ASK BROTHER SHAH : The Unity of God

Question:
The concept of unity of God in the Qur'an is very clear, but do we have any evidence from other religious scripture pointing in the same direction? And if so, what then seems to be the difference, if indeed any, between Islam and all these other religion?

Answer:
There are many reasons to believe that many of the other religious scripture (other than the Qur'an) do contain within their pages truths originating from the one and only true God. To a Muslim, the great prophets (like Abraham, Moses, and Jesus) in Christianity and Judaism, are of course true prophets of Allah mentioned in Qur'an. In Islam, these religions too are sometimes respectfully referred to as "religions from the sky". Further to the 25 God's Messengers (Rasul) mentioned by name, the Qur'an also made reference to the fact that there been great many prophets (Nabi) whose names are not mentioned. So, Muslim scholars are always open to the possibility that God's truths could well have found their way into numerous scriptures of religions other than Islam, Christianity and Judaism.


Such being case, it should not be all surprising to a Muslim that the idea of Unity of God might well be found in many religious scriptures of the world. But is that really the case? Well, let us examine scriptures of some of the world's major (other than Islam) religions :

Judaism

As exclaimed by Moses (pbuh): "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one." (Deuteronomy 6:4)

"I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from Me there is no God." (Isaiah 45:5)

"You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord of your God, am a jealous God." (Exodus 20:3-5)

Christianity

Jesus Christ (pbuh) said the following in the Bible: "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." (John 17:3)

"How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and the only God?" (John 5:44)

"The most important commandments," answered Jesus, "is this; Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, is one Lord." (Mark 12:29)

"Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." (1 Timothy 1:17)

Hinduism

"Ekam evadvitiyam" (He (God) is One only without second.) Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1. 

Meaning in English: "Sages (learned Priests call one God by many names." (Rigveda 1:164:46)

"Ma cid anyad vi sansata sakhayo ma rishanyata". (O friends, do not worship anybody but Him, the Divine One. Praise Him alone.) (Rigveda 8:1:1)

"Ekam Brahm, dvitiya naste neh na naste kinchan". (There is only one God, not the second; not at all, not at all, not in the least bit.) Brahma Sutra of Hinduism

Sikhism

"Ek Onkar, Sat Naam, Karta Purakh, Nirbhau Nirvair, Akal Murat, Ajuni, Saibham, Gurprasad." (There exists but one God, who is called The True, The Creator, Free from fear and hate, Immortal, Not begotten, Self-Existent, Great and Compassionate.) (Granth Sahib, Mulmantra Pg. 1). 

Meaning in English: "There is only the One Supreme Lord God; there is no other at all." (Granth Sahib, Pg. 45)

Meaning in English: "God is merciful and infinite. The One and Only is all-pervading." (Granth Sahib, Pg. 710)

Clearly, the above verses from religious scripture of Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism, without a doubt, affirmed the truth of the unity of God in the strongest of terms. It is very important to also note that, like the relevant verses of the Qur'an, many of the above verses are in the form of a statement that a father would use to remind his child not to fall for something dangerous, knowing fully well the child might just still fall for it! The child for example, might later fall for drugs taking, assuring his father: Don't worry dad, I only take it because it helps me, trust me!

So, with such amazing similarity on the concept of 'Unity of God' among the above mentioned major world's religions, what then seems to be the difference between them? For a Muslim's point view, the difference is in the 'implementation' of the concept in one's daily 'religious life' and in fact also 'normal life'. It could be that a certain scripture may state the principle 'from the sky', but then falls short in defining the daily life (including religious life) consequents of such principle. Worse still, things become 'neutralised' when other parts of the same scripture state the principles in direct contradiction to the one 'from the sky'.

Muslims also believe the Qur'an to be the only surviving verbatim (word for word) Word of God, no more less words. As such, there is no vagueness or contradiction in it, especially with regard to important matters of basic belief in God. In Islam, the concept of 'Unity of God' is very basic and central to the belief in God, to the point, getting it 'very slightly wrong' would render one's 'belief' or 'faith' in God and religion, impotent and in fact almost completely meaningless. Understandably so, for what use submission and worship when it is directed to the wrong God? The great importance of the doctrine of the Unity of God in Islam is well reflected in the fact that in addition to being a constant reminder throughout the Qur'an, a whole chapter of the Qur'an is dedicated to it - an extremely brief (mere four short verses!) surah (chapter) number 112, also known as Al-Ikhlas, meaning 'Sincerity or purity':

Say: He is Allah, The One and only. Allah, the Eternal, Absolute (Assamad). He begets not, nor is He begotten. And there is none like unto Him.

To summarise, in Islam, any and all worships must be directed to Allah alone, without any 'intercessor' or 'partner' alongside Him. As is well known, Muslims love and revere the last and final Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w), but by his own teaching, would never 'worship' him as God. Doing so would amount to shirk (assigning partner to Allah) which is the biggest sin against God. Nothing and no one in the whole universe can benefit, aid or protect us without Allah's will. The message to always remember is:

"Worship only the Creator, not His creations."

Note from Kira : This article was taken from a book entitled "Ask Brother Shah" written by  Shah Kirit bin Kakulal Govindji. This book is a compilation of his “Ask Brother Shah” articles in the now defunct Criteria weekly newspaper. Please buy one to support Malaysia's local book. More information about this book from Khairul H. at http://themalaysianreader.com/2010/03/10/45/

ASK BROTHER SHAH : The Concept of God in Islam

Question:
What is the concept of God in Islam? From the viewpoint of adherents of other religions such as Christianity and Hinduism, God in Islam (Allah) seems a very 'distant' and 'impersonal' God, since no representation of Him is allowed in whatsoever manner or form. Is it not so?

Answer:
Islam is a God centered religion. In anything that a Muslim does, God always comes first and everything else is 'adjusted' accordingly. That being the case, it is very important to a Muslim that the one true God be clearly distinguished from false deities.


The holy Qur'an offers the most concise definition of God in four-versed Chapter 112, names Al-Ikhlas, meaning 'purity';

"Say: He is Allah, The One and only. Allah, the Eternal, Absolute (Assamad). He begets not, nor is He begotten. And there is none like unto Him" (Qur'an 112:1-40)

It is absolutely essential that Allah is One-and-Only. There cannot be more than one God co-existing at the same time, else there will be chaos as the 'overlapping Gods' would fight one another in absolute destruction. Imagine a car driven by two different drivers. Now imagine what would happen if the universe which is far more complex than a car is administered by more than one God!


Allah is also eternal and absolute. There is no beginning or ending for God. God is also free from any needs. God does not require sustenance from his creation. To the contrary, it is He who provides sustenance for all.


God does not give birth. If God were to 'give birth',then His 'children' too would be Gods, which would mean there would be more than one God. God's children would give birth to more Gods! Then we would end up with overlapping Gods leading to total destruction as mentioned earlier.


God Himself must be unborn. The moment we say  God is born we are instantly faced with two main problems. First, it would mean God has at least a 'Parent" which implies the Parent must be greater than God. Is it possible for someone else to be greater than God? Secondly, it would mean God did not exist at one point and only later came into existence. Who then created and managed the universe in His absence?


God is the Creator while the entire universe is his creation. Could the Creator and the creation be the same? Could the character of the Creator and His creation be the same? The creation is subject to time and space whilst the Creator is not limited in time and space. Therefore, NOTHING in our physical universe could resemble God.

The above four verses of the Qur'an also serve as the "touchstone" of theology in Islam. Supposed if you wanted to sell gold to a goldsmith, the goldsmith will first use a touchstone to verify the golf whether it is 24 karat, 18 karat or maybe imitation gold. Not everything that glitters is gold! Similarly if there is any 'candidate' claiming divinity, we would put the candidate through the above "acid tests". If he/she/it could pass the tests, then Muslims should/would not have any problem worshipping him/her/it as God. But the tests are so stringent that only the one true Almighty God could pass. Any false deity would fail miserable. 


Yes, I have indeed been asked how Muslims could worship such a 'distant' and 'impersonal' God (as opposed to 'personal gods' represented by idols, etc) as Allah. On this matter, the holy Qur'an explains: 

"When My servants ask you concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them): I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me: Let them also, with a will, listen to My call, and believe in Me: that they may walk in the right way" (Qur'an 2:186)

"It was We who created man, and We know what dark suggestions his soul makes to him: for We are nearer to him than (his) jugular veins." (Qur'an 50:16)

As can be readily understood from the above two verses (there are numerous other verses too describing how 'personal' God can be), Allah is not at all 'impersonal', 'distant' or 'unapproachable'. 

Note from Kira : This article was taken from a book entitled "Ask Brother Shah" written by  Shah Kirit bin Kakulal Govindji. This book is a compilation of his “Ask Brother Shah” articles in the now defunct Criteria weekly newspaper. Please buy one to support Malaysia's local book. More information about this book from Khairul H. at http://themalaysianreader.com/2010/03/10/45/

ASK BROTHER SHAH : Worship In Islam

Question :
One frequently asked question on Islam is why Muslims worship God (ie, perform Solat) as they do, and no other way. If there is freedom in Islam, then surely, there should be freedom in how one would like to worship God?

Answer :
In the previous issue of The Criteria, in answering the question regarding the terms Islam and Muslims, I quoted the Qur'anic verses:

"This day have I perfected your Religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you ISLAM as your religion." (Qur'an 5:3)

"If anyone desires a religion other than ISLAM, never will it be accepted of him." (Qur'an 3:85)

 Further, it was explained that a Muslim, is one who truly and believes in, submits to and obeys the one and truly God, and that it was important for all creations - human beings included, to obey the Creator, in order that there be order, peace and tranquility in both spiritual sense and physical reality. When and where we, human beings, do not obey the Creator, there have been and will always be chaos, confusion and destruction - within ourselves and externally. Today for example, we see environmental destructions all around us, to the point of dangerously undermining the delicate balance in Nature upon which our own continued existence depends. Why? Mainly because we have no been sensitive to and obeying God's command that we should avoid excesses and excessive living styles, and as God Himself puts it 'not cause damage on earth'. 


Indeed, the concept of believing the God, obeying and WORSHIPPING Him are very closely linked. In fact, belief and obedience are necessary prerequisites and preconditions to worship. In other words, there is no worship without belief and obedience. In Islam, one must ONLY worship the one true God; and worship Him the way He wants to be worshipped, NOT the way one thinks God ought to be worshipped. Note the we are talking about worshipping God, no appreciating or 'experiencing' God as some may put it, which can of course be in endless way. Insisting on 'worshipping' God in ways other than that which God Himself has prescribed, is in fact an act of disobedience in itself! Obviously, such act of 'worship' is a non-starter from the outset.


By the way, God does not all "need" anyone to worship Him. He is 'self-standing', 'self-sufficient', perfect in every aspect. He tells us in the Qur'an that even if none in the whole universe worships Him, His 'throne' is not diminished even by a microscopic amount, and if everyone and everything in the universe do worship Him, His 'throne' is not increased by any similar amount. The benefits of worshipping God are all for the worshipper and his/her/its surroundings.


So how does Almighty God want us to worship Him? In Islam, the specific act of worshipping or 'praying' to the one true God is termed SOLAT. "Prostration" being central to Solat is mentioned in many of the verses, such as the one below which indicated in the strongest manner the 'universality' of the act of prostrating, hence of Solat:

"Whatever beings there are in the heavens and the earth do prostrate themselves to God..." (Qur'an 13:15)

The five canonical and therefore obligatory Solat (dawn, afternoon, evening, sunset, night) in the Qur'an are mentioned in the following verses:

"And establish regular prayers at the two ends of the day and at the approaches of the night..." (Qur'an 11:114)

"Establish regular prayers at the sun's decline till the darkness of the night, and the morning prayer and reading for they carry their testimony." (Qur'an 17:78)

"...celebrate the praises of thy Lord before the rising of the sun and before it's setting; yea, celebrate them for part of the hours of the night, and at the sides of the day; that thou mayest have (spiritual) joy." (Qur'an 20:130)

Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) has fully demonstrated the exact way to spiritually and physically perform Solat, as hic clear instruction to all Muslim is: "Pray as you see me pray". This spiritual, intellectual and physical aspects of Solat are extremely well established among Muslims, today. Its tremendous benefits to the individuals and the society as a whole are exemplary, without shadow of doubt. 


Needles to say, ALL the great Prophets of God (starting from the first man and the first Prophet - Adam, all the way through Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, to Prophet Muhammad - peace and blessings of Allah be upon them all) ware Muslim, the Religion they preached was Islam, and the all performed Solat he way all Muslims do today.

Note from Kira : This article was taken from a book entitled "Ask Brother Shah" written by  Shah Kirit bin Kakulal Govindji. This book is a compilation of his “Ask Brother Shah” articles in the now defunct Criteria weekly newspaper. Please buy one to support Malaysia's local book. More information about this book from Khairul H. at http://themalaysianreader.com/2010/03/10/45/