I'm going to be speaking about Islam,
the misunderstood religion. There is no
doubt
that Islam is one of the most
misunderstood religions in the world
today. Sometimes this is to do with pure
ignorance.
Sometimes this is also to do with
negative propaganda
in the media. Sometimes perhaps it is
that people don't want to know the truth
about Islam. But my objective
is over the next few series of programs
to explain some of the things that are
commonly misunderstood
about Islam and Muslims. And so I've
chosen for
the topics
some common ideas and some common
concepts that are often misunderstood
about Islam and Muslims. The first being
Allah. The first topic I want to talk
about is who is Allah? What is Allah? Is
Allah
the same God
of the Bible or is Allah a different
God? Then I want to talk about Islam.
What does Islam mean? What is
the religion of Islam really all about?
The other topic I'm going to be
discussing is the Sharia. What is the
Sharia?
The fourth topic I intend to discuss is
the topic of women in Islam.
And then also I intend to discuss the
topic of jihad. These topics cover some
of the most commonly misunderstood
aspects of the religion of Islam. So
let's talk about Allah. Is Allah the
same God of the Bible? Is Allah the same
God of Moses, of Abraham, of Jacob, of
Jesus? or was Muhammad, may God's peace
and blessings be upon him, calling
people to worship a new God, a different
God. First of all, let's examine the
actual
name of God, Allah in Arabic. People who
are experts in the Arabic language have
given various meanings and
interpretations for the origins of the
name Allah. But one of the best
explanations and that has been given by
the great scholar Ibin Tamir. He
mentioned that Allah is a composite of
two words in Arabic. Al which means the
which is a deity. Anah in Arabic is
anything which is worshiped. Anything in
which people put their faith and their
hope and their trust and they worship
it. This is an ill a god or a deity in
English. So Allah is a composite of two
words in Arabic. Al the definitive
article the a deity alah
and from that to Allah. So therefore the
word in Arabic means the god the deity.
It is very clear from the Quran that
Allah is the creator, the sustainer,
the controller of the heavens and the
earth. And this was a fact that was
acknowledged by the pagan Arabs.
The pagan Arabs in the time of prophet
Muhammad who used to worship 360 idols
around the never actually had an idol or
an image of Allah. Allah subhana wa
ta'ala alludes to this in the Quran
where he says
which means say oh Muhammad to the
pagans to the idol worshippers. Allah in
the Quran is telling the prophet
Muhammad to ask this question to the
idol worshippers. Who is the Lord of the
seven heavens?
Who is the Lord of the seven heavens?
And who is the Lord of the glorious
throne?
They will say it is Allah. In other
words, the pagan Arabs knew that Allah
was the Lord of the seven heavens, that
Allah was the Lord of the glorious
throne. In other places in the Quran,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala asks the
prophet Muhammad to require of the pagan
idol worshippers similar questions. For
example, who sends down the rain from
the sky? Who causes the crops to grow?
who causes that which is living to die
and brings that which is dead back to
life. In all of those instances, it is
said in the Quran,
they will say it is Allah. In other
words, the pagan Arabs recognized that
Allah was the Lord, the that he was the
creator, the sustainer, that he caused
the rain to fall, the crops to grow. He
gave life and caused death. So this is a
fact that the pagan Arabs knew and they
recognized. Similarly, Jewish Arabs or
Jews who were living in Arabia at the
time and Christians until today who
speak Arabic refer to God as Allah. If
one is to open the Bible
which is written in Arabic, then you
will find that the Bible in Arabic also
refers to God as Allah. In fact, the
very word Allah is very similar to the
words used in Hebrew, which of course is
the original Mosaic language, and
Aramaic, which most scholars agree was
the language of Jesus. Then we find that
various words are used for God in
Hebrew, including l, elo, Allah, Elohim.
All of these bear a striking similarity
to the Arabic word for the creator
Allah. The Aramaic word for God is
almost exactly similar to the Arabic.
The Aramaic term and this is the
language that was supposed to or
scholars believe that was used by Jesus
is Allah almost exactly the same as the
Arabic term Allah.
So this is not surprising in fact
because both Hebrew and Aramaic are
seemetic languages and Hebrew and
Aramaic and Arabic are in fact very
similar languages. So therefore both in
terms of the actual name of God Allah
and of course more importantly the
concept of God the idea that Allah the
creator the God is a transcendent being
that God is different and distinct from
the creation. God is the one who has
brought the universe into existence, who
has created it, who sustains it, who
knows all and hears all, and who guides
all things within this universe to what
is good for them and to what is best for
them. This concept therefore of God, of
Allah, of the creator is also the same
concept that is shared by Judaism and by
Christianity. And indeed many other
religions also have in different ways
and in different respects a similar
basic fundamental concept of a supreme
transcendent being who has bought all
things into existence and sustains them
and maintains them.
So this is a fact that the pagan Arabs
knew and they recognized. Similarly,
Jewish Arabs or Jews who are living in
Arabia at the time and Christians until
today who speak Arabic refer to God as
Allah. If one is to open the Bible
which is written in Arabic, then you
will find that the Bible in Arabic also
refers to God as Allah. In fact, the
very word Allah is very similar to the
words used in Hebrew, which of course is
the original Mosaic language, and
Aramaic, which most scholars agree was
the language of Jesus. Then we find that
various words are used for God in Hebrew
including l, elo, Allah, Elohim. All of
these bear a striking similarity to the
Arabic word for the creator, Allah. The
Aramaic word for God is almost exactly
similar to the Arabic. The Aramaic term
and this is the language that was
supposed to or scholars believe that was
used by Jesus is Allah almost exactly
the same as the Arabic term Allah. So
this is not surprising in fact because
both Hebrew and Aramaic are cemetic
languages and Hebrew and Aramaic and
Arabic are in fact very similar
languages. So therefore both in terms of
the actual name of God Allah and of
course more importantly the concept of
God the idea that Allah the creator the
God is a transcendent being that God is
different and distinct from the
creation. God is the one who has brought
the universe into existence, who has
created it, who sustains it, who knows
all and hears all, and who guides all
things within this universe to what is
good for them and to what is best for
them. This concept therefore of God, of
Allah, of the creator is also the same
concept that is shared by Judaism and by
Christianity. And indeed many other
religions also have in different ways
and in different respects a similar
basic fundamental concept of a supreme
transcendent being who has bought all
things into existence and sustains them
and maintains them. The Quran sums up
this belief in God in a very beautiful
surah, a very beautiful chapter of the
Quran called las. And surah alas goes
like this.
which means say he is Allah the one. The
term a in Arabic means one and alone.
This negates any concept that someone or
something shares in the divinity of God
shares with God's complete power and
control over all things. So God is alone
means not only one but alone. And Allah
which means Allah is a means that Allah
is the one upon whom all things depend.
Everything depends upon Allah. Every
atom of the universe, every creature,
every object, animate and inanimate
depends completely and entirely upon
Allah. While Allah depends upon nothing.
Allah is in fact completely
self-sufficient and free from all wants
and free from all needs. This is all
understood in the term
lameid
which means that God is not begotten. No
one has given birth to God. God is not
the son or the daughter or the child of
anyone or anything. This is emphasizing
and making clear that Allah is distinct
and separate and different from the
creation.
And also Allah is not the begetter.
Allah is not the begetter nor is he the
begotten.
God is not the begget and nor is he
begotten. So this also teaches us that
Allah is not in any real physical sense
a father because God is not a creature
to beget to have intimate relations with
for example a woman in order to beget a
child. So the Quran makes it very clear
that Allah is distinct and separate and
unique from his creation.
And finally, this brief chapter of the
Quran concludes
and there is nothing that can be likened
unto Allah. Whatever we can imagine,
whatever image that we could put into
our head, Allah is not like that. Allah
is not like any created thing. Allah is
not like the moon. Allah is not like the
sun. God. Allah is not like a human
being or like an animal. Allah is not e
like an existing created thing. Nor is
Allah a combination of created things.
Because some people may imagine that God
is a combination of created things.
Maybe with the body of a human, the legs
of an animal, the head of another
animal. No, Allah is not like a created
thing or a combination of created
things. And since the only things that a
human being can actually imagine, the
only things that we can actually imagine
are created things. We can only ever
imagine in our heads and envision
something either that exists in reality.
For example, say like a lion or a rat or
the sun or the moon. We can envisage
these things that actually do exist. Or
sometimes human beings can create images
that are or ideas of creatures or things
that don't actually exist, but they are
in fact a combination of things that do
already exist. But Allah is not a
created thing. Allah does not look like
any created thing. Allah is unique. In
fact, to even imagine that Allah to even
imagine that the creator to even imagine
that God is like a created thing is an
insult to God. It is an insult to God.
I'm sure no one no one of us would like
to be called a piece of dirt. No one of
us would like to be called an insect, a
cockroach, a rat. None of us would like
to be referred to in these terms. So how
about therefore if we imagine or
envisionage that Allah the creator who
is unique who is alkbar who is greater
than anything we can imagine that we
refer to Allah in terms or in a manner
that we describe Allah as being like a
created thing. This is insulting to
Allah. This is insulting to the creator.
In order to really try and understand
how great Allah is, I want to finish by
mentioning a saying of Prophet Muhammad.
The prophet Muhammad, may God's peace
and blessings be upon him, said that the
universe compared to the kuri, the kuri
means literally in Arabic, it could mean
a chair or a pedestal. I'm sure you must
be familiar or you must have seen
pictures or maybe you even seen a throne
that a king sits on. The king sits on a
throne and the king puts his feet on a
pedestal. This is what they call in
Arabic a ki. The Quran tells us that
Allah subhana t has a kuri a pedestal
and this kuri is compared to the
universe. The universe rather compared
to the kuri is like a ring you know
imagine a ring and you take this ring
and you throw it in the desert. The
universe is like this ring and the kuri
is like the desert. That is how vast
just the or the pedestal of Allah is
compared to the universe. And by the
way, scientists tell us that our
universe is 10 billion light years
across. 10 billion lighty years. That's
a distance so vast we can hardly
imagine. So for us, the universe is
huge. But in reality, it is like a ring
thrown in the desert compared to the
Kuri. And the ki is like a ring thrown
in the desert compared to the throne of
God. The arsh or the throne of God. So
that means our universe is like an
infotestimally small speck compared to
the throne of God. How about then God
himself? It is beyond imagining how
great God is. And if we understand this
fact, if we understand this truth, then
we must also understand why it is
insulting to Allah that we should refer
to the great, wise, and powerful creator
of the heavens and the earth as being
like or compared to or similar to some
created being. In fact, this is a crime
that is so severe,
it is a crime that is so terrible in the
sight of Allah that if a person dies and
meets Allah on the day of judgment,
which is the day when Allah will gather
all human beings together after all the
human beings have died, God will
recreate us and God will question us
about all that we have done in this
life. If a person has died, imagining or
believing or making some equals or
partners or rivals with God or imagining
or believing that Allah is like
something in this universe or imagining
that something in this universe is equal
with Allah, they have made such a grave
insult to Allah. They have m made such a
grave insult to the creator of the
heavens and the earth that he will never
forgive that person. The Quran tells us
that Allah could forgive any sin that he
wishes on the day of judgment, but he
will not forgive that we have ascribed
partners and that we have ascribed
rivals and equals to him. In fact, the
prophet Muhammad told us that on the day
of judgment, Allah subhana wa ta'ala
will bring a person and this person had
enjoyed so many things in this world and
Allah will ask this person if you had
the world and everything in it twice
over. Imagine that everything in the
world, all the palaces, all the food,
all the wealth, all the riches of this
world, would you ransom it now to save
yourself from the hellfire? And when the
person hears that, they will say, yes,
my lord. And Allah will say to that
person, I asked you for less than that.
I only asked you that you should worship
me and worship only me. This is what
Allah subhanaa tala wants. Allah wants
us to recognize his greatness. Allah
wants us to recognize his oneness. And
of course in this respect, this is where
Islam differs with some aspects of
Judaism and some aspects of Christianity
because we believe that the concept of
God has become corrupted. The God is the
one God. Allah is the one creator. But
in some respects that concept and that
idea of God has been corrupted by other
religions. And the purpose therefore of
the Quran is to return human beings to
that correct and that pure and that true
understanding which is in fact deeply
embedded within our own consciousness,
our own nature. We believe our very
nature helps us to understand this fact.
is what we call what is called in Arabic
fra the natural disposition and that is
why in times of trouble in times of
distress when we really think everything
is going to fail us then that is the
moment that we remember god and we call
upon god completely believing and only
the creator is going to help us and
going to save us. So to conclude the
concept of god in Islam is a universal
concept. The God of the Quran is
essentially the same God as the God of
Moses, the God of Abraham, the God of
Jesus, the God in the Bible. And in
fact, Allah is the same God that is
universally recognized by human beings
all over the world.
beam.