United States of Islam

by: Zemaad Khan

A major misconception that many non-Muslims have about Islam is the word ‘Allah’. They believe that Allah is the God of the Muslims only, this is totally false. We Muslims believe that Allah is the Lord of all Creation, everything in the Heavens above, on the Earth and whatever is in between belongs to Him. ‘Allah’ is simply the Arabic word for ‘God’ – and we Muslims believe that there is only One God. Let there be no doubt – We Muslims worship the God of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Solomon, John and Jesus the son of Mary (peace be upon them all) and many others. It is important to note that ‘Allah’ is the same word that Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews use for God. If you pick up an Arabic Bible, you will see the word ‘Allah’ being used where ‘God’ is used in English

To say that Muslims worship a different ‘God’ because they say ‘Allah’ is just as illogical as saying that French people worship another God because they use the word “Dieu”, or that Spanish-speaking people worship a different God because they say “Dios”, etc. This sort of reasoning sounds quite ridiculous!

An amazing aspect of the word ‘Allah’ is that it is pure and unique. We Muslims prefer calling God; by the Arabic name ‘Allah’, instead of the English word ‘God’. Whereas the English word ‘God’ can be played around with; for example if you add an ‘s’ to ‘God’, it becomes ‘Gods’ – plural of God. There is nothing ‘Plural Allah’, in Islam. If you add a ‘dess’ to ‘God’, it becomes ‘goddess’ – a female God. There is nothing like ‘Male Allah’, or ‘Female Allah’, in Islam as He has no gender. If you add a ‘father’ to ‘God’, it becomes ‘Godfather’ – People say that ‘he’s my Godfather – he’s my Guardian’. There is nothing like ‘Allah Father’ in Islam, or ‘Allah Abba’ in Islam. If you add a ‘Mother’ to God, it becomes ‘Godmother’. There is nothing like ‘Allah Mother’ or ‘Allah Ammi’ in Islam. But if Muslims use the word ‘God’ while speaking to non-Muslims then there is no objection as many non-Muslims don’t know the word ‘Allah’ (but it is appropriate to use Allah)

More importantly, it should also be noted that the Arabic word ‘Allah’ contains a deep religious message due to its root meaning and origin. This is because it stems from the Arabic verb ‘alaha’, which means ‘to be worshipped’. Thus in Arabic, the word ‘Allah’ means ‘The One who deserves all worship’. This, in a nutshell, is the Pure Monotheistic message of Islam. Therefore, it should be noted, that Islam is a Semitic Religion. The Semitic Religions are those Religions that are followed by the Semites. The Semites are the descendents of ‘Shem’, who was the son of the Prophet Noah (Peace be upon him) which is mentioned in the Bible, in the book Genesis, Ch. No. 5 and Ch. No. 11. So Semitic Religions are those Religions that are followed by the Jews, by the Arabs, by the Assyrians, etc. – who speak some of the most ancient languages such as Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, Acadian, etc.

I would like you (the reader) to understand the concept we Muslims have about Allah. The Most concise definition of God in Islam is given in four verses of Chapter 112 (Surah Ikhlaas – Chapter of Purity) in the Qur’an:

1. “Say: He is Allah, The One and Only (This means that He is absolutely One and He has no partners or equals).

2. Allah, The Eternal, Absolute (This means ‘Absolute Existence’, which can only be attributed to Allah; all other existence is temporal or conditional. This also means that Allah is not dependent on any person or thing but all persons and things are dependent on Him).

3. He begets not, nor is He begotten (This means that He does not have children nor was He born, Allah has no beginning and He has no end).

4. And there is none like unto Him.” (This means that there is nothing comparable unto Him).

We Muslims call these four verses the Touchstone of Theology. ‘Theo’ in Greek means God – ‘Logy’ means study. ‘Theology’ means the study of God. Any person or candidate to divinity must be subject to this test. Since the attributes of Allah given in this Chapter are unique, false gods and pretenders to divinity can be easily dismissed using these verses.

One way of understanding who Allah is; is by understanding His attributes. In the Qur’an, 99 attributes are given to Almighty God (this does not mean that we Muslims believe in 99 gods, these are not separate entities, but they are His attributes and they belong to Him) which includes names such as The Rabb (The Lord, Sustainer, Cherisher), The One, The Most Beneficent, The Most Compassionate, The Most Merciful, The Most Generous, The Most Glorious, The Most High, The King, The Sovereign, The Holy One, The Creator, The All-Hearer, The All-Seer, The All-Wise, The All-Knower of the Seen and the Unseen, The All-Aware, The Forgiver, The Just, The Disposer of All-Affairs, The Exalted in Power and Might, etc. To Allah belong the Most Beautiful Names. All of these 99 attributes are like pearls in a necklace with the Crowning Glory: ‘ALLAH’. Therefore, you can call Allah by any name that is beautiful and that does not conjure up a mental picture.

I would like to address this idea of God coming to Earth in the form of a man. This theory of God becoming a human being is called ‘Anthropomorphism’. We in Islam believe that God can do whatever He Wills but does this mean that He would take human form? Let’s see – If God were to take human form then He would cease to be God. We know that man is mortal and God is immortal. You can’t have a mortal and immortal person at the same time. Man has a beginning but God has no beginning. You can’t have a person who has a beginning and no beginning at the same time. Man has an end but God has no end. So you can’t have a person, having an end and no end at the same time. Man requires food to eat as a basic necessity but God does not require food to eat. Man requires sleep and rest otherwise the body would collapse but God does not require sleep nor slumber. It doesn’t make any sense. So you can’t have a ‘God-man’. Allah has power over all things, and He only does things that are Godly and will never do things that are ungodly.

So how does God communicate with us? God communicates with Mankind by sending Revelations to His Prophets and Messengers, and they are the ones who speak on behalf of God. We Muslims believe that the Last and Final Message to Mankind is the Holy Qur’an which was revealed to His Last and Final Messenger – Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him). God Willing, in the near future, I will explain to you why the Qur’an is truly the Word of God and who the Prophet Muhammad was (a person who unfortunately has been misunderstood by many non-Muslims).

What I have explained to you is but a fraction of who Allah is! Sadly I have to be brief otherwise this message would go on.

I would like to conclude this message with the Most Beautiful Verse of the Holy Qur’an:

“Allah! None has the right to be worshipped but He, The Ever-Living, The Self-Subsisting, Eternal. Neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him. To Him belongs whatever is in the Heavens and whatever is on the Earth. Who is there that can intercede with Him except with His permission? He Knows what happens to them (His creatures) in this world, and what will happen to them in the Hereafter. And they will never compass anything of His Knowledge except that which He Wills. His Kursi (Footstool) extends over the Heavens and the Earth, and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them. And He is the Most High, The Most Great, Supreme (in Glory).” (Chapter 2, Verse 255)