Is the Muslim
God a god outside of the world? Is He the Rock that we need most in dire
circumstances to take refuge under yet despair to see Him nowhere in this world?
Did He create us and then walked out on us that we may face interminable
problems unleashed from within the Pandora’s Box? Bah! I feel quite appalled to
read through such a notion presented in a well known contemporary pontifical
writing Crossing the Threshold of Hope. Regrettably, it is a mere reflection of
a superficial knowledge of the Qur’an and the general Muslim understanding of
their God. The deceased Pope, John Paul II, observes:
Some of the
most beautiful names in the human language are given to the God of the Qur’an,
but He is ultimately a God outside of the world, a God who is only Majesty,
never Emmanuel, God-with-us.
I am afraid the
Muslim God is a not a god outside of the world. He is there, everywhere! He is
nearer to us than the jugular vein.
He is the light of the earth and heavens.
You take Him out, the world is but a dark vicious circle of life where, at each
step, we may stagger and fall, and where every new effort to fashion a utopia
may bring more disappointment to mankind than ever.
Having created
the world, He is not observing utmost aloofness to mankind. Everything that goes
on around us takes effect only as per the leave of Allah.
He tells us that He has created the world and He it is who administers it.
In His hand is the dominion and He has absolute power over all things.
The circle of life is not for the sake of His amusement. It has a significant
meaning – the trial of life. From
the day first, He told our progenitors that He would definitely send them His
guidance – the light that would shine on their path and let them see the right
from the wrong. He would not leave
them in darkness and then hold them accountable for sins which they never
committed or had knowledge of . A
series of apostles that He sent were meant to show the stray lambs their true
destination, and help them resolve their differences in the light of the divine
guidance.
He is al-Khaliq
(the Creator), al-Rahman (the Compassionate), al-Rahim (the Merciful), al-Hakim
(the Wise), al-Aziz (the Mighty), al-Qadir (the Omnipotent), and al-‘Alim (the
Omniscient). He does not have good names only to make an impression. With these
names, He actually has portrayed Himself in the eyes of men. Obviously, it is
not for us to understand the Lord on our own. This is why He has so mercifully
revealed Himself to us through these names. To succumb to the notion of being
deserted by God is to deny obstinately the Truth that He has revealed in His
holy book, the Qur’an. This truth insists that we accept Him as a God-with-us,
Who not only pours out on us innumerable bounties but also provides us with
spiritual food. To surrender before Him is to embrace His throne – the throne
from which only mercy flows that washes away all sins.
There is none that can provide for us if He were to withhold His sustenance and
there is none who can bring us fresh water once it were to disappear in the deep
layers of earth.
He has not
turned a blind eye to disbelievers either. It is utterly wrong that people who
deliberately deny the truth revealed by Him should feel secure. He has sent them
clear signs yet they deny in the face of utmost clarity.
The duties entailed by the Word must always be fulfilled. They should not feel
that they will be allowed to go scot-free despite their blatant denial and the
horrible sins they perpetrated.
The Lord indeed has decided a Day of al-fasl
for mankind – the day on which the bad will be separated from the good like the
farmer separates the chaff from the wheat.
He has very wisely spread them all on earth like seeds, and He will of surety
reap the harvest on the Day of Judgment . Every single soul will be presented with his record file. He is indeed
having everything noted down in this world.
He who does as small a good deed as an atom’s weight will see it.
Likewise, all mistakes, whether major or minor, will not be overlooked.
Those who deserve remission will be generously forgiven.
They will be allowed to tread the threshold of Heaven. Those who rebelled
against God will be first given the charge sheet in their left hand and then
handed over to the guardians of hell. They would cry for death as a last resort
but of no avail.
Allah also
expounds upon the intricate balance of power that He has maintained in this
world. He it is who brings
destruction to any ruthless force that has ambitious plans to fetter the
helpless in a never ending chain of slavery. The thin balance between the
stronger and the weaker does not break down beyond repair for the wise and
sagacious scheme of the Almighty. On the basis of the perfect functioning of the
universe, He draws our attention to the fact that there is no God except for Him.
When the evil lets loose their cruel tentacles, He calls upon the believers to
efface them from the face of earth.
In any case, He brings the despondent against the tyrant to ruin their strength
and bring peace to the world. He says that if it were not for His perfect
scheming, the synagogues, churches, oratories and mosques would have been razed
to the ground – holy places wherein the name of God is mentioned.
This is just a
gist of how the Holy Qur’an describes the god Muslims believe in. A student of
the Qur’an cannot refute that Muslims believe in a god who has and will remain
attached intimately with His creation. I appreciate that the deceased Pope
forwarded generously very friendly notes to the Muslim community in the book. We
are grateful for this and wish to respond with warmer and more cordial
expressions.
However, it is
of cardinal importance that we state others’ views exactly as they are.
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