This document provides an overview of the Islamic concept of God according to the Quran and teachings of Prophet Muhammad. It explains that God is the eternal creator and sustainer of all things in the universe. All other beings and objects are His creation and dependent on Him for their existence. God is not temporal or in need of a creator. He has attributes like life, knowledge, power and will. He created everything intentionally and for a purpose. The document refutes beliefs in multiple gods or deifying other beings and asserts that God alone deserves to be worshipped. True faith and submission requires believing in God's oneness as the sole creator and object of worship.

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2. THE PII,I,ARS
OF FAITH
BJ
fufrr Sfdkf Idft

3. CONTENTS
lntroduction ,
God
The Hereafter
Angels
Books
N4essenge'r.s
Qadar
Conclusion . .
I
2
I t
l6
l 8
20
24
21
il1

4. INTRODUCTION
The pillars of Faith,
'lman,
enumerated in many verses
of the Qur'an and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad,
peace be upon him, are belief in Cod, in Cod's Angels, His
Books, His Messengers, in the Hereafter and in Qadar
(Dest iny) .T hesea re fami l iar t erms; but the non-Musl im
reader would be mistaken if he thought that the lslamic
concepts designated by them are the same as those of
other religions and philosophies. lt is hoped that the
fol lowinge xposi t ion,w hich isi tsel fm adei n the l ighto f the
Qur 'an and the sayingso f the Prophet ,w i l l maket hisp oint
clear. lt will also make clear the fact that the lslamic
concept of faith itself is, in many ways, different from the
popular Western one. In the West faith is usually
contrasted to reason and knowledge. But according to the
Qur'an true faith is that which is based on knowledge and
supported by argument, Any belief which is not so based
and supported is considered by the Qur'an to be mere
caprice and whim which a thinking pierson must avoid.
True faith can therefore be gained through reflection and
the acquisition of knowledge, and not by blind and
irrational committment. A person armed with such an
enlightened faith can enter with great confidence into
rational discussion with people who do not share his
beliefs with the hope of showing them their mistakes and
weaknessesa nd winning them over to t ruth. l f this paper
helps to take the reader a step in that direction it will have
achieved its purpose, and all praise is due to God.
- l -

5. GOD
Muhammad, peace be upon him, was sent to invite
people to Cod and to teach them how to perform the task
for which they were created, namely to worship Him. Many
of the peoplew hom he addressedh ada hazyi deao f Cod.
$omed id believei n Him, though they associateodt her
lesserg odsw ith Him, but a few of them were downright
atheistso, r materialistsw, hosec reed was,' we lirnea nd we
die and nothingc auseso ur deathe xceptT ime.' [fathiya,
XLV:2 41B eforei nvitings ucha theiststo Cod one mustf irst
convince them that there is such being. "What reason do
you havef or believingth att herei sa Cod? " This,l ogically,
is the first question which a theistic view of life should
addressit selft o. The Qur'anica nswert o it is given in the
foflowing words:
". . . weret heyc reatedo ut of nothing?O r weret heyt he
creation(so ft hemselves)ordthide yc reateth eh eavenrsn d
earth."
[Tur ,L l l :3 6J
The Qur'an is here sayingt hat for everythingli ke man
that hasa beginningin time,t herea reo nly threew ayso f
explainingh ow it camet o be.
a. Eitheri t isc reatedo, r made,o r causedb y nothinga ta ll
i.e. it came out of nothing.
b. Or it is the creator of itself.
c. Or it has a creator, cause, or maker, outside itself.
The third possibilityis not mentionedi n the quotedv erse
but it is understoodb ecauset he verse is addressedto
peoplew ho denyt he existenceo f a creatora nd it ist elling
them that if there is no creator then only two possibilities
-2-

6. remain. But the Qur'an does not go into the details of
showing why the first two positions are untenable. Clarity
of expression often convinces peopfe of the truth or
untruth of a statement. Mental seeing here, more than
physicals eeing,i s believing( or rejecting).T hisi sb orne out
in the case of these Qur'anic words by a historical event.
fubayr lbn Mut'im, until then, a non-Muslim was sent by
Quraysh on a mission to the Muslims at Madina. He says
that when he arrived he heard the Prophet, who was
leading the evening prayer, reading Surat al-tur and when
he reachedt he foregoingv erses" my heartw asa lmostr ent
asunder."t Shortly after that fubayr embraced lslam.
Why did thish appent o him?P robablyb ecauseth e verse
made things clear to him for the first time. lt is
inconceivablefo r somethingt o come out of or be madeb y
nothing at all, he realized,a nd it is even more inconceiv-able
that it should bring itself into being. Hence the only
conclusion is that it must have a creator outside itself.
A thesisis t hereforu ntenableif it meanst he denialofa ny
maker or cause whatsoever. But admitting that this is
indeeds o,o ne mights tillw onderw hy shouldt hatc aus€o r
maker or creator be the God to whom Muhammad was
inviting people? Why shouldn't it be one of the many other
gods in whom people believe or why shouldn't it even be
the "matter" of the materialists?A lmost the entire Qur'an
deals with this question but we shall do our best to give a
brief answer which would provide the reader with the
basicso f the Qur'anicp osition-I n a nutshellt he answeri s
as follows: to explain the cbming into being of temporal
things, the creator (or cause or maker) for which we are
-3-

7. looking, must (logicallym ust)h avet he attributeo f the Cod
to whom Muhammad invites us. How sol
The creator must be of a different nature from the things
created because, if he is of the same nature as they are, he
will have to be temporal and therefore need a maker. lt
followst hat "nothing is like Him." [Shura,X Lll: 11l.lft he
maker is not temporal then he must be eternal. But if he is
eternal,h e cannot be caused,a nd if nothing causesh im to
come into existence, nothing causes him to continue to
exist, which means that he must be self sufficient. And if he
does not depend on anything for the-continuance of his
existencet,h en that existencec anh aven o end. Thec reator
is therefore eternal and everlasting: "He is thefirstand the
last." [Hadid, [Vlt: 3l "All that dwells upon the earth is
perishingr |€t still abides the Face of thy [ord, majestic,
splendid." [Rahman, [V: 26-271
There are two ways in which causes produce their
effects.E ithert heyp roducet hem naturallyo r intentionally.
The maker that has the attributes we have enumerated
cannot be a naturalc ause.B ecauseif thingso f thisw orld
flow from Him naturallya nd spontaneousfyt,h ey cannot
be but of the same nature as He is. And if like all natural
causesH e causeso nly underc ertainc onditionst,h en His
po*er is limited. lt follows that He must be a wilful agent.
But intention implies knowledge and both impty life. 5o,
that maker must be a fiving all-knowing agent with a will
that is absolutelyfr ee.T husG od accordingt o the Qur'an
doese verythingw ith intentiona nd for a purpose.
"SurelyW e havec reatede verythingin {due)m easure."
[QamarL, XIVa: 9]
- 4 -

8. "What,d id yout hinkt hatW ec reatedy ouo nlyf or sportl"
IMu'minunX, Xl l l :1 15f
He is absolutelyfr ee to do whateverh e wills IHud, Xl:
1071a nd is awareo f every movemento f His creation.
"He knows what is in land and sea; not a leaf falls, but He
knowsi t. Not a graini n the earth'ss hadow,n ot a thing fresh
or withered,b ut it isi n a Book Manifest.l t is He who recalls
you by night, and He knows what you work by day."
[An'am, Vl: 59-601
God is a living person with all that this implies:
"There is no Cod but He, the living, the everlasting.
Slumber seizes Him not, neither sleep; to Him belongs all
that is in the heavensa nd the earth.W ho ist heret hat shall
intercede with Him save by His leavel He knows what lies
before them and what is after them, and they comprehend
not anything of His knowledge save such as He wills. His
throne comprises the heavens and earth; the preserving of
them oppresses Him not; He is the All-high, the All-glorious."
[Bagara, ll; 255f
Cod is not only willing and powerful, He is also lust in that
He does not punish a sinner for more than his crime. He is
merciful and His mercy, in the words of the Prophet
"overcame his punishment." So He does not punish us for
whatever we do, but forgives and erases our sins, and
magnifies and multiplies our good deeds.
-5-

9. "The likeness of those who expend their wealth in the way
of God is ast he likenesso f a graino f corn thats proutss even
ears, in every ear a hundred grains, so God multiplies unto
whom He will; God is All-embracingA, ll'knowing."
[Baqaral,l : 261f
These, and many others which can be arrived at in a
similar wrlr are the attributes which the true creator must
possess. Any other being or object which is alleged to be a
god or an ultimate cause and which necessarily lacks some
of them cannot in actual fact be what it is believed to be.
Thus, having shown clearly what the true Cod should be
like, the Qur'an goes on to show why there cannot be any
god but He, and reveals the falsity of all alleged gods.
To the worshippers of man-made obieas it says:
"Do you worship what you have carved out and God
creatd you and what you make?"
[Saffat,X XXVII:9 5]
and
".,. hayet hey takenu nto themselveso thersb esideH im who
create nothinE, who are themselves created, who cannot
protect them, nor can they protect themselves."
['A'rif, Vll: 191-1921
To the worshippers of heavenly bodies it relates as a
reminder the story of Abraham:
When night outspr€ad over him he saw a star and said,
'This ir my Lord.' Bui when it ret he said, 'l love not the
rctters.' When he saw the moon rising, he said, 'Thlr ir my
[ord.' But when it set he raid, 'lf my Lord does not guide me
6-

10. I shal ls urelyb eo f thep eoplet one ast ray. 'Whehne s awthe
sunr isingh, es aid',T hisis m y Lord;t hisi sg reater !B, utw hen
it set he said, 'O my people, surely I am quit of what you
associatew ith Cod. I have turned my face to Him who
originatedt he heavensa nd the earth,a mano f pure faith; I
am not of the idolaters.'
['An'am, Yl:76-791
And when, later on, the Prophet comes into contact with
the Jews and Christians, the Qur'an conftmns their heli€f
in the divine nature of human-beings.
"The lews say,' Ezrai s the son of God.' The Christianss ay, 'The Messiahis t he son of God.'That is the utterance of their
mouths, conforming with the unbelievers before them.
God assailt hem! How they are perverted."
[Tawba,l X:3{ll
It tells them that if everything is creared by God then it
must be His servant and cannot, therefore be his son,
[Maryam, XIX: E&951.
It then goes on to explain to the Christians the real
nature of fesus.
"Truly, the likeness of lesus in God's sight is as Adam,s
likeness;H e created him of dust, then said He unto him 'Bet'and he wa'"'
['Arlmran, ill: s9l
For someone to take something as a god, it is not
necessary that he should acknowledge it as such or
worship it in a ritualistic way; it is enough for him tofollow
its dictates obediently, or devote to it acts or have towards
it feef ings which should be devoted to or felt towards God
only. There are many such unacknowledged Eods.
-'7 -

11. "He!t thou seen him who has taken his caprice to be hir
Godl Wilt thou be a guardiano verh im?"
[FurqanX, XV:{ 31
"Theyh avet akent heir rabbisa ndt heirmonksaslordsaPart
from. God, and the Messiah, Mary'i son, and they wcre
commrnded to serv€ but one Cod."
[Tawbr, fX: 31f
Thus to be a Muslim-i.e. to surrender onerelf to God-it
is necessaryto believe in the uniw of fu in the senseofH is
being the only creator, prservef and nourisher. But this
belief-hter on called tawhidar-rubu[iyya-is not enough.
In fact many of the idolaters didknow and believe that it is
the supreme God alone who can do all this. But that was
not enough to make them Muslims. To tawhid a,r'
rububiyya one must edd tawhid al uluhiyya i.e. one must
acknowledge the fact that it isthis God alone who deserves
to be worshipped, and therefore abstain from direaing
any of one's acts of worship to someone or something else.
fn the Qur'an the argument for tawhid al'uluhiyya is
based on tawhid ar-rububiyya i.e. if it is God alone who
creates and controls everything why then and to what end
do you worship others beside Him?
"O you men,s ervey ourL ordw ho createdy ou,a ndt hose
thatw ereb eforeyouh; aplysoyowu illbegod-fearinwt; ho
assignetdo you the earthf or a couch,a nd heavenfo r an
edifice,a nd sentd own out of heavenw ater,w herewithH e
broughtf orth fruitsf or yourp rovisions; os etn ot up rivals
to God wittingly."
[al-Baqarlal:, 21-22J
Having known the true God, man is called uPon to affirm
what he knows i.e. to believe and have faith in Cod, and
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12. not allow any ulterior motives to induce him to deny a fact
which he knows to be true.
"... that they who have been given knowledge may know it
is the truth from thy Lord and so believe in it, and thus their
hearts become humble unto him."
[Haj, XXll: 54]
"But when our signsc amet o them visibly,t hey said," This
is a mani fesst orcery; 'andth eyd eniedt hem,t hought hei r
soulsa cknowledgedt hem, wrongfullya nd out of pride."
[Naml, XXVII: 14f
When faith enters a person's heart, it causes therein
certain mental states, which result in certain apparent
actions, both of which are the proof of true faith.
Foremost among those mental states is the feeling of
gratitude towards Cod, which could be said to be the
essence ol ibada (worshipping or serving God).
This feeling of gratitude is so important that a
nonbel ieveri sc al led kafi r which means, 'onew ho deniesa
truth' and also 'one who is ungratef ul.' One can
understand why this is so when one reads in the Qur'an
that the main motive for denying the existence of God is
that of unjustified pride. Such a proud person feels that i t
does not become him to be created or governed by a being
whom he must thus acknowledge to be greater than
himself and to whom he must be grateful.
"Thosew ho disputec oncerningth e signso f Cod wi thout
anya uthor i tyc omet o them,i n thei rh ear tsis o nlyp r idet hat
they shall never attain."
[Chafir, XL: 561
With the feeling of gratitude goes that of love
9-

13. "There are some people who take to themselves(f or
worshipo) thersa partf romG odl otingt hema st heys hould
loveG od: Butt hosew ho believel,o veC od morea rdently
thant heyl ovea nythinge lse."
[Baqarall,: 1651
A believer loves and is gratefuf to Cod for His bounties,
but being awar€ of the fact that his good deeds, whether
mentalo r physicala, ref ar from beingc ommensuratwe ith
Divine favors, he is always anxious lest because of his sins
God should withhold from him some of these favors or
punish him in the hereafter. He therefor fears Him,
surrenders himself to Hirn, and serves Him with great
humility.
"YourG odi so neC od,s ot o Hims urrenderA. ndg ivet hou
good tidings unto the humble who, when God is
m€ntionedt,h eirh eartsq uake."
[Anfal, Vll: 2]
One cannot be in such a mental state, without being
almosta ll the time mindful of God. RememberingG od is
thus the life-force of faith, without which it fades and
might even wither away. 5o,
"The frithful rre thosew ho remembeGr od,s tandinga nd
sittinga, ndo n theirs ides."
['Al
'lmran, l l l : 191]
The Qur'an thereforep rescribesa nd describesi,n great
detail ways and means of helping man to remember Cod
and keep his faith alive. All Qur'anic and Prophetic
injunctionsa nd prohibitionsw hich extendt o all aspectso f
human life-acts of worship and personal matters, social
relations,p oliticalo rder, etc.,e tc.-are designedt o put
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14. man in a $ate which is conducive to Cod's remembrance.
The details of this lslamic way of life were expounded in
the Madina period, and we shall not therefore be
concerned with them now. But the main principles of this
new order were already laid down in the Makkan period,
and will be summarizeda t the end of thir chapter.
We shall now Eo on to deal with the other pillars of faith.
These are belief in life after death, in God's angels, His
books,H ism essengerasn d His qadar,thea rgumentsfo rall
of which are almoste ntirely basedo n the assumptionth at
the audience believes in God.
THE HEREATTER
The Qur'anic arguments for the reality of another life after
death are intended to prove that it is possible and also
desirableth at theres houldb e sucha life,a ndt hatw ithout
believing in it our belief in the true God cannot be
complete.
i. Many of the people whom the Propheta ddressedin
Makka did believe -as we said before-'in a supreme Cod,
but many of them thought that it was impossible for their
dead and disintegrated bodies to be resurrected. They
therefore mocked and laughed at the Prophet when he
told them about it. The Qur'anic reply was that there was
no reasonf or such astonishrnenta nd mockery because
resurrectioni s not only logicallyb ut physicallyp ossiblef or
the folfowing reasons:
a. lf it is God who created man in the first place, why
should it b€ impossible for him to recreate him when he
dies?R esurrections hould be easiert han originalc reation.
- ll -

15. "He it is He who originates creation, then brings it back
again and this (the latter) is easier for Him."
[Rum,X XX2: 71
b. lf you think about it carefully,y ou will comet o see
that the bringing of life to the dead is a common natural
phenomenon. To believe in the possibility of the
resurrectiono f human beings,a thinkingp ersond oesn ot
need to seea personc omingt o life again.l t ise nought o
see other dead bodies coming to life.
"And of His signs is that thou seest the earth humble; then,
when we send down water upon it, it quivers and swells.
Surefy He who quickens it is He who quickens the dead;
surely He is powerful over everything."
[Fussi latX, LI : 391
"Was he not a sperm-drop spilled? Then he was a blood-clot,
and He created and formed and He made of him two
kinds, male and female. What! is He not able to quicken
the dead?"
[Qiyama, LXXV: 37-40]
ii. Why is resurrection desirable? Simply because
without it, God would not be the lust and Wise and
merciful Cod He is. God created men and made them
responsible for their actions; some behaved well but
others did not. lf there is no future life in which the
virtuousa rer ewardeda nd thev iciousa rep unishedt,h ere
would be no justice and the creation of men in that way
and the sending of Prophets to them would be to no
purposea t all.B utt hisk ind of behaviouirs n ote xpectedo f
a man known to be rational and just, let alone the Perfect
Creator.
r2-

16. "What! does man reckon he shall be left to roam at will?
What! did you think that we created you only for sport and'
that you would not be returned to Usl
[Mu'minun,X Xl l l :1 151
"Surely for the Cod, fearing shall be gardens of bliss with
their Lord. What! shafl we make those who have surrendered
like to the sinnersl What ails you then, how you judge?
[Qaf, LXV|ll: 34-361
"We have not'cr€ated the heavens and earth, and what is
between them, for vanity; such is the thought of the
unbelievers."
[Sad, XXXVlll: 27J
iii. ls the reaf and only motive for denying the reality of
a life after death that which is expressed by the arguments
which the denyers put forward, and to which the Qur'an
replies? By no means, says the Qur'an. The real motive i5
often a psychological one. Those who do evif do not wish
to be punished and it is this wishful thinking that leads
them to deny the reality of a time when such punishment
shall take place.
"Does man reckon We shall not gather his bonesl Nay,
but man. desires to continue on as a libertine, asking,
'When shall be the Day of Resurrection?"
[Qiyima, LXXV: 3-6f
"And none cries lies to it (the day of judgement) but eyery
guilty aggressor."
[Mutaffifin, LXXXIll: 121
A question that is often raised in connection with reward
and punishmenti n the hereaftera nd which causess ome
people to doubt the desirabilityif not the truth of sucha
life is, 'Do we do what isg ood becausei t isg ood or for fear
_13-

17. of punishmenta nd expectationo f reward?l f we do it for
the former, then what is the use of believing in the
hereaftera, nd if we do it for the latterw e will not be acting
morally. 'The answer to this question depends on whether
God enjoinsu st o do an actb ecauseit isg ood,o r whether it
ist hisD ivinei njunctionw hichm akest he actiong ood.A nd
it seemsto me to be veryc leart hatt he goodnesso f an acti s
logicallyp rior to itsb einga n obiecto f a Divinei niunction.
Oiheruviieit would be a tautologyt o say'Gode nioinsw hat
isg ood' becauspit would only meanG od enjoinsw hat He
enjoins. But the Qur'an aboundsi n statementsfi ke the
former, and it is very clear that they are not intended tsbe
tautological.
The answer to our original question then is that we do
what is good because it is good. But since to give good for
good is itself good, there is no contradiction in saying that
6ne does good because the Cod whom he loves and in
Whom he putsh ist rustt ellsh im to do it, and becauseh e
expects to be rewarded by Him for doing it.
According to the Qur'an God created man of an original
nature-called fitra-which possessewsh atw e mightc alla
moral sensew, hich enablesm ant o recognizew ithout any
external aid certain acts like telling the truth and being
Brateful as good, and by reason of which he is inclined to
to good onte he comes to know it. True religion is built on
the- basis of this original human nature. Religion
strengthens nature and- brings to fruition the seeds of
virtuJthatr esidein it.T hati sw hy lslamis s aidi n theQ ur'an
to be fitrat-Allaha nd why the Piophets aysth ath e wass ent
only to perfectg oodc onduct.rT heQ ur'anpraisetsh osei n
whirm ihis moial sense is sharp and condemns those in
whom it has become so blunt that the ugliness of vice
Fecomesi.n their eyest he model.of beauty:
tHadith (fabirl
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18. ' . ButC od hase ndearedto you bel ief ,d eckingi t fai ri n your
hear ts,a nd He hasm aded etestableto you unbel iefa nd
ungodl inessa nd disobedienceT. hoset hey are the r ight -
minded,b y Cod'sf avoura nd blessingC, od isA l l -knowing,
All-wise"'
[Hujurit, xux: z-g]
"Say:' Shal lw e tel l you who wi l l be the greateslto sersin
theirw orks.'T hosew hoses trivingg oesa strayin the present
life while they think that they are working good deeds."
[Kahf, XVlll: 103-1041
"And whenh e turnsh isb ack,h e hastenasb outt hee ar th,t o
do corruption there, and to destroy the tillage and the
stock; and Cod loves not corruption."
[Baqaral,l : 205J
5o a Muslim does gogd because he is endeared to it, and
eschews vice because it is detestable to him. But since a
Musfim surrenders himself to Cod and loves and fears
Him, and since Cod loves virtue and enjoins it and hates
vice and forbids it, he does the former and avoids the latter
in obedience to his Lord. And since those who do good
shall-in the hereafter-live a life of bliss, the highest type
of which wo,rld be the state of being near to Cod and
enjoying His sight, while those who lead an evil life shall
suffer all kinds of chastisement the most terrible of which
shall be the state of being deprived from that sight, a
Muslim would be wise to always have that future and
eternal life in mind and endeavour to do here all kinds of
work that would help to elevate his position there.
"Say:l st herea nyo f youra ssociatewsh o guidest o the truth?
Say:G od-He guidesto the t ruth;a ndw hichi sw or thiert o
be fol lowed-he who guidest o thet ruth,o r he who guides
- 15 -

19. notu nleshs ei sg uidedwl hatt hena ilsy ou,h owyouiu dgel
[YunusX, : 351
"Say:lf youl oveG od,f ollowm e,a ndG odw illlovey ou,a nd
forgivey ou,y ours ins;"
[ 'Al ' lmr inl,l l : 31]
"surelyt he piouss halbl e in blissu, ponc ouchegsa zing(a t
theirL ord)t;h ouk nowesitn theirf acesth er adiancoyf bliss
ast hey are givent o drink of a wines ealedw, hoses eali s
musk.S oa ftert hat let the strivers trive."
[MutaffifunL, XXXllI : 22-261
Why should one who did good live in such bliss, one
might ask? and the prompt Qur'anic answer is:
"Shall the recompenceo f goodnessb e other than
goodness."
[RahmanL,V :6 0]
ANGETS
These are beings of a different nature from man. While
man is created from soil they are created from light.t And
thus human beings-except Prophets-cannots ee.themin
their original naiure, but may see them if they take a
physicaflo rr. Our knowledgeo f them ist hereforea lmost
eniirelyb 'aut
asedo n what God and HisP rophetste ll usa bout
them.
why should we bother to know about them?
Becauseth ey playa very big role in conductingo ur affair.
To know aboutt hem could perhapsb e saidt o be usefulto
us in the same manner as irnowledge of the working of
natural causes and other people's behaviour is useful.
We are told that these almost innumerable beingg who
are extremely powerful are created in such a way that they
-16-

20. alwayso bey and neverg o againstD ivinec ommandsa, nd
continuously serve and never tire of serving the Lord.
[Anbiya,X Xl,1 9-20;T ahrim,L XVI:G ]
. But inspite of this they are-as a species-in a lower
degreet hant he humans peciesa,n d rhisi ss ymbolizedin
the factt hatw hen Adamw asc reatedt hey* *iu ordered to
prostratet hemselvesb efore him asa signo f greetinga nd
respect.l
Here are some of their activitiesin connectionw ith
human beings.
Their main task, the one from which their name is
derived is that of conveyingC od'sm essagetso Hisc hosen
prophets.T his great honor is assignedm ainfy to their
leader Gabriel (or fibrif as the name is pronounced in
Arabic).
"A noble messengehr avingp ower ,w i th the Lord of the
Throne,s ecureo, beyedt here( in heaven)a nd t rusty. "
ITakwi rL, XXXI1: 9-21J
A message carried by beings of such a nature is sure to
reach its destination intact.
They attend to and watch over us. They keep a record of
our good and bad deeds, and never a word we mention
passes without being registered by them either for or
against us. [Qaf, L: 17-181
They play a role in the causation and happening of
seemingly purely natural phenomena, like wind and rain
and death. [Nazi'it, LXXIX: 1-5]
rThisv erse[ fsra',X Vll: 70Jh asb eeng iven( bys ome)a se videncef or the
fact that the human species is better than the species of angels. lbn
Kathir in his tafsir of Qur'an al'Azim.
t7-

21. And to them isa ssignedth e role of helpingt he believers
to the extent of fighting on their side in times of war.
1'Af'lmran,ll ; 124l,ando f protectingt hem [Ra'd,X lll: llf,
and praying for them [Ghifir, XL: 7].
BOOKS
A Musl imb el ievetsh att he Qur 'ani st hew ord of God.
Buti t isn ot theo nlvw ord.C ods entm an!,prophetbse fore
Muhammada ndH es poker o thema sH e spoket o him.S oa
Musl ima lsob el ieve(si nf acth e nould not be a Musl imi f
he did not bel iele)i n thesee ar l ierb ooks.l iket he Torah
and the Cospel ,s incet he t rue bel ieversa re thosew ho
"believei n whath asb eens entd on n to thee( Muhammad)
andw hath asb eens entd on'nb eforet hee"[ al BaqaralV, :
41.
"Say: We believe in Cod. and tlrat which has been sent down
on us , and sent donn on {br tham and l shmael ,l saaca nd
lacob, and the Tribes, and in tnat rvhich was given to.loses
and fesus, and the prophets, of their Lord; we make no
division between any of thent."
[al Baqara,l l : 135f
Cod created men so that thev may serve Him. His being a
servant of Cod constitutes the essence of man. Man cannot
therefore attain to his true humanity and acquire peace of
mind unlessh e real isesth isa im for which he wasc reated.
But how can he do thisl Cod, being merciful and lust, has
helped him in many ways. He granted him as we said
before an originally good nature that is inclined to know
and serve its true Lord. He granted him a mind that
possesseas moral sensea nd the abi l i tyt o reason.H e made
the whole universe a natural book full of signs that lead a
t8

22. thinking person to cod. But to make things more specific,
to give him more detailed knowledge of his Lord, and to
show him in a more detailed manner how to serve Him,
God hasb een sendingd own verbalm essagetsh roughH is
prophets chosen f rom among men, ever since the creation
of man. Hence the descriptiono f thesem essageisn the
Qur'an asg uidancel,i ght,s igns,r eminderse, tc,
All theseb ooksa dvocatedb asicalltyh e samem essage,
"Andw es entn evear Mesengebre foreth eeexceptht atw e
revealedto him,s aying',t herei s no Cod but l; so serve
Me.' "
[ 'Anbiya'X, XI :2 51
And the religion which they all expounded is lslam i.e.
surrender to Cod,
"The true religion with God is lslam."
[Al-'lmrin, ltt: 19f
Thus Noah (X:721 Abraham (lll: 67), lacob and his sons
(ll: 133), the Apostles (V: lll), etc. were all Muslims.
lslam in this sense is in fact the religion of the universe.
"What! do they desire another religion than Cod's and to
Him has surrendered (aslama = became a Muslim)
whatsoeveri s in the heavensa nd the earth,w illingly or
unwi l l inglya, nd to Him theys hal lb e returned. "
[Al - ' lmra-nt l,t : 83f
lf the religion of all prophets is the same in its essenceand
basic foundation, not so are the ways of life based upon it.
[Ma'ida, V: aSJ
One last important point about books is that with the
exceptaon of the Qur'an they have not been preserved
-19-

23. intact, but have either been completely lost or else
suffered distortion and corruption. As to the Qur'an God
has decreed that it shall never be subiected to such
distortionb ut shallb e preservedb y Him. IHiir, XV: 9J
MESSENGERS
Messengerasr eh umanb eingsc hosenb y God who have
the honor of conveyingC od's messageto other men and
women.B eings ucha Messengeirs n ot a positiont hato ne
attainsb y anyc onsciousldye signede ffort.l t isa Sracefr om
God, but God grants this grace to those who are deserving
of it. Messengerasr e not then,l iket he ranka ndf ileo f us.
True,t hey are men but theya rem en of an extremelyh igh
moral, spirituala nd intellectuasl tandardt hat qualifies
them-in the eyeso f Cod-to be the bearerso f Hisl ightt o
the world. When God choosesa ny of them,H e supports
the messenger with a clear 'sign'
[t-tadid,L Vll: 25] that
provest he truth of his claim,a nd distinguishehsi m from
falsep rophetss, orcereras nds oothsayer[sT aghibun,L XIV:
41-42l,TeheX,X :6 9].N oneo f them betraysth e messageor
falls ihort of being exemplary in practicing what he
preaches[.H ud, Xl: 88J.
Askeda bout prophetM uhammad'sc onducth is wi fe
Ayesha said, "lt was the Qur'an," meaning that he
embodieda l l the idealsw hicht he Qur 'anp resents.
Two relatedp ointsa boutm essengerwsh icht he Qur'an
stressesa,n d which therefored eserves omee laboration
aret he humani tyo f prophetsa nd the natureo f thei rt ask.
Despite the vast spiritual, moral and intellectual
di f ferenceb etweent hem and ordinarym en,a ndd espi te
the speciarl elationw ith Cod thatt heye nioy,p rophetsa re
-20-

24. nonthelessh umansw ith all that this term implies.T hey
begeta nda reb egottenr; heye ata ndd rinka ndg o abouti n
marketp laces[ Furqin,X XV:2 01;t hey sleepa nd theyd ie
[Anbiyi,X XI:3 41;t heyf orgera nd theye rr [TEhi,X X:1 21J.
IKahf, XVlll: 34f.
Theirk nowledgei s limited;a nd cant hereforer ello nly
that part of the future which God revealst o them [lin,
LXXIf: 26-271T.h eyc annoti ntercedew ithC od on behalfo f
any persone xceptw ith His permission[l in, LXXII:2 6-2T1,
and it is not left to them to cause people ro go in the rigtrt
path{ QasasX, XV|ll:5 6JI.n short,t heyh aven o partt o playi n
the runningo f the af fai rso f the universe[A l - ' lmranl,l l :
1281M. any early Muslim scholarsh ave observedt hat to
emphasizeth e humanityo f the Prophet he eur'an called
him 'servanot f Cod' on the threeo ccasionosn which he
was honored.
"Blessebde He who hass enrd ownt heS alvatio{ne ur'anJ
upon His servant."
IFu r q a nX, XV:1 l
"Clory be to Him, who carried His servant by night from
th.eH oly Mosque to the FurthesrM osque the precintso f
which We have blessed,t hat We might show hirp someof
Our signs."
'[Bani
tsrai lX Vi l : t f
"when the servanto f God stood cailingo n Him, they were well-nigh upon him in ,*"rrnr.i,-
[Jin,L XXt I :l 19l
-21 -

25. A Prophetw hoseh umanityi ss peciallye rnphasizeids l esus.
He was created in the same manner as Adam was created,
from soil [Al-'lmrin: lll, 59]; he is the son of Mary not of
God [Nisi', lV: 157]; he and his mother used to eatfood
[Mi'ida, V: 75];h e is indeedt he word of Cod IBaqaral,l :
a5l but since he is a human being in the full sense of the
word, thiss houldn ot be interpretedt o meant hatt herei sa
Divine element in him. He is the word of Cod only in the
sense that God said 'Be' and he was. But in that sense
everythingis t he word of Cod. Why then ish e in particular
called the word of God? Becausea, sm any scholarsh ave,
rightlye xplained,h e camem ore directlya sa resulto f this
word. fesus is thus a loyal servant of God who never
claimed that he was in any sense divine.
[M5'ida, V: 11&117f.
Messengersa re entrusted,w € said, with the task of
conveying God's word to other people. But this is not as
simple as it looks. lt implies many things which are not at
first sight clear, and which the Qur'an therefore expounds
and elaborates.
The most importantp oint of which all Messengeras re
reminded, and which is very easy to forget or be heedless
of, is that since their duty is only to convey the message
they are not responsiblefo r peoples'r eactiont o it, once
they have made it clear to them. God has given man the
power to understand the difference between truth and
falsehood,e speciallyi n mattersr eligious,o nce this has
beene xplainedto him.C od hasa lsog ivenh im the ability,
by reason of his free-will, either to accept or reiect this
truth. And since it is only Cod who knows what goes on in
people's minds, it is only He who can iudge who is worthy
of beingg uideda ndw ho deservesto be leftg ropingi n the
-22-

26. dark; and it is Cod who according to this knowledge
guides whom He will and withholds His guidance from
whom He will. A prophet has no such power, and cannot,
therefore, guide whom he loves. [Qasas, XXVlll : 56J.
"Thenr emindt hemt houa reo nlyo new hor emindsth, ou
art not chargedto overseeth em."
[ChashiyaL,X XXVII I : .2 1-221.
He should not, therefore feel sad if people turn away from
him, or impute {alsehoodtso his message[A n'am,V l: 33-
341B. ut this is a mostd ifficult rule to abideb y.W e lovet o
be accepted by the community in which we live; many of
us must havee xperiencedth at strangef eelingo f sadness,
lonelinessa,n db eingl ostw henw e comet o livea sa fi ensi n
a newc ommunityW. e undergoa similarb ut morei ntense
feeling,w hen asa resulto f our intellectuaclo nvictionws e
come to hold about life views that are entirely different
from those of our own community. One easy and usual
escapefr om the psychologicaaln d otherh ardshipos f such
a life is to live in seclusionfr om society.T hosew ho, for
somer easonc annota ffords ucha withdrawal,m oreo ften
than not, sacrificein telfectuahl onestyf or conformityw ith
their community. Prophets have of course to live in the
midst of the people for whom they are sent and they do not
of courseg o to the extento f betrayingt heir messageT. o
havet o clingt enaciousltyo thew ord of Cod,a ndy etl ivei n
the midsto f people,i s perhapst he greatesdt ifficultyt hey
have to put up with. This is made evident by the fact that
mosto f the few occasionso n which the Qur'an expresses
Cod's disapprovaol f a certainl ine of behaviourt aken by
the ProphetM uhammada rer elatedt o hisb eings ok eent o
-73 -

27. win adherents as to verge on exceeding the desirable
limits.
"Yet perchance if they believe not in this tiding' thgy
wilt consume thyself, following after them of grief"'
IKahf, XVlll: 6].
"lndeed they were n'ear to seducing thee from t{rat We
revealed to thee, that thou mightest, forge against Us
another, and then they would surely have taken thee as
a friend. And had We not confirmed thee, surely thou
were near to inclining unto them a very little; then would
We have let thee taste the double of life and the double
of death; and then thou wouldst have found none to help
thee againstu sr
[rsra,,x vlr: 73-741.
QADAR
The original meaning of the word Qadar is specified
measure or amount whether of quantities or qualities. lt
has many other usages which branch out from this core.
Thus yuqad-dir means, among other things, to measure or
decide the quantity, quality, position, etc. of something
before you actually make it. And it is this latter sense which
interests us here.
"Cod ist he creatoro f everythingb, ut whateverH e creates,
He createsw ith qadar.
[Qamar, LIV: a9]
He knows before creating it, that He is going to create it
and that it shall be of such and such magnitude, quality or
nature etc. and specifies the time of its coming into being
and passing away, and the place of its occurrence. lf so,then
24-

28. one who believesin the true Gods houldb elievet hatt here
are no accidents in nature. lf something disagreeable
happenst o him, he shoulds ay,,Godq ad-d-ar(ao r?ained),
and He did what He willed" and noi waste himself ou*i
wishing that it had not occurred, or worrying why it should
occur. lf on the other hands omethinga greeablih appens
to him he should not boast of it, but thank God for it.
"No afffictionb efallsin the eartho r in yourselvebsu, t it
is in a Book, before We create it; that is easy for God; that
you may not trieve for what escapes you, nor rejoice
(vaingloriously) in what has been given to you, God ioves
not any man proud and boastful.',
[Hadid, tVtt: 23f.
lf 9od yuqad-d_i.r ( predestines,p redetermines etc.)
everythingt,h ati ncludeso ur soc alledf reea ctionsB. uti f so
in what way can they be said to be free, and how are we
responsibfe for them? This question occasioned the
appearancea, t a verye arlyh istoryo f lslam,o f two extreme
theolo$icaf sects. One of them, called the eadariya,
assertedm an'sf ree will and responsibilityt o the extenfo f
denying God's foreknowledge, and cliiming that God
knows our free made actions only after we have performed
them. The other, called the lahriyya, did jusr the opposite
and claimed that there was no difference between the
mot ions of inanimatet hings and our movementsi n
performing so-cafledfr ee actions,a nd that when we use
intpntional language we speak only metaphorically
Butt herei sn o needt o go to suche xtremess,i ncei t isn ot
d i f f i c u l t to reconcile Divine eadar and human
responsibilityc.o d decidedr o createm an asa free agenr,
but He knows (and how can He not know?) before creating
-25-

29. every man how he is going to use his free will; what, for
instance,h is reactionw ould be when a Proph€tc larifies
cod's message to him. This foreknowledge and its
registeringin i 'Book'i sc alledQ 'But adar.
if we are free to
ur; our *Iil' . Qadarim ight say, 'We may use it in ways that
contradict God;s will, and in that case we would not be
right in claiming that everything is willed or decreed by
G;d.'The Qur'in answersth isq uestionb y remindingu s
that it was God who willed that we shall be wilful, and it is
He who allows us to use our will.
"Surelyt,h isi sa Reminders;o he who will,t akesu ntoh is
Lorda way,b ut youw ill not unlessG odw ills'"
flnsanL, XXVI2: 9-30J.
'He could have prevented us from
'lf so', says a Qadari,
doing evil.' Yes indeed He could.
..Hadc od willed,H ew ouldh aveb roughtth ema llt ogether
to the guidancei;f thy Lordh adw illedw hoeveris in the
earth iould haveb elieveda, ll of them,a ll together."
[YunusX, : 991.
"Had God willed,t heyw ere not idolaters;a ndw e haven ot
appointed thee a watcher over them neither art thou their
guardian. " . ' [An'am, Vl: 1071.
But He had willed that men shall be free especially in
regard to matfers of belief and disbelief.
say: ',The truth is from your Lord; so let whosoever will
believe, and let whosoever will disbelieve."
[Kahf, XVlll: 291.
But men would not be so free if whenever any of them
wills to do evil God prevents him from doing it and
-26-

30. compels him to do good.
" l f our act ionsa rew i l ledb y Cod, " someonem ights ay,
"then theya re in factH isa ctions."T hiso bjectioni i based
on a confusion. cod wills what we wilr in the sense of
g.rantingu s the will to choosea nd enablingu st o execute
thatw ill i.e.H e createsa llt hatm akesit posslblefo r ust o do
it. He doesn ot will it in the senseo f doing.it , otherwiseit
would be quite in order to say, when we drink or eat or
sleepf or instancet,h atG od performedt hesea ctionsc. od
createsth em, He doesn ot do or performt hem.A nother
objection, based on another confusion, is that if Cod
allowsu s to do evil,t hen He approveso f it and rikesit . But
to will somethingin the senseo f allowinga persont o do it
iso net hing;a ndt o approveo f hisa ct ionandc ommendi t ,
isq uitea norher.N ore *erythingt hatc od wiilsH e likesH. e
has, as we have just read in the eur'an, granted man the
choiceb etwen beliefa nd disbelief,b ut He does not, of
course,l ike men to disbeife ve (to be thankless).
"ff you are unthankfuf l, cod is independent of you. yet He
approves not unthankf ulness in His servants; but if you are
thankful, He will approve it in you.,,
[Zumar, XXXIX: 71.
coNctustoNs
These in resume are the basic truths to which the
ProphetM uhammadi nvitedh isp eople.T heb esrp roof-besidesth
e foregoinga rguments- of their beingt ruths,
andv eryi mportantr ruthsf or man,i st heg oode ffeit which
theyp roducei n man'si nternals tatea, ndt hush iso utward
behaviourw. e havea lreadyi,n dealingw ith beliefi n cod,
pointed to some of the feelings towards Him, brought
-27

31. about by belief in His existence and His attributes of
perfection.
since man's attitude in relation to his fellow-human
beings is very much connected with his attitude towards
Godithat befief in God with resulting feelings towards the
Divine,is bound to produce in man's heart feelings towards
other men that aie appropriate to it. And since man's
outward behaviour regarding God and other men is
S*i"L,.d, by his real b- " t ietsib out and feel ingst owards
in*., it is oniy to be expected of true religion to call for a
set of behaviour that is both a natural outcome of its set of
bel iefsa nd a factor of st rengtheningt hem. The internal
is 'lmin'
state to which Muhammad invited men called
(faith or belief ). The external behaviour based on it is called
islam. At the Makkan period he concentrated mostly on
the f i rst ,w i thout ent i relyn eglect ingt he second,w hich he
elaborated at Madina when the first Muslim independent
community was formed. Even at Makka the Prophet
Muhammjd *.r directed by God to invite people to the
following acts of worship and moral behaviour'
1. To keep their faith alive and strengthen it Muslims
were told to recite the Qur'an and study it carefully, to
learn from the Prophet and say as often as possible, and
special lyo n some speci f iedo ccasionsc, er tainp rayers'a nd
to p*rforrn prayer in the manner which Cabriel
demonstrated io in" Prophet. All this is salat in its widest
sense.
2. After salat, the serving of cod, comes zakit which in
its broadest sense includes any act of service to other men'
Being good to men is the fruit and therefore the proof of
the tiee of faith. He is not truthful who harms men and yet
28-

32. claims to believe in and love Cod.
"Hastt hou seenh im who doesn ot bel i€vei n ret r ibut ion
( int he hereaf ter )t?h ati s he who repulsetsh eo rphana nd
urges not the feeding of the needy. so woe to those that
praya nd are heedlesosf thei rp rayerst,o thosew ho make
displaya nd refusec har i ty. "
[Ma ' u n ,C Vl l J .
The f irst three verses of this sura were revealed at Makka
and the rest at Madina. The Madinan verses speak about
the hypocrites who perform outward acts of worship that
do not originate from any sincere faith. But their behaviour
betrays them, since it is the same as that of the Makkan
professed unbelievers.
Following are a few examples of Zakit which the eur,an
advocated at this early period.
Acquisition of wealth for its own sake or so that it may
increase the worth of its collector is condemned. Mere
acquisi t iono f weal thc ountsn othing in the sighto f cod. l t
does not give man any merit whether here or in the
hereafter.
"Who gathered riches and counted them over thinking
that his riches have made him immortal."
[HumazaC, IV:2 -3J.
Those" who amasseda nd hoarded" weal th in this l i fe are
to be cal led in the hereaf terb y a furnacet hat 'scathesa way
the scalp' [Mu'arij, LXX: 15-18]. Wealth for its own sakeis
among the vices of men which can be eradicated only by
the kind of bel ief and pract icesw hich Muhammad taught .
[Ma'arij, LXX: 19-27].
Man should acquire wealth with the intention of
spending it on his own needs, and the needs of others.
-29-

33. "Man, the Prophett ellsu s,s ays: 'My wealth! My wealth!'
Have you any wealth except that which you wear and tear,
eat and coniu.e up, give as alms and thus preserve?"
Wealths houldb e spento n the needy( specially-tihf eya re
parentso r relatives)o,n orphansa nd thosew ho asko wing
to poverty, on the freeing of slaves etc. The following
versesw ere amongt he earliestth atw erea ddressedto the
Prophet.
"Asf or theo rphand, o noto pPreshsi m,a sf or the beggar,
scoldh imn ot."
[Dhuhax, .lll: 9-10]
Among the qualitiest hat characterizea true beliewr is
the luali-ty of giving the negdy and the outcast' as their
right, a specifiJd pdrtion of his wealth. [Ma'irii, LXX: 24-
251.
th*r" is on the way to success in the hereafter a steep
path that can be attempted only by one who performs
the following deeds:
"The freeingo f a slaveo, r givingf ood upon a dayof hunger
to an orphJn near of kin or a needy man in misery"
And then
, ,becomeo f thosew ho bel ievea ndc ounci leacho thert o be
steadfasat ,n d counseel acho ther to be merci ful " '
IBaladX, C: 13-17J.
Besides helping his fellowmen in this way man should
also be truthful and honest with them and fulfil his
promises to them. IMa'arij, LXX: 32-33] Hq should not
infr inge upon rhei r r ightse special lyt hose of l i fe ILXXX:8 -
9'1T,ah nadt of decency.I Ma' i r i j , LXX:2 9-31] '
briefly, is
-
the message which Muhammad
addressed to his Makkan audience.
-30-

34. Ot-{Ttd Lot
-ilir
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