Who is Allah

Introduction

Islam means the submission to Allah. Allah is the Lord and Creator of all. Every Muslim has to bear testimony that there is none worthy of worship except Allah,

What it means to bear witness that there is no god except Allah is to deny that anyone other than Allah has the right to be worshipped, and to affirm that this is the right of Allah alone, with no partner or associate. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“That is because Allah  He is the Truth (the only True God of all that exists, Who has no partners or rivals with Him), and what they (the polytheists) invoke besides Him, it is Baatil (falsehood). And verily, Allah He is the Most High, the Most Great”[al-Hajj 22:62]

Allah further says in Quran in describing Himself:

"Say, 'He is Allah, the One;

 Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;

 He begets not, and neither is He begotten;

 And there is nothing that can be compared to Him."

 Qur'an 112:1-4

Allah Described

It is reasonable that when one does not know someone, that that someone introduces him or herself. One can further expect that this introduction happens at the beginning of a conversation.

It is this introduction that gives the listener a sense of comfort and awareness of the speaker. It is thus befitting that Allah, our Creator, introduces himself and there is no better way than He Himself doing this via His word, Quran.

Allah says in the opening chapter (called al-Fatihah) of Quran:In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.All praise and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of existenceThe Most Gracious, the Most MercifulThe Owner of the Day of Recompense

From this we gather that the name of this deity, the only one worthy of worship, is Allah. He further clarifies some of His attributes, being Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Already we are introduced to a God that advises and gives us a sense that He created us with mercy and calls us to His mercy. Everything is at our disposal through the mercy of Allah. He has created us with perfection, every organ is in its place; He has sent down the rain that make the earth fertile so that we may eat from its produce and so many more blessings because He, Allah, is Most Merciful.

Gratitude and Worship

Having given us so much, surely we have much to be grateful for and He, Allah, reminds us to thank Him. And why do we have to thank Him? We have to thank Him, Allah, because He is Rabb? And what does Rabb mean? Simply translated as Lord, it means much more than that in case we misunderstand. Rabb also, amongst other qualities, refers to the one who cares and nurtures. Thus it is clear that this Rabb already plays an important part in our lives (from the very start of our creation) and it is up to us to realise this and understand this.

So who is Allah - Allah is the Lord of existence without whom nothing will exist and come to being. And He has placed much at our disposal because He is Ar-rahman - Most Gracious.

He, Allah, created us for a very special purpose and that is one of worship or, for the sake of further clarity, for His obedience (although worship entails obedience and more). It is logical that the One who provides us with much, needs to be shown obedience and devotion.

A Unique God

Throughout Quran there are further descriptions of Him but closer to the end of Quran, a short chapter called Ikhlaas - encapsulates all.

Say (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)): "He is Allâh, (the) One. (1)

"Allâh-us-Samad - Allâh the Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need, (He neither eats nor drinks). (2)

 "He begets not, nor was He begotten; (3)

 "And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him." (4)

Chapter 112: 1-4

This, short but powerful chapter, confirms that He is One, He does not have a son nor daughter, neither was He begotten. And the final statement is clarified further as follows: "if you imagine what Allah is like in appearance, know that He is nothing like that". It is impossible to imagine Him except through His attributes. Whatever you may imagine, He is far superior to that.

Creator

He is the one who gave us life and to Him we shall return

Firstly - when we were created we accepted Allah as our Lord. Allah says in Quran 7:172

 وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِن بَنِى ءَادَمَ مِن ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتَ بِرَبِّكُمْ قَالُواْ بَلَى شَهِدْنَآ أَن تَقُولُواْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَـمَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَـذَا غَـفِلِينَ

And (remember) when your Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their loins, their seed and made them testify as to themselves (saying): "Am I not your Lord'' They said: "Yes! We testify,'' lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection: "Verily, we were unaware of this.'')

And Allah says further in Quran 3:26

 

قُلِ اللَّهُمَّ مَـلِكَ الْمُلْكِ تُؤْتِى الْمُلْكَ مَن تَشَآءُ وَتَنزِعُ الْمُلْكَ مِمَّن تَشَآءُ وَتُعِزُّ مَن تَشَآءُ وَتُذِلُّ مَن تَشَآءُ بِيَدِكَ الْخَيْرُ إِنَّكَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ - تُولِجُ الَّيْلَ فِى الْنَّهَارِ وَتُولِجُ النَّهَارَ فِى الَّيْلِ وَتُخْرِجُ الْحَىَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَتُخْرِجُ الَمَيِّتَ مِنَ الْحَىِّ وَتَرْزُقُ مَن تَشَآءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ

Say: "O Allah! Possessor of the power, You give power to whom You will, and You take power from whom You will, and You endue with honor whom You will, and You humiliate whom You will. In Your Hand is the good. Verily, You are able to do all things

 Conclusion

This topic is vast and the above is but an introduction to knowing who Allah is. Consider everything in your life and your surroundings and therein lay signs of Allah and His glorious Book, Quran, is itself a sign.

He, Allah, is the Lord, the Creator, Nourisher, Cherisher and Sustainer of all. He is All-Knowledgeable, All-Wise, All-Aware (not a leaf falls but he is aware of it). He gave us life and He will cause us to die for to Him do we belong. There is nothing fanciful or mysterious about our Lord, Allah. He is one and is unique.

And Allah knows Best

We pray for His guidance and protection.