Who is Allah?

Know that Allah (may He be Glorified and Exalted) says in His Preserved Book, “And I have not created jinn and mankind except that they worship Me” (51:56).

Hence, it is absolutely necessary for every legally responsible individual to know the reality of faith (iman) and religious practice (is/am), and his knowledge must be based on proofs. It is obligatory (fardh} for him to learn chat by which his worship will be sound and valid and to practice accordingly, while believing in those tenets of faith for which he has been made responsible in this life, in order to succeed [in both abodes] with the good pleasure of his Master (may He be glorified and exalted) and with His reward. As for [sound] creed, it is for the heart to believe in, and the tongue to affirm, all that is known to have come from Allah Most High. We declare that

a person is of this creed by [his own] assertion, i.e., by his saying: I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah;’ and I bear witness that MuJ:iammad ~is His

servant and Messenger, the one sent with truth for all of humanity and jinn. This amount of belief. along with its utterance [even] once in a lifetime, is sufficient for the believer’s salvation from eternal punishment in the Fire, yet it is encouraged to repeat it constantly in order to attain unto higher degrees [in Paradise].

 

Allah is the proper name applied to the One True Divine God Who exists necessarily by Himself, Whose most beautiful Names describe His Divine Attributes. Allah says in Surah Al-Hashr, 22-24:

 

هُوَ  ٱللَّهُ  ٱلَّذِى  لَآ  إِلَٰهَ  إِلَّا  هُوَ  ۖ  عَٰلِمُ  ٱلْغَيْبِ  وَٱلشَّهَٰدَةِ  ۖ  هُوَ  ٱلرَّحْمَٰنُ  ٱلرَّحِيمُ

“He is Allah—there is no god worthy of worship except Him: Knower of the seen and unseen. He is the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful.

 

هُوَ  ٱللَّهُ  ٱلَّذِى  لَآ  إِلَٰهَ  إِلَّا  هُوَ  ٱلْمَلِكُ  ٱلْقُدُّوسُ  ٱلسَّلَٰمُ  ٱلْمُؤْمِنُ  ٱلْمُهَيْمِنُ  ٱلْعَزِيزُ  ٱلْجَبَّارُ  ٱلْمُتَكَبِّرُ  ۚ  سُبْحَٰنَ  ٱللَّهِ  عَمَّا  يُشْرِكُونَ

He is Allah—there is no god except Him: the King, the Most Holy, the All-Perfect, the Source of Serenity, the Watcher (of all), the Almighty, the Supreme in Might, the Majestic. Glorified is Allah far above what they associate with Him (in worship)

 

هُوَ  ٱللَّهُ  ٱلْخَٰلِقُ  ٱلْبَارِئُ  ٱلْمُصَوِّرُ  ۖ  لَهُ  ٱلْأَسْمَآء ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ ۚ  يُسَبِّحُ  لَهُۥ  مَا  فِى  ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ  وَٱلْأَرْضِ  ۖ  وَهُوَ  ٱلْعَزِيزُ  ٱلْحَكِيمُ

He is Allah: the Creator, the Inventor, the Shaper. He ˹alone˺ has the Most Beautiful Names. Whatever is in the heavens and the earth ˹constantly˺ glorifies Him. And He is the Almighty, All-Wise.”

• Allâh is the One, the Sole, the Indivisible and Unique. He has neither a son nor a partner nor an equal. He is the Sole Creator and Sustainer of the universe. His Essence does not resemble any essence. He is not contained in anything, nor is anything contained in Him. “There is nothing like Him (Ash Shura, 11)”.

Allâh says:

قُلْ  هُوَ  ٱللَّهُ  أَحَدٌ – ٱللَّهُ  ٱلصَّمَدُ – لَمْ  يَلِدْ  وَلَمْ  يُولَدْ – وَلَمْ  يَكُن  لَّهُۥ  كُفُوًا  أَحَدٌۢ

Say, (O Prophet,) “He is Allah—One (and Indivisible). Allah—the Sustainer ˹needed by all˺.

He has never had offspring, nor was He born. And there is none comparable to Him” (Surah Al-Ikhlas).

 

• He is the Creator in Whose Hand is the disposal of all affairs. There is none to resist His Command, or alter His Decision. Allâh says:

بَدِيعُ  ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ  وَٱلْأَرْضِ  ۖ  وَإِذَا  قَضَىٰٓ  أَمْرًا  فَإِنَّمَا  يَقُولُ  لَهُۥ  كُن  فَيَكُونُ

He is the Originator of the heavens and the earth! When He decrees a matter, He simply tells it, “Be!” And it is! (Surah Al-Baqarah, 117)

• He is the Merciful Whose Mercy encompasses everything. The Prophet Musa phandle and describes Allah:

قَالَ  رَبِّ  ٱغْفِرْ  لِى  وَلِأَخِى  وَأَدْخِلْنَا  فِى  رَحْمَتِكَ  ۖ  وَأَنتَ  أَرْحَمُ  ٱلرَّٰحِمِينَ

Moses prayed, “My Lord! Forgive me and my brother! And admit us into Your mercy. You are the Most Merciful of the merciful”  (Surah Al-A’raf, 151). 

Allah also says:

وَرَحْمَتِى  وَسِعَتْ  كُلَّ  شَىْءٍ

But My mercy encompasses everything (Surah Al-A’raf, 156).

 

• He is Wise in all His Actions and just in all His Decrees. His Justice ensures order in the universe in which nothing is out of order. Allah says:

شَهِدَ  ٱللَّهُ  أَنَّهُۥ  لَآ  إِلَٰهَ  إِلَّا  هُوَ  وَٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ  وَأُو۟لُوا۟  ٱلْعِلْمِ  قَآئِمًۢا  بِٱلْقِسْطِ  ۚ  لَآ  إِلَٰهَ  إِلَّا  هُوَ  ٱلْعَزِيزُ  ٱلْحَكِيمُ

Allah ˹Himself˺ is a Witness that there is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him—and so are the angels and people of knowledge. He is the Maintainer of justice. There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him—the Almighty, All-Wise (Surah Aalu-‘Imran, 18). 

 

• Allah is everlasting, Self-Subsisting, the Sustainer. He is the Omniscient, Whose knowledge comprehends in the most perfect manner all things, hidden or open, the small and the great: “And whether you keep your talk secret or disclose it, verily, He is the All-Knower of what is in the breasts (of men). Should not He Who has created know? And He is the Most Kind and Courteous (to His slaves), All-Aware (of everything).” (Sürat Al-Mulk, 67:13-4)

Nothing is absent from His knowledge,nor anything is hidden from Him even if it be the weight of the smallest ant (10:61). Whether at rest or in motion, the state of things is known to Him prior to and during its occurrence.

• He is neither “unaware nor forgets.” (Surat Tâ-Hâ, 20:52)