The Belief in God (Allah)

All of the other Islamic beliefs and all Islamic

practices revolve around the proper belief in God. For this reason,

perhaps more than any other religious community i n the world, the

belief about God in Islam has been delineated in great detail. In fact,

a famous Muslim scholar, ibn Abi al-Izz al-Hanafi, once stated that it

can be concluded that all of the verses of the Quran, in one way or

another, touch upon the belief in God.

Thus, any e arnest discussion of the religion of Islam has to

begin with the concept of the belief in God. Indeed, it must be a

detailed discussion of this topic for, again, everything else in Islam is

firmly g rounded in and based on this fundamental belief. In fact,

according to Islamic teachings, it is the belief in One God alone, with

no partners, that all prophets taught and which was the core message

of all of their messages.2 It is the first step, the most important step

and an invaluable step in the process of understanding one’s own

reality.

How Can One Know About God?

Before presenting the Islamic view on this question, a

history of some current paradigms will be given.

Beginning in the first half of the 17th century i n

Christendom, as the disconnect between "scientific fact" and

“Biblical truths” grew greater and greater, philosophers Edward

Herbert, Voltaire and a number of American leaders such as Thomas

Paine, adhered to a philosophy known as deism. These philosophers

believed in God, the Creator and in morality. They believed in what

they c alled “natural religion” that could be discovered through the

use of reason. Hence, they downplayed the role of revelation and the

teachings of the church.

A number of factors led to the development of this

philosophy. Key among these factors was the fact that, as shall be

discussed later, these scholars could not deny t he rational proofs

behind the existence of the Creator. Hence, they h ad to begin with

that premise. However, due to their disappointment with what was

being taught by the Church, they were driven to the conclusion that

the truths of this world are known through human reasoning and are

not in need of any type of revelation from God. Indeed, there was no

need for G od to send any further information behind what could be

derived by humans themselves. Beyond that, they a lso argued that

God had no further role to play i n this creation. Thus, they l ooked

upon God almost like a watchmaker who, after having created the

watch and wound it up, would then just sit back and allow the watch

to work on its own without any interference from the watchmaker.

In sum, according to this view, humankind has been left alone

by the Creator—alone to find its own way of how to behave and live

in this great creation. Perhaps without reference to its philosophical

roots, this has become the way of life of many o f the world’s

inhabitants today. They do not see any n eed to turn to God to know

how they a re supposed to live their lives in this world. Indeed, as a

political philosophy—known as secularism—this is the dominant

philosophy in the world today.1 (As shall be discussed later, this view

actually contradicts one of the attributes of God: that He is merciful

and compassionate to His servants, that humankind should not think

that they have been left without guidance and that there is no purpose

directly related to God in their creation.)

The Islamic religion does not deny t hat humans have been

endowed with great reasoning power and natural instincts. Many

scientists—including those philosophers referred to above—could not

deny t he various signs that point to the existence of the Creator.

Hence, they w holeheartedly a ccepted the notion of the existence of

God. In the history o f humankind, this notion has not been a

problematic issue. In fact,

Their problem lay in their not knowing about God properly a nd not

having access to a true and preserved revelation from God. This

highlights the importance of recognizing the proper way to know

about God.

See you in the next blog to complete the book.

Sources .

The book "What is Islam?" by Jamal Zarabozo.