Lets discuss – ‘The Concept of Almighty God in Islam’. The best answer that any one can give you, regarding ‘the Concept of Almighty God in Islam’, is quote to you the Surah of the Holy Qur’an, Surah Ikhlas, Ch.No. 112, V.No. 1 to 4, which says… (Arabic)…. ‘Say He is Allah, One and only’. (Arabic)… ‘Allah the Absolute and Eternal’. ‘As-Samad’ is a bit difficult to translate - It means, that ‘He exists’, and ‘He has created things, when nothing existed’. Everything and every person is dependent on Him, but he is not dependent on any person, or anything. ‘As Samad’ – ‘The Absolute and Eternal’ (Arabic….) ‘He begets not, nor is He begotten’,(Arabic….) ‘There is nothing like Him’. This is a four line definition of Allah Subhana Wa Talaah, which is the touch stone of Theology - Surah Iklas, is the touch stone of Theology. ‘Theo’ in greek means God – ‘Logy’ mean study. ‘T
heology’ means study of God. Surah Ikhlas is the touchstone of Theology. If anyone wants to purchase or sell any of their gold jeweleries, first they will evaluate their gold jewellery - And for that, they will go to a goldsmith.And the goldsmith, he takes your gold jewelry and he rubs it against a touchstone. And he compares the colour with samples of gold which he has rubbed at the side, and then tells you, whether its 24 Karat gold, whether its 22 Karat gold, or whether it is not gold at all - It may be fake gold, because all that glitters is not gold. Surah Ikhlas is the touchstone of Theology – It is a four line definition, if you apply to any candidate, who says that ‘He is Almighty God’, and if he fits in this definition, we Muslims have got no objection, in accepting that candidate as Almighty God. It is a touchstone – It is the acid test to decipher, whether the person that anyone claims - whether he is Almighty God or not – It is the acid test – It is the touchstone - Four line definition. Arabic…. ‘Say He is Allah One and Only’. Arabic…. ‘Allah the Absolute and Eternal’. Arabic….. ‘He begets not nor is He begotten’. Arabic…. ‘There is nothing like Him’. It is a four line definition - Anyone claiming to be Almighty God - if that candidate fits in this four line definition, we Muslims have got no objection in accepting that candidate as Almighty God. For example, some people say, that Bhagwaan Rajnesh, Osho Rajnesh - he is Almighty God. I would like to make it very clear, I said – ‘Some people say Bhagwan Rajneesh is God - Not Hindus say Bhagwaan Rajneesh is God’. Because once during question answer time, there was a Hindu gentlemen, who came and told me that we Hindus don’t believe in Bhagwaan Rajneesh, as God. I have read the Hindu Scriptures - I know that the Hindu Scriptures don’t call Bhagwaan Rajneesh as God. I said ‘Some people call him God’ - and Rajnesh has got followers from various different Religions. Lets put him to test of the touchstone of Theology - Surah Ikhlaas. The first is, Arabic…. ‘Say He is Allah One and Only’. Is Rajneesh one and only? We know that there we have several such fake godmen - especially in our country India. He is not one and only. But there may be some people who are diciples of Rajneesh and say ‘No.. No... Rajneesh is one and only’. Okay, lets go to the second test – (Arabic)…. ‘Allah, the Absolute and Eternal’. Is Rajneesh Absolute and Eternal? We know from his biography, that he was suffering from Diabetics, from Ashthama, from Chronic backache. And he alleged that the American government, they gave him slow poisoning - Imagine, God being poisoned. The third test is ‘Arabic…. ‘He begets not, nor is He begotten’. We know that Rajneesh had parents - He had a mother and father. He was born in Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, in India. But he was a very intelligent person - Later on, his parents became his own diciples. And in the year 1981, Rajneesh - he goes to America and in Oregon, he establishes his own town and calls it ‘Rajneeshpuram’ - He took America for a ride. Later on the American government, they arrested him and put him in jail, and later on kicked him out the country. In 1985 when he was kicked out from America, he comes back to India, and in Poona, he starts ‘Rajneesh Neo Sanyaas Commune’,. which later on he called it as ‘Osho Commune’. And when you go to Poona in the ‘Osho Commune’, its mentioned on his tomb stone – ‘Osho - , never born, never died, but visited the Earth, from the eleventh of December 1931, to the nineteenth of January 1990’. They forgot to mention, that he was not given visas to 21 different countries - Imagine Almighty God visiting the Earth and he requires visas. And the Archbishop of Greece said that ‘if you don’t deport Rajneesh, we will burn his house, and the house of his disciples. And the last test … (Arabic)…It is so stringent - its impossible for anyone besides Allah Subhana Wa Taala, the true Almighty God, to pass. It says ‘There is nothing like Him’. The moment you can imagine, the moment you can draw a mental picture what God is, - he is not God. We know that Rajneesh, he was a human being like you and me. He had one head, two hands, two legs, two eyes, one nose, one mouth, long flowing beard, long hair - So surely, he can’t be Almighty God. Arabic…. ‘There is nothing like Him’. And this test – (Arabic)….is so stringent, that no one besides Allah Subhana Wa Taala, can pass.Suppose someone says that Arnold Swarzneggar - You know Arnold Swarzneggar? - The person who is known as the strongest man in the world - He was given the title – ‘Mr. Universe’. If suppose, someone says that ‘Almighty God is a thousand times as strong as Arnold Swarzeneggar’. The moment you can compare God to anyone, whether it be Arnold Swarzeneggar, whether it be Dara Singh or King Kong, - whether it be a thousand times or a million times, - the moment you can compare Almighty God to anyone, he is not Almighty God. Arabic… ‘There is nothing like Him’. This is a four line definition given in the Holy Qur’an – ‘Surah Ikhlas’, which is the touchstone of Theology. We Muslims, we prefer calling Allah Subhana Wa Taala, by the Arabic name ‘Allah’, instead of the English word ‘God’ - because, the Arabic word ‘Allah’ it is pure, Its unique. Where as the English word ‘God’, it can be played around with, You can play around with that word. If you add a ‘s’ to ‘God’, it becomes ‘Gods’ - plural of God. There is nothing ‘Plural Allah’, in Islam. Arabic… ‘Say: He is Allah, One and Only.If you add a ‘dess’ to ‘God’, it becomes ‘goddess’ - a female God. There is nothing like ‘Male Allah’, or ‘Female Allah’, in Islam. Allah is Unique, - He has got no gender. If you add a ‘father’ to ‘God’, it becomes ‘Godfather’ - 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. Allah is a Unique word - It’s a pure word. If you prefix a ‘tin’ before ‘God’, it becomes ‘tin God’. There is nothing like ‘Tin Allah’ in Islam. That’s the reason we Muslims, we prefer calling Allah Subhana Wa Taala by the Arabic word, ‘Allah’ instead of the English word ‘God’. But if some Muslims, - if they use this word whilst speaking to Non – Muslims, I have got no objections, because Non - Muslims may not know what’s the concept of ‘Allah’. So if any one uses ‘God’ for ‘Allah’, I’ve got no objection - But the more appropriate word is ‘Allah’. Otherwise, the Holy Qu’ran says in Surah Isra, Ch. no. 17, Verse No. 110… (Arabic)…‘Say: call upon him by Allah or by Rahmaan - By whichever name you call upon Him, it is well - To him belongs the most beautiful names. You can call Allah Subhana Wa Taala by any name - But it should be a beautiful name - It should not conjure up a mental picture. And there are no less than 99 different attributes given of Allah Subhana Wa Taala, in the Holy Qu’ran - No less than 99 different attributes of Allah Subhana Wa Taala are given in the Holy Qur’an. For example ‘Ar-Rahmaan’, ‘Ar-Raheem’, ‘Al-Karrem’, - ‘Most Gracious’, ‘Most Merciful’, ‘Most Benevolent’. He is called as ‘Rabb’, as ‘Raziq’, as ‘Lord’, ‘Cherisher’, ‘Sustainer’, ‘Provider’ - No less than 99 different attributes are given in the Holy Qu’ran for Allah Subhana Wa Taala. And the same message is repeated besides Surah Isra, Ch. No. 17, Verse no. 110, it is also mentioned in Surah Taha, Ch.No. 20, V. No. 8, in Surah Araf, Ch. No. 7, Verse No. 180 as well as in Surah Hashr Ch.No. 59, V. No. 24, which says ‘To Allah belongs the most beautiful names’. But whatever attribute you give to ‘Allah Subhana Wa Taala’ - to ‘Almighty God’, it should be a Unique attribute - It should only refer to Him and to no one else. And if we reverse the order, it should yet point out to Allah Subhana Wa Taala. For example, I am 5 feet 11 inches tall, I wear spectacles, I live in Bombay. If someone says that ‘Dr. Zakir Naik, is 5 feet 11 inches tall’ - It’s a correct characteristic. But if we reverse it,… ‘Who is 5 feet 11 inches tall?’- you will find more than a 1000 people, who are 5 feet 11 inches tall .It doesn’t point specifically to me - Its not unique. If you say Dr. Zakir Naik wears spectacles, its correct, but its not unique. Because if you reverse it, ‘who wear spectacles’? - there will be more than a thousand people who wears spectacles’. If some one says ‘Dr. Zakir Naik lives in Bombay, - he is right, but its not unique. ‘Who lives in Bombay?’ - More than a million people live in Bombay. So the attribute that you give should be unique. For example, if some one says that ‘Dr. Zakir Naik is the father of Fariq Zakir Naik, who was born on the 10th of July 1994, in Jahangir nursing home, in Poona’ - that’s a unique attribute. Because if we reverse it, ‘Who is the father of Fariq Zakir Naik, born on the 10th of July 1994, in Jahangir nursing home in Poona, the answer in only one - Dr. Zakir Naik - No one else. It’s a unique attribute - It points out to only one but one person. Similarly, let me give you another example - ‘that Dr. Zakir Naik is the founder Chairman of IRF Educational Trust, which was established on the 6th of November 1992 in Dongri, Mumbai’. If we reverse it, ‘Who is the founder Chairman of IRF Educational Trust, which was established on 6th of November 1992 in Dongri, Mumbai’ - the answer in only one - Dr. Zakir Naik. Similarly, if you call ‘Allah Subhanawataala’ by any attribute, by any name - it should be Unique. You can’t say Allah Subhanawataala is the ‘Creator of a building’, because even many builders can build buildings. You can call Him ‘the Creator of the Universe’ ‘Khaliq’, ‘the Creator’. Who is the ‘Creator?’ - Only one - Who is the ‘Ultimate Creator of the Universe?’ - Only one - Allah Subhana Wa Taala. ‘Ar Rahmaan’ - ‘Who is the Most Gracious’ - the answer is Only One - Allah Subhana Wa Taala. ‘Ar-Raheem’ – ‘Who is the Most Merciful?’ - The answer is Only One - Allah Subhana Wa Taala - So it should be a Unique attribute. The example I gave of myself was Unique - but was nothing great. Being the founder Chairman of IRF educational trust is nothing great - Its unique, fine - Its nothing great. But Allah Subhana Wa Taala, besides the attribute being Unique, it is something ultimate. Being the father of Fariq Zakir Naik is not ultimate - Its Unique - Its not ultimate. But Allah Subhana Wa Taala’s attribute besides being Unique should be Ultimate. You cannot give attributes which are just common - which you and I can also do. Secondly, besides giving Unique attribute, it should not be combined with characteristics which do not belong to Allah Subhana Wa Taala. For example if some one says that ‘Dr. Zakir Naik is the father of Fariq Zakir Naik, who was born on the 10th of July 1994, Jahangir nursing home, in Poona, and is 4 feet tall’. The attribute is correct - I am the father of the person who he said - but I am not 4 feet tall - I am 5 feet 11 inches tall. So if someone says ‘Allah Subhana Wa Taala’ - ‘Almighty God’ is a Creator - but he has got a human form like you and me - one head, two eyes, one nose, one mouth, two hands – ‘the Creator’ attribute is correct, but the characteristic of a human form is wrong.So besides the attributes being Unique, it should not be mixed up with false attributes. And the third is that the attribute, - the various attributes that you give to Allah Subhana Wa Taala should point only to one Allah Subhana Wa Taala - not more than that - Because there is Only One (Arabic)...‘Say He is Allah, one and only’. So if someone says that Dr. Zakir Naik is the father of Fariq Zakir Naik, born on the 10th of July 1994 in Jahangir nursing home, Poona - And Abdullah Shaikh is the founder Chairman of IRF Educational Trust, which was established on 6th of November 1992, in Dongri, Mumbai - One attribute is correct of mine - But my attribute is given to another person, who is not me. Abdullah Shaikh and Dr. Zakir Naik aren’t the same. So you cannot say that ‘Khaliq’… ‘the Creator’ is one God, and ‘Ar-Raheem’… ‘the Merciful’ is another God. If someone says that ‘Rain God’ is different…‘Cloud God’ is different, and … ‘Sun God’ is different and – ‘Creator’ is different, and ‘Cherisher’ is different - Its totally wrong. The attributes are correct, but it should point out only to one person and no one else. People may ask me that ‘what is wrong in having more than one God?’ The Polytheists, they may say – ‘Dr. Zakir Naik, what is the harm in having many gods’. If we have many gods, there will be fighting between them, and each one will try to defeat the other, and try and establish his rule. So people may say… ‘see we can divide - One is ‘a god of rain’, one is ‘a god of Sun’, ‘one is a god who created’, ‘one is a god who is a ‘Cherisher’. If we divide in such way, and have multiple gods, that means one god is unable to do the things of the other god. He does not have knowledge of the other god. It means it’s a ‘deficient God’ - Its not an ‘Ultimate God’ - and we don’t have to believe in a ‘deficient god’. We want to believe in a God which is Ultimate - The Supreme! No wonder you find in the mythology, of certain religions - gods fighting among themselves. And one god killing the other god, and one god taking the help of the other god to defeat the third god - This is found in the mythology. The Holy Qu’ran gives the answer, in Surah Al-Ambiya, Chapter 21, Verse. No. 22, that - it says that … ‘if there were more gods besides Allah, there would surely be confusion’. And we know that there is no confusion in the universe - The universe is running harmonously. Its further mentioned in Surah Muminun, Chapter 23, Verse no. 91 that… ‘Allah Subhana Wa Taala’ does not have any sons, neither does He have any partners. If there were many Gods besides Allah, each God would have taken what they created, and would have a hoarded over the other. So surely there has to be only one true God. If you analyze, all the religions which speak about ‘Concept of God’ - all of them ultimately believe in ‘Monotheism’ - That is they believe in one God. Any religion which believes in the concept of God, - ultimately that religion believes only in one God - At a higher level. At the lower level there may be other Gods but at the higher level it finally believes in one God only. If you analyze the Scriptures of Almighty God - they spoke about the true concept of Almighty God. But later on - the Scriptures, they got manipulated - they got interpolated - they got corrupted. Why? - By people - for their own requirements - to fulfill their own material desires. And later on, you have a religion which has been changed from Monotheism to Polytheism, or Pantheism. The Holy Qu’ran says in Surah Baqrah, Chapter. No. 2, Verse. No. 79 (Arabic)… ‘Woe to those who write the book with their own hands’. (Arabic)… ‘Woe to those who write book with their own hands and then say this is from Allah to traffic with it for a miserable price. Woe to those for what their hands do write and woe to those for what they earn’. The Holy Qur’an says that people have changed the Scripture of Almighty God for their own material desire - Woe to such people and woe to what they earn. There are certain Religions like ‘Buddhism’, ‘Confusiusnisn’, we have ‘Taoism’, which do not comment on God. Neither do they confirm, nor deny the existence of Almighty God - Its called as an ‘Agnostic’ Religion. We have other religions like ‘Jainism’, which are Atheistic - They deny the existence of Almighty God. Regarding, how to prove to the Athiest, or the Agnostic, the existence of Allah Subhana Wa Taala, you can refer to my Video cassette, “Is the Qu’ran God’s word” part I and II. This talk was given about two years ago in the same auditorium. Two years ago, in the same auditorium -Birla Mathushree - Where I have proved here, to an Atheist, to an Agnostic, to a Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Jain, whether he be a scientist - to all these people - with reason, logic and science, on the basis of the Holy Qu’ran, the existence of Allah Subhana Wa Taala. So all those who want to know, how to prove to an Atheist or an Agnostic the existence of Allah Subhana Wa Taala, you can refer to my Video cassette. I think it is available in the foyer outside - Its available for sale outside - Part I and Part II. In Islam, we believe in ‘Tawheed’. Tawheed does not merely mean Monotheism, or merely meaning ‘Believing in one God’ - It has much more to it. ‘Tawheed’ means ‘Unification’ - Asserting Oneness. And its derived from the Arabic verb ‘Vahadah’ - which means to Unite, ‘to unify’. ‘to consolidate’ and there are three categories in ‘Tawheed’. The first is ‘Tawheed-Ar-Rububiya’. Its derived from the verb – ‘Rabb’, which means Lord, Cherisher, Sustainer - It means maintaining the unity of Lordship. And the basic concept here is, that Allah Subhana Wa Taala is the Person, Who created all the things which exist. He is not dependant on anything or any person, but all things and persons are dependant on Him. He is Absolute, whereas all the other thing - they are relative, and they are temporary and they are conditional. The second category is ‘Tawheed-al-Asma-Was-Sifaat’, Which means maintaining the unity of Allah Subhana Wa Taala’s Names and Attributes’ - And there are basically five points in this category. The first is, ‘Allah should be referred to according to what Allah and His Messenger described Him’. Second is, ‘Allah should be referred to as He has referred to Himself’. No one can call Allah Subhana Wa Taala, as ‘Al-Ghadir’ – ‘the Angry One’. The Qu’ran says that He gets angry - but that’s a quality which you cannot say ‘The angry One’. Because Allah and His messenger didn’t give that Attribute to Allah Subhana Wa Taala. The third is – ‘You cannot give human qualities to Allah Subhana Wa Taala’. Like some Scripture says that God Almighty after creating the universe, He has rested - He was tired. Some scriptures say that he repented. See, repenting, getting tired, are acts which human beings require - Not Allah Subhana Wa Taala. And the criteria for this category is, from Surah Ashuara, Ch. 42, V. No. 11 which says… (Arabic)... That…‘there is nothing whatever like Him - There is nothing whatever like Him’. And the verse continues, ‘He is the Seer and Hearer of all things’. But this Seeing and Hearing cannot be compared with what we human beings see and hear - because for us to hear, we require sound waves - we require a ear apparatus. God Almighty does not require all these things - So Allah Subhana Wa Taala Sees and Hears in a different way, as compared to what we human beings see and hear. The fourth point : is that Allah Subhana Wa Taala’s attribute cannot be given to any of His creatures. Like you can’t call a human being – ‘Without a beginning and without an end’. A person who will not die - he’s eternal. You can’t give this attribute to any human being or any of the creation of Allah Subhana Wa Taala. And the last point is : ‘You cannot give the name of Allah Subhana Wa Taala to any of his creatures, without prefixing – ‘Abd’. Certain indefinite forms like ‘Rauf’, ‘Raheem’ can be given, but the definite form, ultimate, without prefixing ‘Abd’- You cannot give like, ‘Abdur – Rehmaan’, ‘Abdur Raheem’. ‘Abd’ means slave - Slave of Rehman, Ar-Rahmaan, Slave of Ar-Raheem, Abdullah, slave of Allah. Neither can you give this ‘Abd’ to anyone besides Allah Subhana Wa Taala. You cannot say ‘Abdur-Rasool’ – ‘the slave of the messenger’. You cannot say ‘Abdul-Nabi’ – ‘the slave of the Prophet’. The third category of Tawheed, is ‘Tawheed – Al – Ibada’. The ‘Ibada’ has been derived from the Arabic word ‘Abd’. which means slave, servant. ‘Ibada’ means to ‘worship’. But many people have the misconception that ‘worship’ merely means ‘offering prayers’. Hah… prayer is one of the high form of worship, but that’s not the only form of worship. As I said, “Ibada” is derived from ‘Abd’ meaning ‘slave’, ‘servitude’. So worship means any commandment you follow of Allah Subhana Wa Taala you are doing worship. Anything which you do not do what Allah has asked you not to do - that is ‘Ibada’. So ‘Ibada’ is not merely prayers - it has much more to it - Obeying the commandments of Allah Subhana Wa Taala is ‘Ibada’. Without following the third category of ‘Tawheed-al-Ibada’, which is maintaining the ‘Unity of Worship’ - following the first two categories only, is useless. Because the Holy Quran says that there were pagans… Arabs at the time of the Prophet, who believed in the first two categories - That is ‘Tawheed-al-Ruboobiyah’ and ‘Tawheed-al-Asma-was-Sifat’, But not in the third category. And they were referred as ‘Mushriks’ and ‘Kafirs’- idolators and rejecters of faith. The Holy Qu’ran says in Surah Yunus Chapter No. 10, Verse. no. 31, ‘Say who is He that sustains life to you in the sky and the earth, or Who is it that Hears and Sees all things? And Who is it that gives life to things that are dead and gives death to things which are alive? Who is it that regulates and controls the affairs? - Soon they will say, it is Allah. So why don’t you have piety towards Him? - Why don’t you worship Him? A similar message is given in Surah Zukhruff, Chapter 43, Verse. No. 87, ‘That when you ask them, who has created them, they will say, ‘Allah’ - But they are far deluded from the truth. So the pagan Arabs at the time of the Prophet - even they had a concept of One Supreme Almighty God, which they called as ‘Allah’. But along with it they even had about 360 idols, which they worshipped. So if you worship anyone besides Allah Subhana Wa Talla, then you are not following the third category of ‘Taweed-al-Ibada’. And whether the first, second, or third category of ‘Tawhhed’ is missed by anyone, or if there is any deficiency in fulfilling any point of any of the three categories, it is called as ‘Shirk’. ‘Shirk’ means ‘associating partners’ - It means ‘Sharing’ - and in Islamic terms it means, ‘Associating partners with Allah Subhana Wa Taala’. The biggest sin which is mentioned in the Holy Qu’ran in ‘Shirk’ - Associating partners with Allah Subhana Wa Taala. It does not only mean that you worship some other god - but ‘Shirk’ - that is not fulfilling any of the three categories of ‘Tawheed’, leads to ‘Shirk’. And the Holy Qu’ran says in Surah Nisa, Chapter No. 4, Verse. no. 48, that ‘Allah Subhana Wa Taala’ will never forgive - associating partners to Him. If He pleases, He may forgive anything else, but the sin of associating partners with Allah - He shall never forgive’. The same message is repeated in Surah Nisa, Chapter. No. 4, Verse no. 116, that ‘those who do the sin of joining gods with Allah… Allah Subhana Wa Taala will never forgive them. Anything else if He pleases He may forgive. But all those who join gods with Allah, they have strayed far away from the truth. Its mentioned in Surah Maidah Chapter 5, Verse No. 72, (Arabic)... That they are doing Kufr - those who say that ‘Allah is Christ the son of Mary’. (Arabic)...but said Christ…(Arabic)...Oh! Children of Israel…(Arabic)… Worship Allah…(Arabic)...Who is my Lord and your Lord. (Arabic)... Anyone who associates partners with Allah…(Arabic)... Allah will make Jannat haram for them…(Arabic)... and fire shall be his dwelling place, and he shall have no helper in the hereafter. The Holy Qu’ran Says that Jesus Christ, peace be upon him, said - (Arabic)... anyone who associates partners with Allah…(Arabic)... Allah will make Jannat Harram for him…(Arabic)... and fire shall be his dwelling place, and he shall have no helper in the hereafter’. In Surah Al-Imran Chapter 3, Verse. 64, which says (Arabic)... ‘that come to common terms as between us and you’. Which is the first term - (Arabic)... ‘that we worship none but Allah’. It doesn’t say, ‘we believe in One and Only Allah’ - believing is not sufficient. It says (Arabic)... ‘that we worship none but Allah’. (Arabic)... ‘that we associate no partners with Him’. So only believing in ‘One God’ is not sufficient - You should even only worship Him - And no one else, and associate no partners with Him. The Holy Qu’ran says in Surah Anam, Chapter 6, Verse. No. 108, ‘Revile not ye those whom they worship besides Allah - best out of spite, they revile Allah Subhana Wa Taala in their ignorance’. The Holy Qu’ran says in Surah Luqman, Chapter 31, Verse. No. 27, that ‘If all the trees on the earth were made into pens, and the ocean into ink, and the ‘Seven oceans to back it up, yet the words of Allah Subahana Wa Taala will not be exhausted in writing - Because ‘He is All powerful’, ‘Full of wisdom’.