The Attributes of God the Creator according to the Muslims (2/5)

The Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (Peace be upon him), came with Islam, as a religion and law from Allah (Blessed & Exalted), consisting of sound beliefs and ideas from Allah (Glorious & Exalted)—beliefs and ideas pleasing to men's good natures and pure souls, beliefs and ideas that are not unpalatable to reason or indomitable to the mind, beliefs and ideas anyone of sound mind could accept.     

Allah's Messenger (Peace be upon him) came with that which contained glorification of Allah (Noble & Sublime): the unity of lordship (tawhid al-rububiyyah), the unity of divinity (tawhid al-uluhiyyah), and the unity of Divine Names and Attributes (tawhid al-asmaa' wal-sifaat), as we have previously shown.    

Allah's Messenger (Peace be upon him) also came to vindicate Allah of all that is unbefitting of Him, from actions, statements and attributes. He came to clear His Holy Name of all imperfection, blame, defect and fault attributed to Him, such as the charge of taking a wife and a son, as the Christians falsely claim, or the charge of being the god of one particular group of people, as the Jews falsely claimed when they said that the Lord is the Lord of the Israelites, or the attribution of weakness or inability, as the Zoroastrians falsely claim, besides all the other lies perpetrated against the Creator by His creations, may Allah Almighty be exalted high above all that.    

Allah's Messenger (Peace be upon him) came with the Holy Quran which contains Allah's Saying, “There is none like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing” [Surah Al-Shura 42: 11], for the Attributes of Allah, the Great Creator, are not like those of His slaves whom He created.

The Attributes of Allah (Mighty & Majestic) are the epitome of absolute perfection in their beauty and splendor, in their meaning and essence.    

Allah (Glorious & Exalted) is the First, the Alpha: there is nothing before Him. He is described with the Attribute of Perfection before all things, for His Names and Attributes (Noble & Sublime) are everlasting and eternal.    

Just as He (Glorious & Exalted) Himself is the First without beginning, His Names and Attributes follow from His Being (Noble & Sublime). Thus, they are pre-Existing by the pre-Existence of Allah Almighty, without beginning. Likewise, He (Glorious & Exalted) does not acquire any new attribute that did not exist before, nor does He lose any Attribute that has been with Him.   

The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) came with the Saying of Allah Most High,

“Say: "He is Allah, (the) One. * Allah, the Self-Sufficient Master (Whom all creatures need, though He is dependent on none) * He begets not, nor was He begotten. * And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him."” [Surah Al-Ikhlas 112: 1-4]

Thus, Allah (Glorious & Exalted) is the One and Only God, the Unique, to Whom none compare. He is not equal to any of His creation. No laws, analogies, or rules apply to Him as they apply to them. He (Glorious & Exalted) is al-Samad, the Master Who is obeyed, the One others seek out in their continual need. Allah (Glorious & Exalted) has not taken a son, for He (Noble & Sublime) begets not, nor is He begotten. He is the Creator, and He is Independent of any need to take a son.    

He (Glorious & Exalted) has no peer or equal, for there is none like unto Him.   

To find out more about the Most Beautiful Names and Attributes of Allah Almighty, please refer to Islamic books which are specialized in explaining and discussing them, especially the book, Allah's Most Beautiful Names Confirmed in Quran and Sunnah (Asmaa' Allah al-Husnaa al-Thaabitah fil-Kitaab wal-Sunnah), by Dr. Mahmoud Abdul-Raaziq al-Ridwaani.    

What we have set forth here is but a brief summary of some of the Attributes of Allah (Glorious & Exalted) that a Muslim believes about his God and Creator, from which no one of sound, reliable reason and good, pure nature should be dissuaded. Indeed, that is not his right.

(Continued)