1. Belief in Allah
1. Belief in Allah
Belief in Allah is to accept and affirm with the heart the existence and oneness of Allah and that Allah is the Creator of all of the beings.
2. Existence of Allah
Hundreds of evidences stating the existence and oneness of Allah are mentioned in the Quran.
For instance, “Do they not look at the Camels, how they are made? And at the Sky, how it is raised high? And at the Mountains how they are fixed firm? And at the Earth, how it is spread out?”(al-Ghashiya, 17-20.).
Man is asked to look at the beings around him and to know and find the Creator of them by looking at them. In some verses it is stated that it is impossible for people who see the beings to deny the existence of Allah.
In another verse a similar meaning is pointed out:
“If indeed thou ask them who has created the heavens and the earth and subjected the sun and the moon (to His Law); they will certainly reply "Allah." How are they then deluded away (from the truth)?” (Al-Ankaboot, 61.)
Since things exist and they are full of art, they surely have a creator and a maker. The universe can be likened to a very meaningful book from this aspect and to a perfect and magnificent city from another aspect and to a wonderful work of art from yet another aspect. Just as a book has a writer, so does this book of the universe have a writer. Whoever is the writer of the book is also the writer of each letter. Whoever is the creator of the universe is also the creator of all of the beings, from the atoms to the planets of the book of the universe. Therefore the owner of the universe is the owner of all of the beings in it. Whoever owns the field owns the crops too. Whoever is the maker and the creator of the tree owns its fruit too. If the universe is a tree, then man, who is the fruit of this tree is the work of His. A being that cannot create the tree, cannot create its fruit either. Therefore whoever is the creator of the universe is the creator of man too.
Allah, who created the eye of man and gave the eye the ability to see, created the sun too. The eye could not see if the sun did not exist. Therefore the being that placed the eye in the face of man is the same person as the being that placed the sun, which is the eye of the sky, in its place.
As there is a maker of a pin so will there be a maker and an artist of all the beings, each of which is a wonderful work of art, in the universe.
If the universe is likened to a magnificent city, there is a governor of each city; so will there be a governor of this city of the universe, which acts in a system and order, which is kept clean and which is under observation. And that can only be Allah.
The mind and the conscience of man accept the existence of a creator, and science proves it. When we take a living thing into account;
a- Causes may have made it.
b- This being may have come into being by itself.
c- Nature may have made it.
d- Or an almighty being may have created this thing.
There is no other way for a being to come into being than the alternatives mentioned above. It can be explained by the example of a pharmacy that the first three ways are impossible in terms of mind and science and that the last one necessitates the existence of Allah:
Imagine there is a pharmacy in which there are hundreds of jars and phials filled with quite different substances. A living potion and a living remedy are required from those medicaments. So we go to the pharmacy and see that they are to be found there in abundance, yet in great variety. We examine each of the potions and see that the ingredients have been taken in varying but precise amounts from each of the jars and phials, one ounce from this, three from that, seven from the next, and so on. If one ounce too much or too little had been taken, the potion would not have been living and would not have displayed its special quality. Next, we study the living remedy. Again, the ingredients have been taken from the jars in a particular measure so that if even the minutest amount too much or too little had been taken, the remedy would have lost its special property. Now, although the jars number more than fifty, the ingredients have been taken from each according to measures and amounts that are all different. Is it in any way possible or probable that the phials and jars should have been knocked over by a strange coincidence or sudden gust of wind and that only the precise, though different, amounts that had been taken from each of them should have been spilt, and then arranged themselves and come together to form the remedy? Is there anything more superstitious, impossible and absurd than this?
Similarly, each living being may be likened to the living potion in the comparison, and each plant to a living remedy; they are composed of matter that has been taken in most precise measure from truly numerous and truly various substances. If these are attributed to causes and the elements and it is claimed, “Causes created these,” it is unreasonable, impossible and absurd a hundred times over, just as it was to claim that the potion in the pharmacy came into existence through the phials being knocked over; by accident.1
Now let’s use this example for a man, animal or plant. The building blocks of this living thing are the cells. These cells come together in precise amounts and constitute different tissues, and the tissues constitute organs, systems and finally the living organism come into being. There are thousands of different molecules even in the cell of the simplest structure. Each of these molecules does a different task. Fundamental elements are common in all of them; however, different cells, different individuals and finally even different species emerge with the different arrangements of different amounts of these elements. For instance, the formation of beings like bees and ants is impossible out of these elements, which are mindless, unconscious, blind, deaf and knowledgeless, on their own or by the cooperation of causes like wind or storm; because these elements and causes themselves need to be formed.
The remedies prepared in the pharmacy in precise amounts show an expert chemist or pharmacist that makes them. Similarly the creation of each living thing shows the existence of a wonderful creator, who knows, sees and has consciousness and wisdom.
3. Oneness of Allah
It is often emphasized in the Quran and hadiths that Allah has no partners. It is repeated by saying, “there is no god but Allah. He is the one, without any partners.” that Allah is One and He has no partners.
Allah is pre-eternal and post-eternal. That is, He encompasses all times and places. There is no beginning and end for him. He is by no means bound with time and place. He does not produce a child, and He was not born of anyone. Therefore one who produces a child and one who was born cannot be a deity. He does not need anything. Everything needs Him.
As there cannot be two principals in a school or two governors in a city, the owner of the universe is one. Sometimes it is possible that there is only one Sultan and there are no partners in his sultanate but his officials may be regarded his partners in his operations; whereas Allah does not need any assistants or partners in His works in the Universe. He has got the keys to everything and he holds the reigns of everything. Everything is settled by His order.
The Quran includes a lot of evidences about the oneness of Allah. The Quran attracts attention that if Allah had a partner or an assistant, this order would break down. For instance, the following is stated in the Quran; “If there were in the heavens and the earth, other gods besides Allah, there would have been ruin in both!”.(Al-Anbiya, 23.)
When we look at the universe, we see the seal of Allah’s oneness in everything. Each law is an evidence for the oneness of Allah. The law of gravity, the laws that are valid for all living things like growth and reproduction show the seal and sovereignty of a being everywhere. What operates here is not the laws but Allah, who is the maker of these laws and who is the owner of power.
In the universe, the exchanges between the earth and the heavens, mutual assistance between the sun and the ground, and the plants and the animals are the greatest evidences of his oneness.
4. Names and Attributes of Allah
A verse:
The most beautiful names belong to Allah: so call on Him by them” (al-Araf, 180).
The most beautiful names belong to Allah: so call on Him by them” (al-Araf, 180).
Every believer wants to recognize and know Allah in the best way. To know Allah in the best way is only possible through his names and attributes. It is not possible to perceive the personality of Allah. No mind has the capacity of understanding His personality. Our Prophet (PBUH) says “Contemplate on what Allah created; do not contemplate on the personality of Allah”.2
A hadith:
The Messenger of Allah said: Allah has ninety-nine names, and whoever knows them will go to Paradise.” (Bukhari, Tawheed, 12).
The Messenger of Allah said: Allah has ninety-nine names, and whoever knows them will go to Paradise.” (Bukhari, Tawheed, 12).
It is an important type of worshipping and it is encouraged to think about and to contemplate the manifestation of Allah’s names and attributes on the beings. However, since Allah’s names and attributes are endless, it is not possible to encompass them. For instance, if we deal with the attribute ilm (knowledge), Allah says the following in a verse about it:
“And if all the trees on earth were pens and the Ocean (were ink), with seven Oceans behind it to add to its (supply) yet would not the Words of Allah be exhausted (in the writing)”. (Luqman, 27)
It is not possible to understand the vastness of His knowledge only when the seas are taken into consideration let alone all the trees on earth being pens and writing His knowledge. Three fourths of the earth’s surface is covered by water. Some places are 11 thousand-meter deep. It is stated that if these seas were ink and if seven more seas were added, the knowledge of Allah would not be exhausted. We can understand what this means through the following example.
If the knowledge of a person with average intelligence were to be written by ink, maybe a tea glass or a jug would be enough. Suppose that you are very intelligent and have a great knowledge. Maybe ink for a hundred-liter cauldron would be necessary to write your knowledge.
A Verse:
“Say: Call upon Allah, or call upon Rahman: by whatever name ye call upon Him (it is well): for to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. ” (al-Isra, 110).
“Say: Call upon Allah, or call upon Rahman: by whatever name ye call upon Him (it is well): for to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. ” (al-Isra, 110).
To know the knowledge of Allah fully means to encompass the limits of that knowledge. It is not possible to encompass all of the oceans with a jug or with a hundred-liter cauldron, yet it is stated that even if there was ink amounting seven times more than these oceans, His knowledge would not be exhausted.
What is understood from this example is that the limits of Allah’s knowledge cannot be known because this vastness in knowledge is beyond the perception and understanding capacity of man. Thanks to his little knowledge, man can understand the existence and endlessness of His knowledge. To know that Allah’s ilm (knowledge) cannot be known fully is ilm (knowledge).
Like His knowledge, His power, sight, hearing, will, life and talking is endless. Since we cannot know only the ilm (knowledge) attribute of a Creator, whose attributes are endless, it is definitely not possible to know the personality of the owner of these attributes. What is more, there are no beings like him. He is not of the same type of any of the beings in the universe. Therefore He cannot be likened to anything. That is why the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) prohibited us from contemplating on the personality of Allah.
Allah has a lot of names and attributes.
Allah makes man feel all of His names through man’s own soul. The darkness in the in the night makes light seen; similarly man makes Allah’s power, strength, wealth and mercy known through his weakness, poverty, needs, defects and mistakes. So man mirrors many names and attributes of Allah.
Man also shows Allah’s names of Maker and Creator through his creation, Compassionate and Merciful through his best construction, Generous and Subtle One through his best manners. So man mirrors different arts of Allah’s different names through his organs, characteristics and feelings.
The limited examples of knowledge, power, sight, hearing, ownership and sovereignty mirrors the knowledge, power, sight, hearing, and sovereignty of the Owner of the Universe. He understands them and he makes them known. For instance he says, “Just as I make this house and know how to make it, and I see it and own it and administer it, so also the mighty palace of the universe has a Maker. That Maker knows it, sees it, makes it, and administers it”.
Attributes of Allah
a-His attribute about His self:
Existence; It is the existence of Allah. His existence is necessary because of His personality not because of others. Therefore the attribute of “Necessary Being” is used for Allah.
Qidam (Eternity); His existence is without beginning,
Baqa (Everlastingness); His existence is without ending,
Wahdaniyyah (Oneness); Allah is one,
Mukhalafa lil-hawadith (Non-resemblence to the creation); Allah does not resemble to any of His creatures.
Qiyam bi Nafsihi (Self-existence); Allah is self-existent without any needs.
b-Subuti Attributes (Immutable Attributes):
Hayah (Life); Allah has life.
Ilm (Knowledge); Allah knows the past-the future, what happened-what will happen, the open-the secret, in short, everything,
Sam‘ (Hearing), Allah hears everything,
Basar (Sight), Allah sees everything,
Qudrah (Power), Allah is capable of all things, He has endless power,
Iradah (Will); Allah wills anything He wants.
Kalam (Speech); Allah’s speech
5. Allah is Free From Time and Place
A verse:
“And He is with you wheresoever ye may be” (al-Hadid, 4).
“And He is with you wheresoever ye may be” (al-Hadid, 4).
A verse:
“We are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein” (Qaf, 16).
“We are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein” (Qaf, 16).
It is stated in the Quran that Allah is everywhere; even nearer to man than his jugular vein that Allah knows what men do openly or secretly even what they think of.
It is a reality in the Quran that although Allah is free from place, He is present everywhere, He is near everything with His endless loftiness and He holds everything.
Allah is not in any place but He is present everywhere and watching with His power and knowledge. Although everything is extremely far away from Him, he is extremely near to anything. We can explain this by giving the example of the sun.
A hadith:
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: “It is the highest level of belief for a person to know that Allah is with him no matter where he is.” (Haythami, Majma uz-Zawaid, I, 60).
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: “It is the highest level of belief for a person to know that Allah is with him no matter where he is.” (Haythami, Majma uz-Zawaid, I, 60).
For instance, while the sun is an only one being, it fills the earth with its reflections thanks to bright objects. The heat and light of the sun and each one of the seven colors in the light encompass the corresponding objects and are present in those transparent things with its light and heat. If the sun had consciousness, and its heat were its power and its light were its knowledge and the seven colors had seven attributes, then the sun, which is an only one being, would be in all mirrors simultaneously. If everybody had a mirror, everybody could speak to the sun through their own mirrors. It could speak to each one at the same time, one would not prevent another. We would be far away from it but it would be near us.
Radio and television broadcasts, which have a weak manifestation of light, show us the ability to be in a lot of places at the same time. We should understand from these examples that there are no limits for luminous things. They may be present everywhere. Therefore angels, which are luminous beings, can be in a lot of places even if they are only one person. For instance, Azrael is only one angel but it takes souls everywhere. One does not prevent another.
All of the lights in the universe are a weak shadow of His name Noor (Light), He created all of the lights and one of His names is Noor; the fact that he is present everywhere and He is nearer to everything than everything can be understood to a certain extent through those examples.
6. Sources
The Quran.
Ajluni, İsmail b. Muhammed (d.1162/1749), Kashful-Hafa wa Muzilul-İlbas ammâ ishtahera mina’l-Ahâdîs alaAElsinat’n-Nâs, Beirut, (I-II), 1988.
Ahmad b. Hanbal (d.241/85), Musnad (I-VI), İst., 1992.
Bayhaqi, Ahmad b. al-Husayin (v.458/1066), Şuabu’l-İmân (I-VII), Beirut, 1990.
Bukhari, Muhammed b. İsmail (v.256/870), Sahîh (I-VIII), İst., 1992.
Dölek, Adem, Edebî Açıdan Hadîslerde Teşbîhler ve Temsîller, Istanbul, 2005.
Gölcük, Şerafettin-Toprak, Süleyman, Kelâm, Konya, 1996.
Haythami, Nuruddin Ali b. Ebî Bekr (d.807/1404), Majmauz-Zawaid wa Manbul- Fawaid (I-X), Beirut, ts.
Hizbu’l-Hakaiki’n-Nuriye, Hayrat Neşriyat, İst., ts.
Gümüşhânevî, Ahmed Ziyaeddin, Mecmûatu’l-Ahzab,
Ibnu Manda, Muhammad b. İshak b. Yahya (v.395/1004), Kitabu’l-Imân (Thk: Ali b. Muhammed b. Nâsır), (I-II), Beirut, 1985.
Ibnu Manzur, Muhammad b. Mukarram (v.711/1311), Lisanul-Arab (I-XV), Beirut, ts.
Muslim b. al-Hajjaj (d.261/874), Sahih (I-III), İst., 1992.
Nursî, B. Said (d.1960), Sözler, İst., 1996.
Nursî, B. Said. Kastamonu Lahikası, İst.,1995.
Nursî, B. Said. İşaratu’l-İ’câz, İst., 2003.
Nursî, B. Said. Mensevî-i Nuriye, İst., 1993.
Nursî, B. Said. Şuâlar, İst., 1997.
Nursî, B. Said. Lem‘âlar, İst., 1996.
Tabarani, Suleyman b. Ahmad (d.360/970), Mujamu’l-Kabîr, Sahab.org.
Tirmizi, Muhammad b. İsâ (v.279/892), Sünen (I-V), İst., 1992.
Yeğin, Abdullah, Yeni Lügat, İst., 1992.
Footnotes:
1. Nursi, B. Said. (Lem’alar) Flashes. Rnk Neşriyat. Istanbul, 2006, p.2002 etc.
2. Bayhaqi, I, 136; Ajluni, I, 311.
2. Bayhaqi, I, 136; Ajluni, I, 311.
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