286 lines
14 KiB
Plaintext
286 lines
14 KiB
Plaintext
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C O N C E P T O F G O D I N I S L A M
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Published by:
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THE INSTITUTE OF ISLAMIC INFORMATION AND EDUCATION
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P.O. Box 41129,
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Chicago, Ill 60461-0129 U.S.A.
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Sponsored by:
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Muslim Community Center,
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Chicago, Illinois U.S.A.
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Digitized by:
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Aminuddin Ahmad
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Islamic Study Center
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3030 N.Maryland Ave.
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Milwaukee, WI 53211.
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(Malaysian student at UW-Milwaukee, July 1990)
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*********************************************************
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It is a known fact that every language has one or more
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terms that are used in reference to God and sometimes to
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lesser deities. This is not the case with Allah. Allah is
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the personal name of the One true God. Nothing else can
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be called Allah. The term has no plural or gender. This
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shows its uniqueness when compared with the word god
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which can be made plural, gods or feminine, goddess. It
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is interesting to notice that Allah is the personal name
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of God in Aramaic, the language of Jesus and a sister
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language of Arabic.
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The One true God is a reflection of the unique concept
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that Islam associates with God. To a Muslim, Allah is
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Almighty, Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, Who is
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similar to nothing and nothing is comparable to Him. The
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Prophet Muhammad was asked by his contemporaries about
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Allah; the answer came directly from God Himself in the
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form of a short chapter of the Quran, which is considered
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the essence of the unity or the motto of monotheism. This
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is chapter 112 which reads:
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In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
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Say (O Muhammad) He is God the One God, the
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Everlasting Refuge, who has not begotten, nor has
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been begotten, and equal to Him is not anyone.
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Some non-Muslims allege that God in Islam is a stern and
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cruel God who demands to be obeyed fully. He is not
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loving and kind. Nothing can be farther from truth than
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this allegation. It is enough to know that, with the
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exception of one, each of the 114 chapters of the Quran
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begins with the verse: "In the name of God, the Merciful,
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the compassionate." In on of the sayings of Prophet
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Muhammad (peace be upon him) we are told that "God is
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more loving and kinder than a mother to her dear child."
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But God is also just. Hence evildoers and sinners must
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have their share of punishment and the virtuous, His
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bounties and favors. Actually God's attribute of Mercy
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has full manifestation in His attribute of Justice.
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People suffering throughout their lives for His sake and
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people oppressing and exploiting other people all their
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life should not receive similar treatment from their
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Lord. Expecting similar treatment for them will amount to
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negating the very belief in the accountability of man in
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the Hereafter and thereby negating all the incentives for
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a moral and virtuous life in this world. The following
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Quranic verses are very clear and straightforward in this
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respect.
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Verily, for the righteous are gardens of Delight, in
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the Presence of their Lord. Shall We then treat the
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people of Faith like the people of Sin? What is the
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matter with you? How judge you? (Quran 68:34-36)
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Islam rejects characterizing God in any human form or
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depicting Him as favoring certain individuals or nations
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on the basis of wealth, power or race. He created the
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human-beings as equals. They may distinguish themselves
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and get His favor through virtue and piety only.
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The concept that God rested in the seventh day of
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creation, that God wrestled with one of His soldiers,
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that God is an envious plotter against mankind, or that
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God is incarnate in any human being are considered
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blasphemy from the Islamic point of View.
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The unique usage of Allah as a personal name of God is a
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reflection of Islam's emphasis on the purity of the
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belief in God which is the essence of the message of all
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God's messengers. Because of this, Islam considers
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associating any deity or personality with God as a deadly
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sin which God will never forgive, despite the fact He may
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forgive all other sins.
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The Creator must be of a different nature from the things
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created because if he is of the same nature as they are,
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he will be temporal and will therefore need a maker. It
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follows that nothing is like Him. If the maker is not
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temporal, then he must be eternal. But if he is eternal,
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he cannot be caused, and if nothing caused him to come
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into existence, nothing outside him causes him to
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continue to exist, which means that he must be self-
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sufficient. And if he does not depend on anything for the
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continuance of his own existence, then this existence can
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have no end. The Creator is therefore eternal and
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everlasting: 'He is the First and the Last'
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He is Self-sufficient or Self-subsistent or, to use a
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Quranic term, Al-Qayyum. The Creator does not create only
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in the sense of bringing things into being, He also
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preserves them and takes them out of existence and is the
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ultimate cause of whatever happens to them.
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God is the creator of everything. He is the guardian
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over everything. Unto Him belong the keys of the
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heavens and the earth (Quran 39:62,63)
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No creature in there crawling on the earth, but its
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provision rest on God. He knows its lodgingplace and
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its repository (Quran 11:6).
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GOD'S ATTRIBUTES
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If the Creator is Eternal and Everlasting, then His
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attributes must also be eternal and everlasting. He
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should not lose any of His attributes nor acquire new
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ones. If this is so, then His attributes are absolute.
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Can there be more than one creator with such absolute
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attributes? Can there be for example, two absolute
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powerful creators? A moment's thought shows that this is
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not feasible.
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The Quran summarizes this argument in the following
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verses:
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God has not taken to Himself any son, nor is there
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any god with Him: For then each god would have taken
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of that which he created and some of them would have
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risen up over others (Quran 23:91).
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And Why, were there gods in earth and heaven other
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than God, they (heaven and earth) would surely go to
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ruin (Quran 21:22).
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THE ONENESS OF GOD
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The quran reminds us of the falsity of all alleged gods.
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To the worshippers of man-made objects it asks: Do you
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worship what you have carved yourself (Quran 37:95) or
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have you taken unto you others beside Him to be your
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protectors, even such as have no power either for good or
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for harm to themselves? (Quran 13:16).
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To the worshippers of the heavenly bodies it cites the
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story of Abraham:
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When night outspread over him he saw a star and
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said, "This is my Lord." But when it set he said, "I
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love not the setters." When he saw moon rising, he
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said, "This is my Lord." But when it set he said:
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"If my Lord does not guide me I shall surely be of
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the people gone astray." When he say the sun rising,
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he said, "This is my lord; this is greater." But
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when it set he said, "O my people, surly I quit that
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which you associate, I have turned my face to Him
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who originated the heavens and the earth; a man of
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pure faith, I am not of the idolators."
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(Quran 6:76-79)
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THE BELIEVER'S ATTITUDE
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In order to be a Muslim i.e., to surrender oneself to
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God, it is necessary to believe in the oneness of God, in
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the sense of His being the only Creator, Preserver,
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Nourisher, etc.. But this belief - later on called
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"Tawhid Ar-Rububiyyah" is not enough. Many of the
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idolaters knew and believe that only the supreme God
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could do all this. But that was not enough to make them
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Muslims. To 'tawhid ar-rububiyyah,' one must add 'tawhid
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al'uluhiyyah' i.e., one acknowledges the fact that it is
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God alone who deserves to be worshipped, and thus
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abstains from worshiping any other thing or being
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Having achieve this know;edge of the one true God, man
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should constantly have faith in Him, and should allow
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nothing to induce him to deny truth.
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When faith enters a person's heart, it causes certain
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mental states which result in certain actions. Taken
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together these mental states and actions are the proof
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for the true faith. The Prophet said, "Faith is that
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which resides firmly in the heart and which is proved bu
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deeds."
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Foremost among those mental states is the feeling of
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gratitude towards God, which could be said to be the
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essence of 'ibada' (worship).
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The feeling of gratitude is so important that a non
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believer is called 'kafir', which means 'one who denies a
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truth' and also 'one who is ungrateful.'
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A believer loves, and is grateful to God for the bounties
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He bestowed upon him, but being aware of the fact that
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his good deeds, whether mental or physical, are far from
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being commensurate with divine favors, he is always
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anxious lest God should punish him, here or in the
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Hereafter. He, therefore, fears Him, surrenders himself
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to Him and serves Him with great humility. One cannot be
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in such a mental state without being almost all the time
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mindful of God. Remembering God is thus the life force of
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faith, without which it fades and withers away.
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The Qur'an tries to promote this feeling of gratitude by
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repeating the attributes of God very frequently. We find
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most of these attributes mentioned together in the
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following verses of the Qur'an:
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He is God; there is no God but He. He is the Knower
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of the unseen and the visible; He is the All-
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merciful, the All-compassionate. He is God; there is
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no God but He. He is the King, the All-holy, the
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All-peace, the Guardian of faith, the All-preserver,
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the All-mighty, the All-compeller, the All-sublime.
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Glory be to God, above that they associate! He is
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God the Creator, the Maker, the Shaper. To Him
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belong the Names Most Beautiful. All that is in the
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heavens and the earth magnifies Him; He is the All-
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mighty, the All-wise (Quran 59:22-24).
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There is no God but He, the living the Everlasting.
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Slumber seize him not, neither sleep; to Him belongs
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all that is in the heavens and the earth. Who is
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there that shall intercede with Him save by His
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leave? He knows what lies before them and what is
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after them, and they comprehend not anything of His
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knowledge save such as He wills. His throne
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comprises the heavens and earth; the preserving of
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them oppresses Him not; He is the All-high, the All-
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glorious (Quran 2:255).
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People of the Book, go not beyond the bounds in your
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religion, and say not as to God but the truth. The
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Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only the messenger
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of God, and His Word that He committed to Mary, and
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a spirit from Him. So believe in God and His
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messengers, and say not, "Three." Refrain; better is
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it for you. God is only one God. Glory be to Him -
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(He is) above having a son (Quran 4:171).
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*********************************************************
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INTRODUCTION OF III&E
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The Institute of Islamic Information and Education
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(III&E) is dedicated to the cause of Islam in North
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America through striving to elevate the image of Islam
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and Muslims by providing the correct information about
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islamic beliefs, history and civilization from the
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authentic sources. Inquiries are welcome.
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For more information please contact:
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THE INSTITUTE OF ISLAMIC INFORMATION AND EDUCATION
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P.O. Box 41129
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Chicago, IL 60641-0129
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U.S.A.
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or:
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MUSLIM STUDENT ASSOCIATION
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University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee,
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Milwaukee, WI 53201.
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*********************************************************
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