the study and examination of the phenomena of the created universe and
the multiple forms and colorations of nature that can never be fully
described.
When we look at God's creation we find ourselves confronted with so
vast an energy that no limit can be imagined for it. A look at
creation and the millions of truths secreted in the wonders of nature
and the depths of man's own being provides the clearest indication of
the scale of the power of the One Who has created it, for the rich and
complex order of being admits of no other explanation.
It is God's incomparable power that compels man to bow humbly before
the Creator of this great scheme. There is no word to express the
dimensions of His power; that unique essence has much power that
whenever He wills a thing to come into existence, it suffices for the
command "Be!" to issue forth from Him and the object addressed will
be.
Quran says: "When He wills a certain thing, He commands it 'Be!' and
it is" (36:82)
The law expounded in this verse is the best indicator of Hislimitless
power and manifestationof His boundless power and splendor. It negates
any limit that might be set on God's power and proclaims the
inadequacy of all criteria and measures when confronted with this
divine law.
The champions of the natural sciences, the men of the laboratory,
despite all the advances they have achieved, have not yet gained
complete knowledge of the inner secrets of a single one among the
numerous and varied beings of the created universe. Nonetheless,
thepartial and defective knowledgethat man has acquired concerning a
few of the beings that exist in this world is enough for him to
realize with all his being that the great power that has created such
variety and abundance in the universe must be infinite.
Consider the range of His creation:tiny creatures and monstrous
beastswith strange appearances both dwelling in the depths of the
ocean;delicate and melodiousbirds with multicolored wings, the beauty
of which skilled artists imitate as an adornment to their craft; stars
that shine in the heavens and the sun that rises and sets;the dawn and
the moonlight; the planets, galaxies and nebula each of which
sometimes contains at its heart millions of great shinning stars
giddying in their apparent infinitude.
Does not a creation such as this, awe inspiring in its splendor,
indicate theinfinite power of its Maker? Can one disregard the power
of a Creator Who imparts such variety to life and made distinct,
finite forms of it appear in all this vast range of phenomena?
Now, given the fact that all these captivating forms of creation
ultimately arise from the atom, the question of being cannot be
explained except by reference to a guiding and infinite power. It is
He Who impels all things toward the assumption of life-giving form and
possesses the power and intelligence to plan and design this vast and
precise scheme.
Large and small, difficult and easy, are properties pertaining to
finite beings; in the infinite realm of God's essence and attributes,
there is no question of great and little, much and few.Impotence and
inabilityare caused by the finiteness of the energy at the disposal of
an agent, by the existence of an obstacle on his path, or by the
absence of means and instruments; they are inconceivable in the case
of an infinite power.
The Quran says:
"Nothing in the heavens or on earth can induce weakness or impotence
in God; indeed, God is all-knowing and all-powerful." (35:44)
God is capable of doing all things, He has created the world according
to a precise and specific scheme in the framework of which a set role
has been assigned to certain phenomena in the origination of others.
Those phenomena are completely and unquestioningly subordinate to His
command while fulfilling that role and never rebelling against His
orders in the slightest.
The Quran says:
"The sun, the moon and the stars are all at His command. Be aware that
creation belongs only to God; it is His penetrating command that in
its exalted purity creates the world and all it contains." (7:54)
Strictly speaking, no creature in the scheme of the universe can be a
manifestation of power or have any share in His will and command, for
just as God has no partner in His essence, so, too, He hasno partner
in His agenthood. Just as all creatures in the world lack independence
in their essence and are dependent on Him, they also lack it in
producing acts and effects. Every agent and cause derives the essence
of its being from God and also its power to act and produce an effect.
Whenever He wills and necessitates it, the order that encloses all
beings abandons its role, for that order is itself subordinate to His
will, precious and firm though it may be. The Creator Who has assigned
a particular effect to every factor and cause is able to neutralize
and suspend that effect at any instant. Just as one command brought
the order of the universe into existence, another command robs
phenomena of their customary effect.
Thus, theQuran says:
"They said, 'Burn Abraham and thus us render help unto your gods, if
you are men of action.' We commanded the fire, 'be cool for Abraham
and harm him not.' They sought a stratagem against him, but We made
them the losers." (21:68-69)
Although the powerful attraction exerted by the sun and the earth
prevails over a vast space, both bodies are subordinate to His will.
As soon as He gives a little bird the necessary power, the bird is
able to resist the pull of the earth and take flight.
The Quran says:
"Do they not look at the birds in the heavens and see how the skies
have been subjugated to them? It is God alone Who keeps them aloft,
and in this there is an evident sign of God's power for the people off
faith." (16:79)
Whateverphenomenonmay be imagined to exist in the world of being finds
its needs for sustenance and life met by the Creator. Therefore,
whatever power and capacity is found in the scheme of creation must
necessarily go back to the infinite power of God. Ali, peace be upon
him, him, the Commander of the Faithful, says in a sermon reproduced
in the Nahj al Balaghah:
"O God, we cannot penetrate the depths of Your splendor and majesty.
We know only that You are living and self-subsistent, that You are
exempt from eating and sleeping. No mind can perceive You and no eye
can see You. But You see all eyes, You know the life span of all
things, and You are all-powerful.
Although we have perceived nothing of Your creation, we are astounded
by Your power and praise You mightily. That which is hidden from us
and our eyes cannot see and our mind and intelligence cannot attain,
which is concealed from us by veils of the unseen, is much greater
than what we can see ..."
When man decides to build something, for example, a hospital, he
assembles the necessary tools and pieces of equipment that do not have
any essential relationship with each other, and, then, connects them
with each other by means of a series of artificial relationships in
order to reach his goal.
In order to create such artificial relationships, he makes use of
different forces and object that he finds to be already existing. His
work and activity are a part of the system of creation; they are not
properly speaking creative activity, but only a form of motion that
takes place within existing objects.Divine creationforms a quite
different category from the production of artificial relationships
between unrelated objects. God originates things with all their
properties, forces and energies and characteristics.
One whose heartbeats with the love of Godand flows over withbelief in
the Creator of all beingwill never be discouraged lonely and hopeless
even in the midst of the most complex difficulties. Whatever deed he
undertakes he does so in the consciousness of being in the protective
shade of a supreme power that can make him triumph over all
difficulties.
A man who is aware of God and knows that he enjoys His support can
resist and endure all kinds of hardship. Difficulties are for him like
foam on swift vanishing foam on the face of the waters.
The fire that burns within him becomes ever brighter and he emerges
stronger than ever from the crucible of hardship. Throughout the toils
he endures, he is comforted and strengthened by God's kindness and
favor, and it is this that forms the true motor of his
activity.Failure does not blockhis path and cause him to surrender;
instead, with sincere intention and diligent effort, he continues his
strivings until final victory.
He understands well that his effortscannot remain fruitlessand that
victory goes to the deserving. Whenever He wills, God takes the hand
of the fallen and the oppressed who have no refuge other than Him and
raises them up to the apex of power. Sometimes, too, He rubs in the
dust of humiliation and disaster the noses of the powerful and
arrogant oppressors who believe only in violence and the logic of
force and treat men as if they were worthless.
How many arrogant tyrants have been cast down by disaster in the
course of human history, sinking and vanishing in a tempest of shame!
The story ofGod's messengersrepresents in itself a complete and ideal
model of human values. We all know how the messengers stood alone
against the oppressive forces of their day in order to guide men to
salvation, reform their society, and inculcate lofty values in them.
In doing so, they lit the first spark that ultimately
destroyedpolytheism
The response aroused by their beliefs caused such a positive tumult
that they were able to change the face and direction of history. They
laid the foundations ofmonotheistic worship and established the
principles of virtuein the most comprehensive way. Who can deny the
role played by their devotion and faith in the untiring struggle they
waged? How far can will power alone take man, and how much can it
enable him to endure and sacrifice? A cursory review of the proud
history of the Prophets' lives enables us all to behold, in the most
vivid fashion possible, the sincerity and devotion they displayed,
their mercy and forbearance, and their intense desire to guide and
reform men. Thefundamental secretof their success was the fact they
never thought of themselves for a single instant; they sincerely
renounced their own beings, making them a gift to God's cause. God
then responded by bestowing immortality and everlasting fame on them.
Allah is the proper name of God, however, we know Him generally
through His attributes. These attributes describe how Allah manifests
Himself to us (also see Attributes of Allah). God's attributes are
innumerable since human intellect cannot possibly comprehend every
aspect of the Supreme Being. A Hadith of the Holy Prophet (peace be on
him) makes mention ofNinety Nine names of Allahcommonly known asAl-
Asmaul Husna, the Most Names.
In theHoly Quranwe read:
"And to Allah alone belong all perfect attributes. So call Him by
these.And leave alone those who deviate from the right way with
respect to His Attributes." (7:181)
"Allah - there is no God but He, the Living, the Self-Subsisting and
All-Sustaining. Slumber seizes Him not, nor sleep. To Him belongs
whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth. Who is he
that will intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what
is before them and what is behind them; and they encompass nothing of
His knowledge except what He pleases. His knowledge extends over the
heavens and the earth; and the care of them burdens Him not;and He is
the High, the Great." (2:256)
"Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The similitude of
His light is a lustrous niche, wherein is a lamp. The lamp is in a
glass. The glass is as it were a glittering star. It is lit from
blessed tree - an olive - neither of the east nor of the west, whose
oil would well-nigh glow forth even though fire touched it not.Light
upon light! Allah guides to His light whomsoever He will. And Allah
sets forth parables to men, and Allah know all things full well.This
light is now lit in houses with regard to which Allah has ordained
that they be exalted and that His name be remembered in them, Therein
is He glorified in the mornings and the evenings" (24:36-37)
"He is Allah, and there is no God beside Him, the Knower of the unseen
and the seen. He is Gracious, the Merciful.He is Allah, and there is
no God beside Him, the Sovereign, the Holy One, the Source of Peace,
the Bestower of Security, the Protector, the Mighty, the Subduer, the
Exalted. Holy is Allah far above that which they associate with Him.He
is Allah, the Creator, the Maker, the Fashioner. His are the most
Beautiful Names. All that is in the heavens and the earth glorifies
Him, and He is the Mighty the Wise." (59: 23-25)
Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: The Holy Prophet
(Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said,
"Allah has ninety nine Names, one hundred less one; and who memorized
them all by heart will enter Paradise." (Bukhari, The Book of Tauhid)
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