The Attributes, Words and Signs and Mercies of Allah are manifest in His Creations, and can never be fully set out in human language, however extended human means may imagined to be.
However all that is mentioned about Allah’s attributes, whether briefly or in detail and affirmatively or negatively, based on Qur’an, and the traditions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) are final some are also mentioned in Bible. Allah has most perfect attributes; Allah can be called by any name, signifying the attributes of perfection, suitable to Him. Traditionally in Islamic traditions 99 Names are attributed to Allah, some are also mentioned in Bible. Some Islamic attributes of God are: The Creator (Al-Khaliq), The Master, The Lord of Universe (Rab-ul-Ala’min),), The Owner of All Sovereignty (Malik-al-Mulk), The Timeless (As-Sabur), The One, The Unique, Manifestation of Unity (Al-Wahid), The All Knowing, The Omniscient (Al-`Alim), The All Seeing (Al-Basir), The All Aware (Al-Khabir), The King, The Sovereign (Al-Malik), The Almighty, The Self Sufficient (Al-Aziz), The Powerful, The Rightful (Al-Bari’), The Fashioner of Forms (Al-Musawwir), The Majestic (Al-Jalil), The Answerer (Al-Mujib), The Strong (Al-Qawaie), The Producer, Originator, and Initiator of All (Al-Mubdi, Al Badi’), The Magnificent (Al-Majid), The One, the All Inclusive, The Indivisible (Al-Ahad), The Self Sufficient, The Everlasting (As-Samad), The All Beneficent (Ar-Rahman), The Most Merciful (Ar-Rahim), The Lord of Majesty and Generosity (Dhu-al-Jalali wa-al-Ikram), The Incomparable, The Originator (Al-Badi). Some of His attributes are explained briefly:-
The Creator:
He is the Supreme Creator:” He is the Originator of the heavens and the earth. (Qur’an;6:101). Allah has no equal because His Attributes are perfect: “There is nothing whatsoever like unto Him. He is the All-hearing, the All-seeing” (Qur’an;42:11); “no slumber or sleep seizes Him” (Qur’an;2:255), because His life is perfect and eternal. Bible also mentions: “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary, his understanding is Unsearchable.”(Isaiah;40:28).
Uncreated:
Allah knows, but not as human knows; He has power, but not as human have power. He is a thing, but unlike other things; by saying “thing,” it is intended merely to affirm His reality. He has neither body nor substance, neither accidental property nor limit, neither opposite nor like nor similitude. A human being require some material to make some thing i.e. a carpenter requires wood, nails tools and other material to make a table. God Most High creates things out of nothing and He has knowledge of them in pre-eternity, before their creation.
The Lord:
Cherisher & Sustainer (Lord) of All the Worlds:
Allah is The Sustainer’ (Rabb) of all the worlds. “Praise be to Allah the Cherisher and Sustainer (Rabb al- a’lamen) of the Worlds”(Qur’an;1:2); “Then praise be to Allah, Lord of the heavens and Lords of the earth, the Lord of the Worlds.”(Qur’an;45:36); “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”(Psalms;55:22).
Omnipotent, the Wise:
He is Omnipotent: “He is the Supreme Authority over His servants; and He is the Wise, the Aware.”(Qur’an;6:18 ). Allah is not living with His creatures on earth, but He is closer to human than their jugular vein: “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 vein.”(Qur’an;50:16). It implies that Allah knows more truly the innermost state of human feeling and consciousness than does their own self; “Hast thou not seen that Allah knows all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth? There is no secret conference of three but He is their fourth, nor of five but He is their sixth, nor of less than that or more but He is with them Wheresoever they may be;…”(Qur’an;58:7); “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?”(Psalms;139:7).
Omniscient:
Allah possess absolute & infinite knowledge: “He Alone has the keys of the unseen treasures, of which no one knows except Him. He knows whatever is in the land and in the sea; there is not a single leaf that falls without His knowledge, there is neither a grain in the darkness of the earth nor anything fresh or dry which has not been recorded in a Clear Book.”(Qur’an;6:59); “Allah alone has the knowledge of the Hour, sends down rain, and knows what is in the wombs (a blessing or a curse). No soul knows what it shall earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in what land it shall die. Surely, Allah is All-knowing, All-aware” (Qur’an;31:34). The Qur’an points to the rich sources of knowledge in the whole universe. “..The knowledge thereof is with my Lord in a Record. My Lord never errs nor forgets”(Qur’an;20:52); “ For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and he watches all his paths.”(Proverbs;5:21).
The First and the Last:
The Evident and The Immanent: According to Qur’an: “He is the First and the Last the Evident and the Immanent: and He has full knowledge of all things. “(Qur’an;57:3); “They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.”(Psalms;102:26-27). God is Evident in so far as there is ample evidence of His existence and providence all around the universe. On the other hand, God is Hidden in so far as human intellect cannot grasp His essence nor can He be seen in the present world. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”(RSV;Revelation;1:8). The Bible also mentions, God as Invisible (Job;23:8-9) and Un-searchable (Job;11:7; 37:23;Psalms; 145:3; Isaiah; 40:28).
God is Not Similar to His Creatures:
“There is none like unto Him”(Qur’an;112:4); “..there is none like me in all the earth.”(Exodus;9:14).
The Merciful:
The Mercy of Allah is the one of the grandest themes of the Qur’an. To contemplate these boundless gifts of God. “When those who believe in Our revelations come to you, say: “Peace be upon you. Your Lord has decreed mercy upon Himself. If anyone among you commits evil because of ignorance and thereafter repents and mends his ways; you will find Allah Forgiving, Merciful.”(Qur’an;6:54 & 85:14). God’s attribute of Mercy is also highlighted in Bible at Exodus;34:6-7 and many other places: “The earth, O LORD, is full of thy mercy: teach me thy statutes.”(Psalms;119:64); “Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.”(Hosea;12:6); “For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.”(Isaiah;54:7); “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,”(Ephesians;2:4).
Justice:
He helps all with justices and fairness: “The fact is that Allah is your Protector and He is the best of all helpers.”(Qur’an;3:150); “Rest assured that Allah does not wrong anyone even by an atom’s weight. If someone does a good deed He increases it many fold and also gives an extra great reward on His own.”(Qur’an;4:40). He is Sustainer of humanity whether believers or non believers and all other creatures: “We bestowed on all – these as well those – out of the bounties of your Lord; the bounties of your Sustainer are not confined.”(Qur’an;17:20). He answers the prayers: “Call on Me; I will answer your (Prayer)…!”(Qur’an;40.60). It is mentioned in Bible: “Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: he will not afflict.”(Job;37:23). On the Day of Judgment He will judge among His people. He is the Doer of what He wills. True knowledge based on clear proof and indisputable evidence acquired by experience or experiment or by both.
He Does What He Wills:
To Him belongs the Kingdom of the Heavens and the Earth, He does what ever He Wills:“ Whenever He intends a thing, He needs only to say: “Be,” and it is.”(Qur’an;36:82); “There is nothing whatever like unto Him, He is the All-hearing, the All-seeing. To Him belongs the keys of the Heavens and the Earth. He enlarges and restricts provisions to whom He wills. Surely He has knowledge of everything” (Qur’an;42:11-12); “He creates what He pleases. He gives, to whom He wills, females, and He gives, to whom He wills, males, or He couples them, males and females; and He makes whom He wills barren. Surely, He is the Knowing, the Powerful”(Qur’an;42:49-50). Despite being All Powerful, God does not wrong the mankind: “Lo! Allah wrongs not mankind in aught; but mankind wrong themselves.” (Qur’an;10:44).
Subtle, Unfathomable, The All Aware:
Allah is Latif, fine, subtle, so fine and subtle as to be invisible to the physical eye; so fine as to be imperceptible to the senses; figuratively, so pure as to be above the mental or spiritual vision of ordinary men but at the same time He is aware of all things. It is beyond the capability of human eye to see God In this world, Allah says: “Vision cannot perceive Him, but He perceives all vision. He is the Subtle, (Latif, Incomprehensible), the All-aware” (Qur’an;6:103). Bible also confirms that God can not bee seen (John;1:18, 1Timothy;6:16, Exodus;33:20). God Most High will be seen in the Hereafter, visible to the believers in Paradise with their corporeal vision as mentioned in Qur’an: “Upon that day (Day of Judgment) some faces shall be radiant, gazing upon their Lord”(Qur’an;75:22-23). “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him; on the left hand I seek him, but I cannot behold him; I turn to the right hand, but I cannot see him.”(Job;23:8-9).
Belief in God, His names, and His attributes instils in the individual the love and glorification of God that result in obeying God’s instructions and avoiding His prohibitions. These are the means of achieving ultimate happiness in this life and the hereafter for both the individual and the society: “Whoever, male or female, does righteous deed, while believing, We shall assuredly grant him a goodly life, and We shall reward them according to the best of their deeds” (Qur’an;16:97).
ATHEISM & HUMANISM
- The New Religions
- Types of Humanism
- Religious Humanism, Manifesto, Beliefs
- Existence of God
- Philosophical Arguments for God
- Criticism on Existence of God
- Proof of God & Scientific Facts in Qur’an
- Quran on Intellect قرآن اور عقل
- Attributes of God & Science
- Conceptualization of Faith