KNOWLEDGE ON GOD

[People have invented false deities to worship. Such deities are physical and tangible beings such as the Sun, the Earth, a mountain, the wind, the fire, or an idol.] In addition to such tangible deities, some people have worshipped intangible entities. For instance, some worship their egos and selves. On this issue Imam Ghazali said, "If the veil of ignorance over the hearts of human beings were removed, if they saw the truth with sagacity, and if they were exposed to the truth, then most would realize that they unfortunately worship their own egos (nufûs) and follow the injunctions imposed by their very own egos."

Some worship money, position they hold, or fame. Each worships different entity. People hold different views on the concept of God, and their attitudes toward this concept are various. We may categorize them as follows:

1-Some deny the concept of God; we call them atheists.

2-Some never think about the concept of God; they enjoy the material life and seek means to fulfill their own desires and whims.

3-Some gives thoughts to this issue; however, they are not satisfied with what they find. Consequently, they lose their faith. The country they live in and the belief system in their surroundings have certainly an impact on them.

An atheist in a predominantly Muslim country has a different interpretation of atheism from those who live in other parts of the world such as India or Africa because each is surrounded by different faiths.

4-Some, following by logic and intellect, accept the existence of God. One of my students, who is presently a dean, devoted his dissertation to this issue and proved that scientifically the notion of atheism is unacceptable. Moreover, some may assert that they believe in God; however, they may not follow and may reject any particular religion saying they only believe in God.

5-Some follow a particular religion without questioning or critiquing. I remember one such individual who is also a scientist saying, "When I am in a laboratory, I do not think of religion, church or Bible. In contrast, when I am in the church, I am concerned with neither science nor laboratory." People like him can live in controversy without questioning the truth.

When we observe the belief systems in developed nations such as Japan, USA, and Europe, we realize how primitive their creed is and we cannot help ourselves thinking, "How come these scientifically advanced nations have primitive creed and beliefs?"

The Japanese worship sun and think their emperor is the son of the Sun. Similarly, Europeans believe in Trinity. Hence, we may ask if Jesus were God, then who was the God of people who lived prior to Jesus? How is it possible three becomes One and One becomes three? They live on without dwelling on these questions thinking that religion is a nostalgic, historic phenomenon and is the part of their cultural life. Celebrating some festivals such as Christmas and believing in Santa Clause suffice for them to maintain their ties with their religions.

6-Among the aforementioned people, there are some who are in a state of questioning, investigating, and searching. They feel that something is missing in their creed and realize that their hearts and minds are not satisfied. To satisfy this need they struggle to reform and do some renovations in their creed, leading to new sects and doctrines. For instance, few years ago in the United States, several hundred of the members of one such sect committed suicide. Similarly, last year in Sweden, a group burnt their luxury houses down and committed suicide. Jehovah witnesses say "we are reinterpreting Bible in an attempt to unite all religions that we know of." There is also a sect called Monism whose priest asserts he is doing people a favor by uniting different faiths.

Some find Buddhism and Hinduism exotic, express their interest in yoga and follow their teachings. Some express an interest in transcendental meditation. I myself saw these people in the street of Sweden holding bells in their hands and walking in the markets dressed in an Indian attire, apparently following the teachings of Krishna. These are all explorations that are of no avail.

7-Among all those, we see some people find the truth. These are serious investigators, reading seriously and have a solid state of mind. After thorough questioning they find the truth. For instance, a member of French Sciences Academia, Prof. Maurice Bukey is an example of this category.

A friend of mine who is a member of parliament narrated to us that one of his British friends ponders on finding a true religion and decides to travel to India. With all good intentions he sells all of his belongings, embarks on a journey to India to spend the rest of his life for the sake of God. However, on his way to India, when he was in Turkey, in his dreams he was inspired the fact "true religion is Islam" and he accepted Islam.

Just like this, there are some people who accepted Islam by inspirations in their dreams. For example, I remember reading such story in a book with regards to how a Nigerian priest, Utama, converted to Islam.

I know an Australian who converted to Islam to whom I asked, "how did you convert to Islam?" He replied, "Our prophet manifested himself to me in my dream, hence I became a Muslim."

I am narrating these facts to you to illustrate the fact that despite there are millions of people on earth, only few number of people are discovering the truth and the majority are in the pursuit of different wrong paths. Henceforth, the subject we dwell on is crucial.

This subject interests us from physical and spiritual stands as well as it is especially important for Muslims. I would like to outline the reasons here:

This issue is important even if we look at this subject from an atheist and materialist point of view. Above all, the concept of God and religion is an interesting subject that mesmerizes many individuals, and there is also a social aspect attached to it. Moreover, as we witness, it houses various contradictions and problems to which scientific attention should be given.

Having faith in God and being pious have many advantages to a society. For instance, the moral values stem from the religion. Furthermore, religion constitutes the foundation of moral and ethics. It also instills order in the hearts against anarchy, and finally it deters criminals and prevents infliction and oppression. I shall illustrate this by giving an example.

One of our brothers who was doing graduate studies told us that his daughter--a very smart girl--was elected as class president. Once students in her class were to be taken to a church, about which she informed her father. Her father said, "Do not go to the Church!" Then, by school authorities, her father was called and questioned why he would not let her daughter attend the church. He said, "I am a Muslim." In return school authorities replied, "Thank you very much for informing us, for we did not know you were a Muslim. Of course, your daughter does not have to attend church since you are Muslims. Our duty is to find a teacher and a mosque for your daughter. Since you did not let your daughter attend to a church, we thought you were holding an anti-religion position. That is why we wanted to have a talk with you."

We witness an interesting fact in child education; concept of moral, mercy, love and respect are attained at early ages, and religion plays an important role in fortifying these notions. Kids who do not attain these notions at early ages can find themselves in committing crimes at later times. The crimes committed by children at elementary, middle and high schools are usually associated with not attaining good moral values at early ages.

Going back to our case, the school management said to the father, "We just wanted to talk to you. We now know you are not against the religion, and we will do our best to find a mosque and a teacher for your daughter."

Here is another example: I met a Muslim in New York, who is paid by the US government to lead prayers and educate prisoners in jail. This makes sense to me because it is important to help prisoners ward off the psychology of guilt, rehabilitate and assimilate them in the society again. That is why the US government hires him.

Having faith in God has both sociological and individual advantages. It boosts an individual's inner good feelings and helps him overcome problems. For instance, it helps a person to overcome a sickness such as cancer since it psychologically fortifies the person's feelings. On the other hand, a person who lacks faith in God may commit suicide upon encountering difficulties, sickness and troubles.

Years ago, I met a Swedish chief police officer in Turkey. I remember him saying to me, "In Sweden we made all social rights available for the people; they have the freedom to do almost anything and high living standards that the rest of the world aspires. However, our nation is ranked number one in committing suicide. In contrast, your nation suffers poverty and adversaries of life, and still your people do not tend to commit suicide. I am here to investigate why it is so."

Furthermore, believing in God urges people to do charitable activities and spend money or donate property for charitable causes; henceforth, many high-cost institutions such as foundations, hospitals, and schools are made possible in the society without any burden on the government. For instance, during the Ottomans, the government would not allocate resources for such institutions just mentioned above. Such institutions were made possible through donations made by rich individuals. Likewise, in the USA we witnessed the same phenomena; in almost every country corner we saw similar institutions built by religious people. In a nutshell, from a financial point of view, the society benefits from the belief in God through charitable establishments that would worth a grand sum of money.

These are examples of how the belief in God and believers are beneficial to the society from a monetary point of view. A materialist mind cannot deny such benefits. Yet, these are not so important for the believers because they believe that this life is temporary. The material benefits of this world are not worth even a wing of a fly. What is important is the spiritual dimension of life. Having faith in God helps an individual prepare himself to the life in the hereafter, shield from the dangers of the hereafter, enter paradise, and embrace the happiness that will last forever.

It is reported that a disbeliever came to Omar ibn Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) and uttered some words to defend his denial. In return Omar replied: "You deny everything while I believe. I live a life in accordance with my belief. What I do is not harmful to myself to my family or to the society family, health and society. On the contrary, everybody benefits from what I practice. If we assumed that you were right and we denied God, then I would be losing nothing; however, what if I am right and there is God? What if there is a life in the hereafter? What would you do when you die? Then, you would be a loser."

There are various degrees of disbelief. One extreme is form of disbelief is atheism. Yet another form is shirk, i.e., associating godly attributes to beings along with God.

It is stated in the Holy Qur'an:

(Innallàha lâ yaghfiru an yushraka bihî wa yaghfiru mâ dûna dhâlika limen yashâ') "God does not forgive anyone for associating something with him, while He does forgive whomever He wishes to for anything besides that." God does not welcome individuals with corrupt creed. For instance, pagan Arabs had faith in God. When they encountered a danger in a raging sea churning with big waves, they used to turn to God with prayers. They would call angels as the daughters of God and used to believe that idols would intercede them with God when interrogated by God. Nevertheless, God likes neither atheist nor people who associate godly attributes to beings along with God. Hence, these types of people are deemed as disbelievers and will be tormented forever in hellfire. Consequently, one must possess faith in God in order to be shielded from hellfire.

It is extremely important for a Muslim to have correct form of faith in God. Having any flaws in belief in God is not like any other flaws or shortcomings in deeds or in manners. It harms an individual in many ways. A person may think he is a Muslim, yet his corrupted faith in God may take him out of Islam.

Our beloved Prophet (peace be with him) warned us about a form of shirk that is hidden. He also warned us about hypocrisy. That is why a decent Muslim should pay attention to knowledge of God and learn the true creed.

Muslims gain the knowledge on God through the Qur'an and tradition of our Prophet. To become a believer, one first should realize the perfect universe and contemplate about who the sustainer of this universe is. The Qur'an encourages us to ponder about this fact by the following verse: (Bismillâhir rahmânir rahîm) in the name of God, the most compassionate, the most merciful,

(Inna fî khalqis samâwâti wal ardi wakhtilâfil layli wan nahâri la-âyâtin li ulil albâb) "In the creation of heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day there are signs for men of understanding."

In another verse, similarly we are told (bismillâhir rahmânir rahîm) in the name of God, the most compassionate, the most merciful:

(Alam taraw kayfa khalaqallàhu seb'a samâwâtin tibâqà. Wa ja-alal qamara fîhinna nûran wa ja-alash-shamsa sirâcâ.) "See you not how Allah has created seven heavens in harmony, and has made the moon a light therein, and made the sun a lamp."

To inform us that the life is created by God, we have the verses;

(Wa ja-alnâ minal mâ-e kulla shay'in hayy, afalâ yu'minûn) "We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?"

(Afara-aytum mâ tumnûn. A-antum takhluqùnahû am nahnul khàliqùn) "Have you considered the seed you spill? Do you yourselves create it, or are We the Creators?" These verses and others make it clear that the universe and the life in the universe was created by God.

Moreover, by the following verses, God tells us all the knowledge has been granted by Him:

(Alladhî 'allama bil qalam. 'Allamal insâna mâ lam ya'lam) "[God is the most generous] who taught by the pen, taught man what he did not know."

In the surah Rahman, God reveals:

(Khalaqal insân. Allamahul bayân) "He has created man, taught him speech." By these verses God calls upon us to explore the universe and directs our attention to the fact that life was granted by Him.

All these revelations tell us that all human beings, even individuals who have never been introduced to prophetic message, never seen any holy scripture, who live even in the remotest corners of Amazon, so to speak, must admit the oneness and existence of God so that he/she may salvage himself/herself. Otherwise that individual shall be held responsible.

The Qur'an gives examples of claims of disbelievers and how their thought and sayings are groundless. For instance, the Qur'an narrates the story of Noah on how Noah conveyed the true message to his nation and how he struggled with them. Also, it explains how Moses tried to convince Pharaoh by presenting glad tidings and evidence of God, how Abraham told his father that he must not worship idols that he made with his very own hands, and how Abraham addressed his nation: "O my people, why do you worship these idols which cannot protect even themselves? I demolish them here, they were unable to guard themselves."

God also tells us in the Qur'an that He shall question Jesus as to "Did you preach Trinity to Christians?" In return Jesus would reply, "Nay, I did preach them nothing different from what you asked me to preach, and preached them to worship only you."

In surah Yasin, God narrates on what Habib-un Najjar told his people by presenting evidences when his people tried to assassinate messengers.

Henceforth, God unveils the thoughts of disbelievers and hypocrites by setting powerful examples so that we may learn what previous disbelievers had done was wrong and thus, we are satisfied with the examples set by God. Hence, we obtain true knowledge on God through that which can be called "the method of debate."

The Qur'an directly tells us on the true nature of God, our Prophet and his tradition, and how God would be pleased with us. From this stand, the Qur'an is the excellent treasure, which is beyond comparison and similar to nothing we know of.

The subject that the Qur'an dwells upon the most is the issue of Tawheed, which deals with oneness of God and how the correct creed should be. On this matter, Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said:

(Afdalu mâ qultu ana wan nabiyyûna min qablî lâ ilâha illallahu wahdahû lâ sharîkalah) "The most virtuous statement that I and previous prophets conveyed is the statement of 'There is no god but Allah, He is unique, and no partners can be associated with Him." Furthermore, the Qur'an stresses that God must be worshipped with a sincere heart.

Here, I would like to tell how a German theologian was affected by a surah in the Qur'an. He studied Christian theology, became a priest, and later on converted to Islam. A professor friend of mine told me that this German theologian would say, "There is no better text on earth than Surah Ikhlas to explain the attributes of God." He would weep every time he hears this surah recited.

The attributes God are called Al-Asma-ul Husna -- the most beautiful names. The Qur'an tells us about these names:

(Wa lillâhil asmâ-ul husnâ fad'ûhu bihâ) "His are the most beautiful names so call on Him by them."

In Arabic names and attributes may mean the very same thing. The best attributes and names belong to God. These beautiful names mean the most beautiful attributes of Allah, the perfect attributes without any defects or flaws. The Qur'an points to these attributes.

These names are countless. In Turkish we have saying that goes "for the sake of one thousand and one names of God." Of these names, 99 are mentioned in a hadith: "If someone memorizes them, he enters the paradise." These are indicated in different verses by which we learn that God is all knowing, all compassionate, and all merciful.

There are certain phrases we learn from the Qur'an and the tradition of our Prophet that we read in our prayers. These are embedded with significant meanings with regards to having faith in God. For instance, we say:

(Lâ ilâha illallah) "There is no deity but Allah" in our prayers, and we are told it is rewarding to keep saying these words.

Similarly, we say:

(Subhânallah) "We glorify Allah." He is all-perfect; He has no shortcomings.

(Alhamdu lillâh) "All praise belongs to Allah"; God created all beauties and things we were granted.

The following statement:

(Allahu akbar) "Allah is the greatest" indicates that He is superior to all beings and beyond comparison with anything.

(Lâ hawla wa la quwwata illâ billâh) "Power and authority belong to Allah." This statement is also called the pure tawheed, which is the key to everything.

(Hasbiyallah) "God enables us to cope with every kind of problem." Allah suffices for all difficulties.

(Tawakkaltu alallah) "In God we trust" means God will help when He is called upon. In a verse it is stated:

(Wa men yatawakkal alallàhi fa huwa hasbuh) "And whosoever puts his trust in God, He shall suffice him."

These phrases are the part of a Muslim's daily life by which a Muslim attains a clear belief of God. Through the Qur'an and tradition of the Prophet and prayers, a Muslim is fashioned with good manners, and conduct.

Every Muslim possesses a different level of faith, which is described in fine texts. The first step is to proclaim the tawheed, which is enough to be become Muslim, but it is not the whole. It is stated in the following verse:

(Qàletil a'râbu âmannâ, qul lam tu'minû walâkin qùlû aslamnâ walammâ yadkhulil îmânu fî qulûbikum.) "The desert Arabs say, 'We believe.' Say, 'You have no faith; rather say, "We have submitted our wills to Allah," For not yet has Faith entered your hearts.'"

This implies some came to the Prophet saying they just accepted Islam and became believers. Since they have not perfected their belief, they were told to say, "We have submitted our wills to Allah." Thus, believers are praised for their belief and referred as "those who believe in the unseen."

Through the knowledge on God, the faith of an individual will become stronger and stronger and reach the highest level, which is mentioned in the Qur'an and Hadith. The state of the individual advances to ('ilm-al-yaqîn) belief based on knowledge, ('ayn-al-yakîn) belief based on observation, (haqq-al-yaqîn) belief based on truth and finally (ihsân) perfection levels. In a hadith the level of ihsân is explained:

(Al-ihsânu an ta'budallàha ka-annaka tarâhu fa-in lam takun tarâhu fa-innahû yarâka) "The ihsân is to worship Allah as if you see Him. If you cannot achieve this state of devotion, then you must consider that He is looking at you." Each individual must aspire to reach the level of ihsân.

For a Muslim to gain knowledge on God, these issues are important. I would like to stress on these and direct your attention to these points. For a Muslim it is not enough to know God, His names, and read the Qur'an merely. The orientalists and Satan have the knowledge on God, Islam and the Qur'an as well. Jews and Christians who lived at time of Prophet Muhammad knew that the final prophet was about to appear. They were expecting it. They knew that Prophet Muhammad was a true prophet (kamâ ya'rifûna abnâ-ahum) "as they knew their own children." ["Those unto whom We gave the Scripture recognize this revelation as they recognize their sons. But a party of them knowingly conceals the truth."(Baqara:146)] They knew he was a true prophet; however, this knowledge did not help them become a Muslim. Knowledge is not enough, hence, knowledge on God should be engraved in individuals heart and love of God should be attained.

If God does not love someone, He does not guide him. It is stated in the Qur'an:

(Wallàhu lâ yuhibbuz-zàlimîn) "Allah loves not people who are unjust." Thus, God does not guide transgressors, because He does not love them. If one does not obey God, then he is not guided by God:

(Wallàhu lâ yahdil qawmaz-zàlimîn) "Allah guides not people who are unjust."

(Wallàhu lâ yahdil qawmal-fàsiqîn) "Allah guides not people who commit sins publicly."

In the light of these verses, one should steer clear of affliction, sins, and rebellion, and should pray with a sincere heart. Following on this, God tells us:

(Walladhîna jâhadû fînâ lanahdiyannahum subulanâ) "Those who strive in Our cause--We will certainly guide them to Our Paths."

There are some other conditions to be loved by God, which I shall outline here. God commands us to live with consciousness of God (taqwa) and sincere heart. He orders:

(Wattaqullàh wa yu'allimukumullàh) "Fear God, for He will teach you what you need."

(Wattaqullàha la'allakum tuflihûn) "Fear God so that you may reach the salvation."

It is not easy to know God very well. God Himself gives that knowledge. To gain knowledge on God, first one should have the awareness of God, i.e., taqwa. Having taqwa is a prerequisite for this. Then, one should purify and beautify his heart and have correct behavior. The Qur'an tells us:

(Qad aflaha men zakkâhâ. Wa qad khaba men dessâhâ.)"Prosperous is he who purifies it [his nafs], and failed has he who seduces it." If a person purifies his nafs, his soul, his heart, he will find salvation in the hereafter. If he fails to purify it, he will regret and fell sorry in the hereafter.

One should cleanse his heart because God does not value the shape, size, position, and financial power one may have; on the contrary, He values the good intentions, sincere heart, and righteous deeds.

Although we are at the end of our discourse, I would like to highlight an important issue. How can one cleanse his heart, have sincere heart, train his ego, and have good demeanor? This is the most important point to dwell on.

This is an independent research subject that needs to be explored, just like people concentrate on various research questions. For instance, a sister is doing research on weeds in farmland. Some are doing research on tomatoes; some, on beets. Just like this research, one has to do research on how one can learn and gain sincerity, train his ego, purify his heart, and correct his behavior. This knowledge should be acquired through practices so that one may learn it well.

This may be vague question for today's individuals; however, it was once studied well by our ancestors. In Islamic literature, we have various, valuable volumes of texts on this issue. To gain that knowledge, we need to read those books and digest them that require a long-term commitment. We know many people who committed ten, twenty, or thirty years on this.

Before wrapping up my discourse, I would like stress on a subtle point: One first should be loved by God, then He opens the heart of the servant for His love. Once, the love of God fills his heart, he can acquire taqwa, purity in his intentions, sincerity in his deeds and perfection in his conduct. This is the point that I am trying to make.

I thank you all, May Allah be pleased with you.

Peace be with you! As-salâmu 'alaikum wa rahmatullah!

August 1,1995

Champaign/USA