing disparity. The Qur'an provides the answer in the same sura in verse 27: "If Allah were to bestow the means of sustenance abundantly on all; they would indeed behave insolently in the earth; therefore, He sends sustenance down in due measure as He pleases for He knows well and sees (the condition of every one of His servants)."

 

The Qur'an has mentioned about such disparity and told us to acknowledge that such visible inequality should not lead us to the misunderstanding about the distribution being unfair. The disparity is noticeable all around us in nature, diversity and multifariousness instead of uniformity and homogeneity being the hallmark of God's creation. The entire material world is a multiform mosaic -- inequality and variety in outward form, shape and size as also in inner capabilities and propensities. This is, evidently, God's grand design of creation which is beyond question and beyond our comprehension.

The Qur'an further elaborates that the mere fact that someone is provided sustenance and material comfort more bounteously than others should not be taken as God's special favour on that person: "Allah enlarges or grants by strict measures the sustenance to whomsoever He pleases. The worldly folk rejoice in the life of this world, but the life of this world is of little comfort in the Hereafter" (13:26). The Qur'an stresses on our 'believing' that under this superficial and apparent inequality lies hidden some important 'sign'. "Do they not see that Allah enlarges the provision and restricts it to whomsoever He pleases? Verily, in that are signs for those who believe." (30-37) May be, the reference is to the intricate interplay of predestination (jabr) and freewill (qadr) in the acquisition of the means of livelihood by each individual. 

The above will show that despite being above all constraints, God anticipates the questions that might arise in the minds of his rational creatures -- human beings — who are addressees of the holy Book and gives rational arguments to satisfy such queries. This is quite unlike the image of a 'transcendent' and 'capricious' Being.