Concept of God in the Qur’an

Transcript of the Friday Sermon delivered by Dr. Munawar Haque on Nov 22, 2019

Brothers and sisters in Islam! My khutba today deals with the concept of God in the Qur’an. Alhamdulillah, as Muslims, we firmly believe in the existence of Al-Hayy ul-Qayyum—the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting God Almighty. There is no doubt about it. Belief in God runs in our blood. By nature, every man and woman is a born believer. However, skeptics and atheists would argue that there is no rational basis or scientific proof in favor of such belief. Unfortunately, the increasing trends of skepticism and atheism have slowly, yet certainly crept into the Muslim psyche as well, especially the young minds. After all, we are a part of the global demographic. We must take steps to guard and protect ourselves against such trends before they start to permeate our ranks.

According to modern science, you cannot prove or disprove anything; you can only arrive at a probability, rather than a certainty. If there is sufficient data to show that this or that thing probably exists, then one can make the statement that this or that thing does exist. We should know that contemporary scientific knowledge has passed through two different phases—the pre-Einstein period and the post Einstein period. In the pr-Einstein period, knowledge was confined to the macro or material world, which was observable and measurable. So, it was generally held that everything, which has a real existence, should also be observable. Anything, which could not be observed, had no real existence. This meant that only the seen world was real and what was unseen was unreal or some kind of fiction.

This concept gave rise to the theory what is generally called logical positivism. It means that the only valid logical argument is one that is demonstrable in material terms; otherwise it is simply a baseless claim, and not a valid argument. But in the post-Einstein period, in the early years of the 20th century when the atom was split, the whole situation changed. After the splitting of the atom, the concept of matter in its solid, liquid, gaseous or plasmatic forms disappeared and was replaced by the micro-world, beyond the atomic world, where everything was reduced to unseen waves—neither measurable nor observable. For example, the gravitational force or the x-rays are non-material in nature. They cannot be observed, but every scientist believes in their existence, for the simple reason that, although we cannot see these things directly, we can see their effect.

After this revolution in knowledge, the basis of logical or rational argument also changed drastically. It has now become an accepted fact that inferential argument is as valid as direct argument. In the pre-Einstein era, unbelievers held that the concept of God pertains to the unseen world. And since no direct argument was available to bear this out, belief in God was held to be illogical and all the relevant indirect arguments were considered scientifically invalid, since they were inferential in nature. If inferential argument is valid with regard to the unseen micro-world, it is also valid with regard to the existence of God. Bertrand Russell, although an atheist, has admitted this fact in his book, Why I am not a Christian. He says that the argument centering on design, propounded by theologians to prove the existence of God, is scientifically valid. Since ancient days, theologians have argued that when there is a design there must also be a designer. And we see our world is well designed. It compels us to believe that there is a designer.

Science tells us that the universe came into existence after the Big Bang which took place 14 billion years ago or so. Scientists have found evidence to believe that in the beginning there was what they call a cosmic ball. All the particles now present in the universe were tightly bound to each other in this cosmic ball in a highly compressed state. According to known physical laws, only an inner journey was possible for these particles. Physically, there was no possibility of their outward journey to space. Then, according to astronomical studies, this cosmic ball suddenly exploded. The compact particles scattered outward and the present universe came into existence. What external source caused the intervention so that the compact particles scattered outwardly? It was an intervener or Almighty God.

أَوَلَمْ يَرَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَنَّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ كَانَتَا رَتْقًا فَفَتَقْنَاهُمَا وَجَعَلْنَا مِنَ الْمَاءِ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ حَيٍّ أَفَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ

“Do not those who deny the truth see that the heavens and the earth were joined together and that We then split them asunder? And that We have made every living thing out of water? Will they still not believe?” (al-Anbiya’, 21:30).

The Big Bang explosion resulted in a universe that is highly constructive and meaningful, in every sense of the word. When we reflect deeply about our world, we find that all over the universe, there are clear signs of planning, design, and intelligent control.

 قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدْرًا

“Allah has set a due measure for everything” (al-Talaq, 65:3).

These signs lead us to believe that there is a Creator of creatures, there is a designer of designs, and there is a mover of all movements. The Qur’an does not say much about the Being or Essence of God, for it considers it to be beyond human comprehension. Allah is transcendent—beyond time, beyond space, beyond direct apprehension, existing outside the created world. That is why the Qur’an tells us, 

 لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ ُ

“There is nothing like Him (Nothing can be compared with Him)” (al-Shura, 42:11).

Why does the Qur’an assume that the existence of God is something about which no question should justifiably cross a rational mind? According to the Qur’anic theory of knowledge, human beings are not born with a blank psychological slate. Rather, they are created with a certain intellectual and intuitive disposition. Traditionally, this human disposition has been called the fitrah. Muslim scholars explain that the fitrah gives us humans a sort of extra-rational, privileged mental access to some basic truths about God. As such, humans have an inherent capacity to intuitively detect the existence of God, even without much rational deliberation. The Qur’anic indifference to the question of God’s existence is easily understood with this unique, fitrah-based theory of knowledge in mind. Some modern studies in cognition seem to suggest something similar, that belief in God is hard-wired into the human psyche.

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين

Brothers and sisters! Even though the Qur’an does not say much about the Being or Essence of God, yet it says a great deal about how God relates to the universe and, in particular, to man. This relational aspect is explained in the Qur’an through the attributes of God, known as al-Asma’ ul-Husna, or the most beautiful names. An analysis of these names and attributes and other relevant data will show that the concept of God in the Qur’an is composed of several notions.

First, the Qur’an lays great emphasis on the unity of God. Had there been more than one God, there would have been chaos in the universe.

لَوْ كَانَ فِيهِمَا آلِهَةٌ إِلَّا اللَّهُ لَفَسَدَتَا

“If there had been any gods besides Allah in the heavens or the earth, they both would be ruined” (al-Anbiya’, 21:22).

The argument here is that the different parts of the universe are knit together in a harmony that can be explained only on the assumption of the existence of one God. The universality and stability of the laws of nature are a proof that the same God rules the earth and also the most distant parts of the universe.

وَهُوَ الَّذِي فِي السَّمَاءِ إِلَٰهٌ وَفِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَٰهٌ

“It is He who is God in heaven, and God on earth” (al-Zukhraf, 43:84).

The Qur’an thus rejects idolatry in any form.

Second, besides being the only Creator, Allah is the only real Sovereign. 

 أَلَا لَهُ الْخَلْقُ وَالْأَمْرُ

“Truly, His is the creation and the command” (al-A’raf, 7:54).

 إِنِ الْحُكْمُ إِلَّا لِلَّهِ

“Sovereignty belongs only to Allah” (Yusuf, 12:40).

Third, the Qur’an presents Allah essentially as a merciful God, and not as a God of wrath. In fact, the attribute of al-Rahman is used in the Qur’an as a personal name of God.

 وَهُمْ يَكْفُرُونَ بِالرَّحْمَٰنِ قُلْ هُوَ رَبِّي لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ

“But they do not believe in Ar-Rahman (the Lord of Mercy). Tell them: "He is my Lord. There is no other God but He” (al-Ra’d, 13:30).

قُلِ ادْعُوا اللَّهَ أَوِ ادْعُوا الرَّحْمَٰنَ أَيًّا مَّا تَدْعُوا فَلَهُ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَىٰ

“Say, you call upon Allah or call upon Ar-Rahman, whatever the name you call Him by, all His names are beautiful" (al-Isra’, 17:110).

Fourth, the God of the Qur’an is not far removed from the world but is actively involved in it. He takes provident care of the universe. In particular, He provides man with material and spiritual sustenance. His greatest blessing is that He guides man and shows him the right way to live his life.

وَمَا بِكُم مِّن نِّعْمَةٍ فَمِنَ اللَّهِ

“Whatever blessing you have is from Allah” (al-Nahl, 16:53).

وَإِن تَعُدُّوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَا

“And if you were to count God's blessings, you could never count them” (Ibrahim, 14:34).

Fifth, God deals with the world and man not in an arbitrary manner, but in accordance with a clearly enunciated set of principles or Sunnatullah. We have ayaat that tell us that “You shall find no change in the ways of God.”

وَلَن تَجِدَ لِسُنَّةِ اللَّهِ تَبْدِيلًا          وَلَن تَجِدَ لِسُنَّتِ اللَّهِ تَحْوِيلًا

Sixth, Allah is the supreme Judge. He will judge men in the hereafter.

اللَّهُ يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فِيمَا كُنتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ

“On the Day of Resurrection, God will judge between you regarding your differences” (al-Hajj, 22:69).

Seventh, The Qur’an does not see a conflict between God’s mercy and His justice. Rather, the justice of God is seen as a manifestation of His mercy.

 قُل لِّلَّهِ كَتَبَ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ الرَّحْمَةَ لَيَجْمَعَنَّكُمْ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ

“Say: ´To Allah.´ He has made mercy incumbent on Himself. He will gather you to the Day of Resurrection about which there is no doubt” (al-An’am, 6:12).

Eighth, Islamic monotheism (Tawhid) maintains the unity of God, and the unity of mankind.

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالًا كَثِيرًا وَنِسَاءً وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي تَسَاءَلُونَ بِهِ وَالْأَرْحَامَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًا

“O people, be conscious of your Lord, who created you from a single soul, and from it created its mate, and from the pair of them spread countless men and women far and wide; be mindful of God, in whose name you make requests of one another. Beware of severing the ties of kinship: God is always watching over you” (al-Nisa’, 4:1).

These are some thoughts that I wanted to share with you. Jazak um Allahu Khairan. Whatever is right comes from Allah.  Whatever is wrong is from man’s own weaknesses.

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