WHO IS GOD?
How you define GOD? And how you classify who is your GOD?
How you define GOD? And how you classify who is your GOD?
The most concise definition of GOD in Islam is specified in the four verses of Surah Ikhlas, Chapter 112 in the Qur’an;
"Say: He is Allah, The One and Only."
Allah, the Eternal, Absolute
"He begets not, nor is He begotten.
And there is none like unto Him."
[Al-Qur’an 112:1-4]
These four verses are the touchstone of theology (the Study of God). Any candidate to divinity must be subjected to this ‘acid test’. Since the attributes of GOD given in this chapter is unique, false gods and pretenders to divinity can be easily dismissed using these verses.
For instance, let’s do this acid test to Prophet Muhammad;
i) The first criterion is “Say, He is Allah, the One and Only” _ is Prophet Muhammad one and
only? No!
- Muhammad was one of the prophets that has been sent to the mankind
- Muhammad was a man; he was among the billions of human beings in this universe!
He has failed the first criterion.
ii) The second criterion is, ‘Allah is absolute and eternal’
- Muhammad was miserably sad during the dead of his wife, khadeeja, and later followed by his uncle, Abu Thaleb. The year was known as a ‘miserable year’.
- Muhammad never stop prayed for his ummah (fellow muslims). If Muhammad was God, why would He pray for His ummah? To whom could He convey his prayers? And why couldn’t He, as a God, do something for his ummah rather than pray for them?
- Muhammad died! Imagine if god passes away. Who would administer the universe after he dies?
So many questions arise and thus, it is explained that Muhammad is neither absolute, nor eternal.
He has failed the second criterion.
iii) The third criterion is ‘He begets not, nor is He begotten’_ from history, we know that Muhammad was born and he possesses parents. He also got married and had children. Is it reasonable that Almighty God has a mother or a father? NO, IT IS NOT! Almighty God should not have to be born or have kids. Why? Very simple. If Almighty God possesses a family, aren’t the other family members also gods? So how many gods we would have then? Furthermore, it goes against the first criterion of this acid test; ‘the One and Only’, as well as this third criterion!
He has failed the third criterion.
iv) The fourth test, which is the most stringent is, "There is none like unto Him". The moment you can imagine or compare ‘God’ to anything, then he (the candidate to divinity) is not God.It is impossible to conjure up a mental picture of the One True God. We know that Muhammad was a human being, having two eyes, two ears, a nose, a mouth and was a man! The moment you can imagine or draw a mental picture of an entity, then that entity is not God.
He has failed the fourth criterion.
Therefore, in Islam, we call Muhammad a prophet, not god. This acid test/touchstone of theology has proven that Muhammad is not a god. In Islam, we undoubtedly believe that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
What is so important about the touchstone of theology?
From our observation of our surroundings, we know that this universe is perfectly made, and everything perfectly matches together. All of the evidence that we have acknowledged, brings us to the certainty that there must be god and only One God.
This One God is the Creator, the Guardian, the All-knowing and Most Powerful. Logically, God can’t be anybody from anywhere. God must be very unique and explicit!
Therefore, it is very essential to identify the One True God that we would choose to obey and surrender for our entire life…..
::The ‘acid test’ cannot be passed by anyone except the One True God::
So... Lets think about it (",)
