Who is Allah?
By Ammar AlShukry
All my life, I have lived amongst people who I have had to describe my Lord too. As a child in Kindergarten I would explain why I could not switch my tuna sandwich for someone else’s ham or salami. “Allah told us not to.” As a teenager I would explain why I would not drink alcohol or date girls, “I’m Muslim, our religion forbids, it, it isn’t allowed by Allah.” They would ask me, “Does Allah care, about whether or not you drink wine or water?”, “Why does Allah mention himself in the Quran so much.” Why does Allah say this, and why does Allah do that.” In the years that Islam has been in the national spotlight, you hear it on the News “Muslims praise Aala, believe in Aala.” Today for a little while, I am going to remind myself…and whoever cares to listen…who is Allah.
1) He is the Rabb of Everything: Light from the sun, 93 million miles away, takes eight minutes to reach us. Some stars that you can see with your eyes, are 5,000 light years away. Others in galaxies are 2.5 million light years. How vast is the creation of Allah, and how powerful is the creator?
He brings vegetation from the earth to feed cattle and livestock, the worms in the mud are provided for by Allah, the whale in the ocean, he provides for all of them just as he provides for you and I.
2) He knows all. He knows what has and what will happened, he even knows what didn’t happen, if it happened how it would happen.
59. and with Him are the keys of the Ghaib (all that is hidden), none knows them but He. and He knows whatever there is In (or on) the earth and In the sea; not a leaf falls, but He knows it. there is not a grain In the darkness of the earth nor anything fresh or dry, but is written In a clear Record.
I was in the Haram in Mekkah for hajj, and as I sat gazing at the ka’aaba, there were faces as far as the eye can see, so much so that my eyes could not capture them, they were a blur. But their hands were raised up, different individuals, each raising their hand to their Lord in prayer. And He was their Lord, as privately and intimately as He has been mine all my life. He has been there for all of their moments, their successes and their tragedies, their every breath, he understands their languages, knows their history, and is closer to each one of them then their jugular vein, just as He is to me.
Multiply that by six billion people, multiply that by the number of insects, mammals, fish and other creatures on this earth and beyond it. He is Rabb Al’Alameen.
And no affair distracts him from another, no matter their number. He is not touched by sleep nor slumber. He fixated the sun at a distance so perfect that if moved any closer the planet would burn, and if it were to move any further the earth would be frozen. He made water a source of life for every living thing, it is so gentle that it will not irritate the eyes, and so powerful that it destroys entire cities and civilizations. He made the night and day interchange, the day so that we could seek livelihood, and the night so that we could rest. And if these two blessings were taken away from us, we would not be able to bring it back.
Say (O Muhammad): “Tell me! If Allâh made night continuous for you till the Day of Resurrection, who is an ilâh (a god) besides Allâh who could bring you light? Will you not then hear?”Say (O Muhammad): “Tell me! If Allâh made day continuous for you till the Day of Resurrection, who is an ilâh (a god) besides Allâh who could bring you night wherein you rest? Will you not then see?” (Al-Qasas 71-72)
So for those who have certainty and faith, what they see in the earth and heavens are some of his many signs. Last year a volcanic cloud of ashes hovered over Iceland, causing the shutting down of airspace over all of Great Britain to as far as Ukraine. All over the world people were paralyzed from travel. One volcano. What about a day with the following description:
And they ask you concerning the mountains, say; “My Lord will blast them and scatter them as particles of dust. (Taha:105)
3) He is the forgiver of sins. He is Ar-Rahman, there is no one else who is more merciful to us than Allah. For no one in such a status would allow to be treated the way that we treat Him.
“There is no one who is more patient with evil that he has heard than Allah, they attribute a son to Him and He continues to give them health and sustenance.” (Bukhari)
They ask us who is Allah? We say he is Ar-Rahman. He is Al-Ghafoor, He is Al-Malik. He forgives and loves to forgive. He extends his hands during the day to accept the repentance of the sinner at night, and extends his hand during the night to accept the repentance of the sinner during the day. If you take a step towards him, he takes multiple steps towards you. So if you ever find yourself distant from Allah than ask yourself who moved?
Second Khutbah:
He is Allah and even the word God, becomes too small for Him. For He chose, out of all of the Beautiful names that are His, He chose one of them to be the direct indication of His Divine Essence. He is Allah. Those who are slaves to their desires believe he is the Lord who forbids, but He is the Lord that Gives.
Whoever seeks happiness in Him is the only one who tastes happiness, and whoever seeks it in other than him will only find fleeting pleasures, that they will continuously have to chase. Whoever seeks honor in him is honored, and whoever seeks assistance in Him is not in need of any other. And He at the same time is not in need of any assistance and is not benefited by our worship.
There is nothing that we can be, nor ever hope to be, no title that we can acquire, whether it be a title of father or mother, husband or wife, daughter or son, that can ever be more lofty, more pure, and more fulfilling than being the slave of such an excellent Master.
He is the only one worthy of our hope, love, fear and obedience.
So worship Him.
Al Muqarraboon 