Our Ideal… ALLAH.
I
have been writing previously about Allah
that He alone has created the universe without any existing material or pattern.
He brought the universe in to existence from nothing. The Quran knows the
limitations of the finite human mind that it cannot understand the infinite, which
is why the Quran does not give any description of what Allah is made of. The
Quran describes His personality by His attributes. In the Quran ninety-nine attributes
of Allah are given. I have written about some of them. In this essay I want to
explain the reason for mentioning His attributes.
The theory of evolution tells us that the life on our
planet appeared in a very primitive form and kept evolving till it reached the
human beings. The human species is like the animal species in many ways; but humans
were infused with a tiny bit of divine energy known as nafs, which is not
governed by physical laws. For a healthy existence, human beings need all material
necessities provided by Allah, but unlike animals where all the matters are
decided by Allah, the humans must choose for themselves. The freedom to choose
is a new aspect of human life, which is not given to any other species on this
planet.
The animal life is fully controlled by the
laws of nature; whatever they eat and howsoever they procreate is controlled by
the laws of nature; a lion with all his strength cannot eat grass, similarly an
elephant cannot eat meat when he is very hungry. The laws of nature completely
regulate their lives. There is no concept of right or wrong in animal life, a
cow cannot distinguish between her field or the field of her neighbor, she is
driven by her instinct and that is hunger, she must quench her hunger by any
means available to her.
Human life is different, they are given
reason along with instincts, they can think, ponder, and reflect upon the
consequences of their actions. Reason can point out the result of their
actions, but it cannot force them to act in an appropriate manner. Allah has
created all the means that are necessary for existence and development of life in
planet earth. Earth which is the main source of raw material is not created by
any animal or humans. This is a gift from Allah which all living beings have
acquired without any effort or arduous work. Moreover, all that is necessary to
get any yield from the harvest such as change of climate, water, change of
weather and wind all are provided without any cost.
Allah is managing the whole universe
through laws, sun, moon, and all planets are following a certain pattern, it is
not in their power to change or alter it. The guidance is innate in them, which
is known as instinct, and they are vigorously following it. This guidance is
known as nature, and nature is the unchanged code of living under which
everything except human species lives. It is not in the power of a duck to
refuse swimming, likewise a lion cannot climb a tree. On the contrary, no such
restrictions are imposed upon humans, they are not given any unbreakable nature.
Allah has withdrawn His control from them, and human beings can change or alter
their manner of life.
The creator –who has given the guidance to
all the universe—could not leave the humans without it. For human beings, the
guidance of Allah comes in the form of revelation. Allah reveals the truth to a
chosen individual, and he tells the other fellow humans about it. In this way
their freedom of choice is not compromised. Human beings are shown two ways of
living, signposts are fixed on every crossing pointing out clearly the right or
wrong directions; the humans can adopt what they choose, but they cannot
control the result which follows their actions. The actions result will follow
the law; constructive work must give constructive results, and evil action will
yield destructive results. This immutable and permanent law is the law of requital.
The existence of all living species
depends on the means of sustenance that are scattered in the universe by Allah.
Animal life and growth depends on the things they eat. Human physical life and
growth also depend on the food they consume; but they are given a self that
needs growth and development. How can we develop the self that is given in an
undeveloped form? The law is that unlike physical existence, which depends on
what we consume ourselves, it develops and integrates on what we give to
others. In the words of Jesus Christ, it is like a small muster seed
which has the propensity to grow and yield fruit; but, without nourishment it
disintegrates.
All the attributes of Allah, except
some, can be acquired by human beings. Allah is infinite and his attributes are
infinite also; a human being is finite and can acquire these attributes up to
finite capacity of human level. Allah is Aleem He
knows everything in the past,
present, and future. With the advancement of science humans are more
knowledgeable in many fields but their knowledge is limited. it cannot be
unlimited like Allah. Allah is superior to us, and He alone is capable of being
our ideal. In the Quran His attributes are given at the end of many ayahs,
we can seek guidance from them; for example, Aziz is an attribute of
Allah –which means powerful and dominant -- Nowhere is it mentioned that He is
weak, so we must try to be strong as individuals and as a nation.
The difference between Quranic and
materialistic concept of life is that for a materialist life is the life of
physical body, which grows and decays according to physical laws. The end comes
when it stops working. Death is end of this drama. The Quranic concept is that
human life consists of two things, physical body and self. The self is not
governed by physical laws; therefore, it lives after the decay of body. The
development of self begins by obeying values; the values are not man made; they
are given by revelation, which is in the Quran.
The preservation of body and development
of nafs both are important. This goal of peaceful existence can be attained
only in a society; that is why all the prophets had tried to establish a just
society so that attributes of Allah manifest themselves in a concrete form. Allah
is raziq—provider of sustenance—this society which is formed on His name
must provide —the means to develop body and self --for every individua
living in that society. Allah is everywhere in the universe, but we cannot see
Him; what we can observe is His universe where His laws are working in perfect
harmony. We can draw guidance from His concrete work, and His attributes. His
attributes are known as Asma -ul-husna, which means that they have
complete balance in them.
Allah
is not praising Himself when He give His attributes to humanity, He is giving
directions for human development, for individuals and society. These are not
only for reflection and contemplation; but also, for establishing in the
society. The Quran says, Adopt the color of Allah; what can be more beautiful
than His color, (2:138). His color is His attributes, with obeying His directions
we can enter in a program which is good and beneficial to all humanity.
