Islamic tradition states that the fear of God is the crown of all knowledge. Just as a chair knows nothing about the carpenter, we are unable to understand or perceive God through our senses. Before the physical creation of each and every one of us, however, He gathered all the souls of the descendants of Adam (peace be upon him) and reminded them of their duty to remember Him as their Lord. To help us remember, He sent His guidance through His messengers. We know God as He describes Himself. The name He takes is Allah.
Allah is more than just “God” in Arabic. “God” – just as the Arabic word “llah” can be put in the plural or change gender; there can be gods and goddesses. Allah, on the other hand, is unique; He has no equal and He shares His name with none else. He was called Allah in the old scriptures, too, in the cousin languages of Arabic, like Hebrew and Aramaic. Readers of Bible translations still find the words Eli (Allah) and Elohim (Allahumm, meaning “o Allah”).
Besides His name He is known through His attributes, which in the Qur’an are also called the most beautiful names of Allah. These attributes tell us more about our Creator, and whilst some are exclusive to Him alone, others are qualities we can aspire to: He is the Just, and we can be just, He is the Merciful, and we can be merciful, He is the Generous, and we can be generous. The tradition that whoever remembers all the ninety-nine names of Allah will definitely enter paradise means that if we apply the knowledge we have about Allah in our daily lives, our lives will be filled with virtue and crowned with success and reward. Suffice to say that each of them contains an important truth about life, just as Allah is the ultimate Truth, and from these names derive the guiding principles of Islamic philosophy.
The way Allah deals with us, His dependent creation, has a bearing on how we ought to treat each other and the rest of His creation. The link between Creator and created is a direct one that nobody can interfere with. The Creator knows his creatures, He is constantly aware of them,He attends to their needs and listens to their prayers. There is no need for special intermediaries, because He is approachable by everybody, and this equality in our relationship to Him liberates us from being subservient to anybody else, making humanity in the Islamic point of view a community of free people, irrespective of race, heritage, or status. For a Muslim, it is an honour to be a devoted slave of Allah, because his master is the Lord of all the worlds, and none can compete with him. This gives a Muslim his strength and dignity which no-one can take from him.
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