The Understanding of Deity in Islam
In the understanding of deity in Islam, Allah has the absolute power, strength and knowledge. He is omnipotent. He administrates everything directly; His deeds and actions in the universe take place every moment and they are continuous. Allah does not need anything; everything needs Him. He created everything. He was not created because what is created is a creature; it cannot be a deity1.
Nursi, an Islamic scholar, attracts attention to the fact that the attributes of Allah originate from His personality. He explains it with the attribute of power. According to him, His attribute of power is the necessity of His existence and it originates from His personality. In the absence of that attribute, he cannot be a deity. As a matter of fact, the created creatures are not like that. Since their attributes do not originate from their personality, the lack of any attribute does not necessitate the non-existence of that being. For instance, a person who lacks the attribute of power, that is, a weak person, still has the attributes of man.
Since the attribute of the Creator originates from His personality, the opposite of that attribute does not exist there. Accordingly, the opposite of power is weakness and a Creator, who has power, cannot be weak. According to Nursi, if weakness exists there, weakness and power will exist at the same time. It means the existence of two opposites at the same time. That is, that deity has absolute power and he is weak, not able to do anything. It is logically impossible.
That is, when an attribute originates from the personality, the opposite of that attribute will not be able to enter there. When the opposite is not there, there will be no grading. Then, there is no grading in the attribute of power. According to Nursi, that there is no grading in power makes the beings equal before that divine power. There is no difference between the smallest and the biggest, between few and many. The administration of an atom and a star is equal for that power. The power Allah spends for lifting an atom is the same as the power He spends for administrating or lifting a star or the whole universe because there is no weakness in His power. Therefore, there is no difference between creating a flower and creating a spring (season) for Allah because there is no weakness in His power. Accordingly, there is no difference between creating a flower and creating a spring. There is no difference between creating an atom and the whole universe, including Paradise and Hell, for Him.
According to Nursi, all of the attributes of Allah originate from His personality just like that attribute of power. That is, it is the necessity of His existence. For instance, the attribute of seeing originates from His personality, too. The opposite of that attribute, not seeing cannot be thought of a deity. Therefore, Allah sees all of the realms just like He sees an atom. He administrates all of the being as easily as He administrates an atom. There is no difference between big and small, and few and many in His sight2.
According to the Islamic resources, all of the beings in the universe are under the command and control of Allah. Nursi explains it as the manifestation of the name al-Qayyum (the Self-Existing One) of Allah. According to him, Allah sustains and controls the whole universe. Nothing can be out of His sight even for a moment. When the electricity that makes a factory work is cut off, the factory stops working; similarly, if the administration and control of Allah stops for a moment, everything becomes upside down; and the universe falls to pieces. According to him, just as the spirit of man takes care of the body at all times, so too does Allah have everything in the universe in His sight; Allah hears all of the sounds and sees all of the beings at the same time no matter whether they are far or near, big or small; He sends all of them to help a being3.
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Footnotes:
1: Tatlı, Â. İnsanlık Tarihi Boyunca Evrim. Ufuk yayınları, İstanbul, 2010
2-Nursi, B. S. Sözler. Envar Neşriyat, İstanbul, 1996, p. 526.
3-Nursi, B. S. Lem’alar. rnk Neşriyat, İstanbul, 2006, p. 385.
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