Many names and attributes of Allah have been
mentioned in the Qur'an.
"He is Allah, besides whom there is no god. He has
knowledge of everything, whether perceptible or imperceptible. He is the
Beneficent, the Merciful. He is Allah, besides whom there is no god, the
Sovereign Lord, the Holy One, the Giver of peace, the Keeper of faith, the
Supreme, the Mighty one, the All powerful and the Majestic. Exalted be He above
what they associate with Him. He is Allah, the Creator, the Originator, the
Fashioner. His are the most beautiful names. All that is in the heavens and the
earth gives glory to Him. He is the Mighty, the Wise". (Surah al?Hashr, 59:22 ?
24).
"His are the most beautiful names".
The main feature of the names and the attributes of Allah has been mentioned in
this verse. The highest degree of every virtue and every excellence belongs to
Allah. For example, power and ability to do things is a good quality. Allah is
the most powerful and the most efficient and can do anything. The Qur'an says:
"Surely Allah can do all things". (Surah al?Ankabut,
29:20).
Knowledge is a virtue. Allah has the highest degree of knowledge.
"Allah is aware of all things ". (Surah al?Tawbah, 9:115).
"He is the Knower of the invisible and the visible. . . ".
(Surah al?R'ad, 13:9).
Sagacity is another virtue. The holy Qur'an says: "Allah
is Knower, Wise" . (Surahal?Mumtahanah, 60:10).
Kindness to others is a good quality. Allah is "the
Beneficent, the Merciful". "He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy".
(Surah al?Hamd, 1:3; Surah Yusuf, 12:64).
Hence you are at liberty to call Him by any of these most beautiful names:
"Call Him Allah or Rahman (Beneficent). It is the same
whichever you call. His are the most beautiful names" . (Surahal?Isra, 17:110).
"Allah bas the beautiful names. Invoke Him by them, and keep away from those who
prevent them. They shall soon be repaid for what they do ". (Surah al?A'raf,
7:180).
Allah is Independent
As Allah has the highest degree of every kind of virtue and perfection, He is
naturally free from every fault, defect and deficiency. A number of the Qur'anic
verses, extolling Allah, emphasize this aspect of His glory.
The Qur'an declares Allah to be free from every kind of deficiency and need. It
regards this freedom as an important principle of the cognizance of Allah, by
means of which a number of doctrinal and ideological deviations which have taken
birth regarding Allah may be detected.
'Musa said to his people: If you and all those who are on
the earth prove to be ungrateful, Allah does not at all need your thanks. He is
Laudable" . (SurahIbrahim, 14:8).
Man should remember that because of Allah not being in want of anything, He is
not in need of our faith, worship and obedience. If He wants us to be faithful
and obedient, that is for our own benefit and not for His. If the whole world
becomes unbeliever, that cannot do Him the least harm.
Not being subject to any need, Allah is free from the limitations of time and
space. He is above them. A being who occupies space, naturally needs it to
exist, and one who is confined to time, can exist only under certain conditions
at a particular time. A being not time?bound can always exist and is not
dependent upon the special conditions of time.
Allah is All?knowing
The Creator of the world knows everything. So far as we are concerned there are
two kinds of things in the universe viz. open and hidden, perceptible and
imperceptible.
However Allah is aware of both of them. On principle there is nothing unknown to
Him. Nothing is hidden from Him. "He is the Knower of the
unseen and the seen. He is the Supreme the Most High". (Surah al?Ra'd, 13:9).
`Nothing in the earth or in the heavens is hidden from
Allah ". (Surah Ale Imran, 3: 5). He is aware of the minutest details. He knows
all that we do. "Surely Allah knows all that you do" . (Surahal?Nahl, 16:91).
Allah is All?powerful
He controls everything and can do anything. "Surely Allah
can do everything". (Surah al?Baqarah, 2:20).
He is so powerful and dominating that whenever He wants a thing to come into
existence or wants something to be done, He simply says:
"Be!" and immediately it will `be'. The Qur'an says: "His command, when He
decrees a thing, is to say to it: `Be' and it is". (Surah Yasin, 36:82).
Will and Volition of Allah
Normally all beings endowed with intelligence and power can achieve all or at
least a part of what they intend. They at least try to fulfill their desires.
When we knowingly plan to achieve our object we say that
"we are determined to accomplish such and such task". Hence,
determination consists of an intentional and strong will which is effective in
the achievement of our desire.
Out of all the multifarious things existing in this world, the animals or at
least the advanced animals are more or less endowed with this quality that when
they feel an urge, they try knowingly to fulfill what they want. Out of all the
animals known to us man has the most developed willpower. That is why knowledge
has a more creative role in his life than in the life of other animals. Anyhow,
he apparently does not exercise his will while performing many acts. His
circulatory, respiratory and digestive system and his big and small glands which
produce the necessary chemicals, all work without the aid of his will.
There is no doubt that all these systems are connected with the nervous system,
and modern physiology has been able to discover for each of them a centre of
command in some part of the brain, still every act having some connection with
brain cannot be called intentional and deliberate.
It has been reported that some persons consequent on certain exercises and long
practice have been able to control the circulation of their blood. Even if such
reports be true, they can at best be described as exceptional cases.
Anyhow, the field of the activity of man's will is after all limited. For
example, so far his will has not been able to influence the rotatory system of
the heavenly bodies. We also see that every human being has some hereditary
traits in the selection of which his conscious will has no part to play.
Hence, the influence of human will and volition is after all limited. That is
why it often happens that man intends to do a thing, but he does not succeed, or
certain factors beyond his control prevent the fulfillment of his many desires.
But Allah who is All?knowing and All?powerful, accomplishes all that He wants.
"Surely, Your Lord does what He pleases". (Surah Hud,
11:107). "Only Allah can bring punishment on you, if He will, and you cannot
frustrate His plan ". (Sura Hud, 11:3 3) .
His will rules over the whole world, but that is not the case with that of
others. "Allah will judge with fairness, and those whom
they invoke besides Him can judge nothing". (Surah Mu'min, 40:20).
All others whosoever and whatsoever they may be, move within a limited framework
decreed for them by Allah, who has destined everything. `Allah
has set a measure for everything ". (Surah al?Talaq, 65: 3 etc.)
This is the universal law which applies to man also. As such his power is
limited, but still he can choose his way of life within the framework ordained
for him. Allah wants him to use his discretion and determine his future, whether
good or bad, himself. Anyhow, even within this framework man, or for that matter
any other being, should not consider himself to be in possession of absolute
power. If Allah wants, He can make his efforts ineffectual. There are many cases
in which He frustrated the efforts of some conceited individuals or groups
against all their expectations to remind them and others that even within their
own sphere of power they should never be oblivious of the Divine power which
controls everything.
The Qur'an mentions several examples of such a situation. The Surah al?Qalam,
68:17 ? 3 2 illustrate this point.
"We have tried them as We tried the owners of the garden
when they vowed that they would pluck its fruit next morning. But they made no
exception for the will of Allah. As a result a visitation from your Lord visited
their garden while they were sleeping. And in the morning it was as if it bad
been plucked. They called out to one another in the morning saying: Rush to your
garden if you want to pluck the fruit. So they set out, saying to each other in
low tones: No poor shall enter the garden today without your permission. They
set out early determined to stop the poor. When they saw the garden, they
exclaimed: Surely we were wrong. In fact we have been ruined. The best among
them said: Did I not tell you: Why do you not glorify Allah? Then they said:
Gloried be our Lord. No doubt we have been wrong?doers. Then they began to blame
one another. They said: Alas for us! Surely we were outrageous. We hope that our
Lord will give us better garden in its place. To our Lord we humbly turn".
Allah is Beneficent and Forgiving
Allah is Beneficent and Merciful to all His creation. He has bestowed endless
bounties on all. He has provided all of us with ample opportunities to pass our
life. He is Forgiving.
If a sinner repents and wants to adopt the way of virtue, the door is not closed
to him, provided he is earnest in doing that.
Throughout the world there are innumerable signs of the mercy of Allah. Like all
other existing things min also enjoys the Divine blessings, but with one
important difference. He has been blessed with the special favor of being the
master of his destiny. He is endowed with the power of distinguishing between
right and wrong and good and bad, and is able to choose consciously either of
them. He can exercise this power only if it is admitted that some of his actions
are desirable and rewarding and some others leading to pain and punishment.
The anxiety for not losing the reward of desirable acts and for escaping the
punishment of undesirable ones is a Divine blessing in itself, for it impels man
to be virtuous and upright. The Qur'an has repeatedly warned against the wrath
of Allah.
Allah is just
Allah does not do injustice to anyone. He wants us also to be just in our
behavior. He has created everything according to a plan. The whole world is
homogeneous. He has organized recompense and retribution in the next world,
according to a well?planned system of action and reaction. Everyone will reap
there what he has sown here. There, the personality of man will be a reflection
of his performance here. Whatever comfort or pain he receives in the Hereafter
will be the exact outcome of his own deeds, and no injustice will be done to
anyone. The everlasting future of everybody depends upon his own efforts to
improve himself and his environment.
This is the gist of the information which the Qur'an, the divine Book, gives us
about Allah. This information is based on revelation, but it can also be
obtained through pondering over His signs, and His names and attributes. It not
only as far as possible satisfies those who seek cognition, but also helps us to
solve the biggest problem of giving a direction to our life.
A man inspired by such realistic and constructive knowledge of Allah leads a
vigorous life full of zeal, hope and effort. He adheres to his own views and his
own way of life, but co?operates with others and respects their ideas also. A
man bound to Allah neither sells himself to others nor does he endeavour to
subdue them to his own wish. He loves his own freedom as well as that of others.
He himself is pure and likes others to be pure. He seeks truth wherever he finds
it. He is always with truth and at war with falsehood.