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The Majesty and The Glory of God
The Majesty and The Glory of God
GOD’S ATTRIBUTES
AL-FATIHAH (THE OPENING)
The very first chapter or surah AL-FATIHAH (THE OPENING) from the Quran illustrates some of the God’s attributes. This
surah is repeated several times in the course of each of the five daily prayers. According to Bukhari, the designation Umm al-
Kitab was given to it by the Prophet himself because it contains, in a condensed form, all the fundamental principles laid down in
the Quran: the principle of God’s oneness and uniqueness, of His being the originator and fosterer of the universe, the fount of all
life-giving grace, the One to whom man is ultimately responsible, the only power that can really guide and help; the call to
righteous action in the life of this world (guide us the straight way); the principle of life after death and of the organic
consequences of man’s actions and behavior (expressed in the term Day of Judgment); the principle of guidance through God’s
message-bearers (evident in the reference to “those upon whom God has bestowed His blessings”) and, flowing from it, the
principle of the continuity of all true religions (implied in the allusion to people who have lived - and erred - in the past); and,
finally, the need for voluntary self-surrender to the will of the Supreme Being and, thus, for worshipping Him alone. It is for this
reason that this surah has been formulated as a prayer, to be constantly repeated and reflected upon by the believer.
(1:1-7) In the name of God, the Most gracious, the Dispenser of grace. [Both the divine epithets rahman and rahim are derived
from the noun rahmah, which signifies mercy, compassion, loving tenderness and, more comprehensively, grace. From the very
earliest times, Islamic scholars have endeavored to define the exact shades of meaning, which differentiate the two terms. The
term rahman circumscribes the quality of abounding grace inherent in, and inseparable from, the concept of God’s Being, whereas
rahim expresses the manifestation of that grace in, and its effect upon, His creation - in other words, an aspect of His activity.] All
praise is due to God alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds, [In this instance, the term “worlds” denotes all categories of
existence both in the physical and the spiritual sense. The Arabic expression rabb - rendered as Sustainer - embraces a wide
complex of meanings not easily expressed by a single term in another language. It comprises the ideas of having a just claim to
the possession of anything and, consequently, authority over it, as well as of rearing, sustaining and fostering anything from its
inception to its final completion. Thus, the head of a family is called rabb ad-dar (master of the house) because he has authority
over it and is responsible for its maintenance; similarly, his wife is called rabbat ad-dar (mistress of the house). Preceded by the
definite article al, the designation rabb is applied, in the Quran, exclusively to God as the sole fosterer and sustainer of all creation
- objective as well as conceptual - and therefore the ultimate source of all authority.] The Most gracious, the Dispenser of grace,
Lord of the Day of Judgment! Thee alone do we worship; and unto Thee alone do we turn for aid. Guide us the straight
way - the way of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed Thy blessings, [i.e., by vouchsafing to them prophetic guidance and
enabling them to avail themselves thereof] not of those who have been condemned [by Thee], nor of those who go astray!
[God’s condemnation (ghadab or
wrath) is synonymous with the evil consequences which man brings upon himself by willfully rejecting God’s guidance and
acting contrary to His injunctions. As regards the two categories of people following a wrong course, some of the greatest Islamic
thinkers (e.g., Al-Ghazali and Muhammad Abduh) held the view that the people described as having incurred God’s
condemnation - that is, having deprived
themselves of His grace - are those who have become fully cognizant of God’s message and, having understood it, have rejected
it; while
by those who go astray are meant people whom the truth has either not reached at all, or to whom it has come in so garbled and
corrupted a form as to make it difficult for them to recognize it as the truth.]
THE SEVEN MOST OFTEN REPEATED VERSES
(15:87) And, indeed, We have bestowed upon you seven of the oft-repeated [verses], and [have, thus, laid open before you]
this
sublime Quran: [Namely, the revelation of the divine writ, destined to serve as a moral guidance to man, who cannot, as yet,
discern the meaning and purpose of God’s creation.]
PERFECTION AND PRAISE BELONGS TO GOD ALONE
GOD ONLY IS PERFECT AND WORTHY OF WORSHIP
(7:180) And God’s [alone] are the attributes of perfection; [The “attributes of perfection” is a term reserved in the Quran for
God alone.] invoke Him, then, by these, and stand aloof from all who distort the meaning of His attributes: they shall be
requited for all that they were wont to do! [By applying them to other beings or objects or by trying to define God in
anthropomorphic terms and relationships, like father or son.]
(17:43-44) Limitless is He in His glory, and sublimely, immeasurably exalted above anything that men may say [about
Him]!” The seven heavens extol His limitless glory, and the earth, and all that they contain; and there is not a single thing
but extols His limitless glory and praise: but you [O men] fail to grasp the manner of their glorifying Him! Verily, He is
forbearing, much forgiving! [I.e., although everything in creation bears witness to the existence of a conscious Creative Will,
man is only too often blind and deaf to this overwhelming evidence of God’s ever-present almightiness.] (17:109-111) And so
they fall down upon their faces, weeping, and [their consciousness of God’s grace] increases their humility. Say: “Invoke
God, or invoke the Most Gracious: by whichever name you invoke Him, [He is always the One - for] His are all the
attributes of perfection.” [The epithet ar-rahman - rendered throughout as the Most Gracious - has an intensive significance,
denoting the unconditional, all-embracing quality and exercise of grace and mercy, and is applied exclusively to God.] And say:
“All praise is due to God, who begets no offspring, [God is free of the imperfection inherent in the concept of begetting a child
as an extension of ones own being. This statement not merely refutes the Christian doctrine of Jesus as the son of God but, beyond
that, stresses the logical impossibility of connecting such a concept with God.] and has no partner in His dominion, and has no
weakness, and therefore no need of any aid” - and [thus] extol His limitless greatness.
EXTOLLING HIS LIMITLESS GLORY
(37:164-166) [All forces of nature praise God and say:] “Among us, too, there is none but has a place assigned to it [by
Him]; and, verily, we too are ranged [before Him in worship]; and, verily, we too extol His limitless glory!” [The
metaphorical saying is in tune with many other Quranic passages which speak of even inanimate objects as praising God, e.g.:
The seven heavens extol His limitless glory, and the earth, and all that they contain (17:44), or We caused the mountains to join
David in extolling Our glory (21:79), or O you mountains! Sing with him the praise of God! (34:10); similarly, even the shadows
of material things are spoken of as prostrating themselves before God (16:48).]
THE SURAH 112 AL-IKHLAS (THE DECLARATION OF GOD’S PERFECTION)
As reported in a great number of authentic Traditions, the Prophet himself described the hundred-twelfth surah Al-Ikhlas (the
declaration of God’s perfection) as “equivalent to one-third of the whole Quran”. It seems to have been revealed in the early part
of the Mecca period.
(112:1-4) Say: “He is the One God: “God the Eternal, the Uncaused Cause of All That Exists.” [The term as-samad occurs in
the Quran only once, and is applied, to God alone. It comprises the concepts of Primary Cause and eternal, independent Being,
combined with the idea that everything existing or conceivable goes back to Him as its source and is, therefore, dependent on Him
for its beginning as well as for its continued existence.] “He begets not, and neither is He begotten; “and there is nothing that
could be compared with Him.” [The fact that God is one and unique in every respect, without beginning and without end, has its
logical correlate in the statement that there is nothing that could be compared with Him - thus precluding any possibility of
describing or defining Him. Consequently, the quality of His Being is beyond the range of human comprehension or imagination:
which also explains why any attempt at depicting God by means of figurative representations or even abstract symbols must be
qualified as a blasphemous denial of the truth.]