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"Bachelors are unmarried. Nothing in observation can challenge that. It is something that's not based upon observation. The circle is not square. And so on."
"In the same way, the faith in the Qur'an stems from the fact that the Creator challenges us to find any faults that we did not find."
"The Qur'an rejects blind faith by following the religion of the ancestors."
"These important points that the Qur'an presented, and many important points in the sayings of the Messenger, peace be upon him, give us a strong evidence and certainty that this Qur'an is from God."
Accordingly, if a person comes up with something related to science, I say to him:
You have come up with something related to scientific research, which is theoretical but has not yet been proven, and I have strong deductive evidence. Therefore, what motivates me in this case to believe something empirical and leave an accurate text according to my earlier explained factors. All that I can say is: that maybe what you came up with is correct.
This philosophical criterion has nothing to do with religion. It applies even to non-religious matters that are based on reliable textual evidence, any opinion cannot be challenged by scientific theories.
The researcher continues:
“For example, there is a great debate among philosophers about human rationality and logic.
Where did human rationality come from? How does inanimate matter affect tangible matter and lead to rationality? Nothing comes out of nothingness. How do we get our rationality from irrationality?”
The believer says in this case that the Creator created the universe and its contents. The Creator gifted humans with this rationality to give them the ability to distinguish between right and wrong.
While from the natural perspective of an atheist, there is no reason to believe in rationality.
The atheist philosopher "Thomas Nagel," despite his atheism, had the same position as the believer. He has written a book called "Mind and Cosmos," published by Oxford University.
Thomas said:
"Nothing that Darwinian-thinking evolutionary biologists do makes me change my mind to accept it. I have deductive evidence that the human mind can be logically trusted."
He says:
"The Darwinian claim that life came from random mutations and genetic errors to give us a chance of survival is worthless. "
He also said:
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" You may live on false beliefs without being able to differentiate between right and wrong based on this theory."
We understand from the above that Darwin's theory for the philosopher "Thomas" contradicts his belief that his mind is trustworthy.
He formally rejected Darwin's theory because it did not reach the strength of his deductive evidence.
There is a consensus among scholars and philosophers of modern science that empirical science is inductive. It does not depend on textual evidence.
They know that religious, metaphysical doctrines can be arrived at by deduction.
For example, we are all sure that our world is real. No one can prove this fact using an experiment. This fact is a metaphysical belief that science depends on but cannot prove.
The Qur'an: Between the Past and Future Predictions
An American once asked me: Many scholars say that every age should write history from its point of view; Because the appreciation of each era for what is important and meaningful to it differs from the assessment of the other age. Each generation tries to see the past through its interests and the prevailing ideas.
I said to him: This is true, but this does not negate that events have one reality, whether we like it or not. The history of human beings that is subject to distortion and inaccuracy of events and is based on whims is not like the historical documentation of the Lord of the universe, which is very accurate past, present, and future, because He is the witness to it.
God said:
The Romans have been defeated in a nearby land. Yet following their defeat, they will triumph. within three to nine years. The ˹whole˺ matter rests with Allah before and after ˹victory˺. And on that day the believers will rejoice60.
These verses talk about the defeat of the Byzantines at the hands of the Persians in the Battle of Antioch. It was a promise to the Muslims that the defeat would turn into a victory for the Byzantines in a few years. Their victory was necessary for the Muslims because the Romans were Christians and were considered followers of a heavenly religion. In contrast, the Persians were followers of
60 (Qur’an. Sura Ar-Rum. 30:2-4).
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Zoroastrianism, a pagan religion. The battle took place in the area around the Dead Sea (it is located in the Jordan Valley). Today, the satellites observed that the area around the Dead Sea, which is the closest to the lands occupied by the Romans at that time, is also the lowest on earth.
The only possible explanation is that the Prophet Muhammad received a divine revelation from God, the Creator of the universe. About seven years after the revelation of these verses, God's promise of victory for the Romans in the Qur'an was miraculously fulfilled.
Dr. Gary Miller (Abdulahad Omar), a mathematician, Christian theologian, and former missionary, says 61:
"Every author begins his book by apologizing for the mistakes that occurred in his book, and there is no author in the world who dares to write a book and then say: This book is free of errors, but the Qur'an, on the contrary, begins in Surat Al-Baqarah with the challenge of being free of errors."
This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allah62.
The case of authorship applies to all holy books of people of other faiths, except for the Qur'an, for example, Many writers continued writing the Old Testament. The last was the writer of the Second Maccabees Conclusion [15/39-40], the last Book of the Catholic Old Testament.
He said:
"Which if I have done well, and as it becomes the history, it is what I desired: but if not so perfectly, you must pardon me. It is always harmful to drink wine, or always water, but pleasant to use sometimes the one, and sometimes the other. So, if the speech is always nicely framed, it will not be grateful to the readers. But here it shall be ended."
In an interpretation of the book "Songs of Songs," we read in its introduction:
"Who composed it and when? Why was it collected? If it is true that its presence in the Bible law was only a coincidence, how did it gain its place? It even found its role in the Jewish Passover rank later! It's difficult to determine the page order of the Book with repeated verses, topics, pictures, and situations…."
As for the New Testament: It is just written stories.
Luke says in the introduction to his Gospel (1/1-4):
"Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us. They were handed down to us by those who were eyewitnesses and servants of the word from the first.
61 The Amazing Qur'an. Dr. Gary Miller.
62 (Qur’an. Sura Al-Baqarah.2:2).
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With this in mind, since I have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught."
This text states:
● Luke reminds people to "compose" stories about (biography) of Jesus and their point of view.
● Luke's goal was to write a letter to his friend "Theophilus" to know the certainty of the words.
● Luke declares that he did not see Christ, as he is only the reporter.
God said:
Then do they not reflect upon the Qur'an? If it had been from [any] other than Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction63.
Gary Miller says after reading this verse from Surah An-Nisa:
"One of the well-known scientific principles at present is finding errors or investigating errors in theories until they are proven correct. The amazing thing is that the Qur'an has been calling Muslims and non-Muslims to find errors in it 14 centuries ago."
Miller says:
"There is no book in the so-called religious scriptures that speaks in this way. All the other books are a collection of information. These books always tell you if you want more information, you can read Book X or Book Y because this information came from it."
And he says:
"Unlike the Qur'an, which supplies the reader with the knowledge, then it tells you this is new information and even asks you to verify it if you are hesitant about the authenticity of the Qur'an. This way of challenge cannot be from a human mind. The astonishing thing about the matter is the people of Makkah at that time, used to hear it and hear the challenge, despite that they never said: This is not new information. They never said: We know from where Muhammad came with this information."
The funny thing is that the leader of the Jehovah's Witnesses and leader Charles Russell predicted the end of the world in 1914, and that was based on a prophecy in the Old Testament. When the year passed and the world still existed, he extended the matter to the following year and then to
63 (Qur’an. Sura An-Nisa.4:82).
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1918. Then his successor extended the prophecy Until 1925; despite the successive failure of these prophecies, the group maintained its cohesion thanks to its enormous financial capabilities64.
Religious leader William Miller claimed by preaching in 1831 that the end of the world as we know it would occur with the second coming of Jesus Christ in 1843. It attracted 100,000 followers who believed they would be taken to heaven on the alleged date. When a prediction of 1843 failed to materialize, Miller recalculated and decided that the world would indeed end in 1844. The follower, Henry Emmons, wrote: "I have waited every Tuesday, and dear Jesus has not come. I prostrated for two days without any pain, sick with disappointment.65”
Has witnessed the far and near to the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Qur'an.
The Messenger of the Creator said:
When Khosrau perishes, there will be no (more) Khosrau after him, and when Caesar perishes, there will be no more Caesar after him. By Him in Whose Hands Muhammad's life is, you will spend the treasures of both of them in God's Cause66.
The matter took place exactly as he said, peace be upon him, for there was no other Chosroes after Khosrow. When Caesar's state was destroyed, no other state replaced it.
And he said:
You will attack Arabia, and Allah will enable you to conquer it, then you would attack Persia, and He would make you conquer it. Then you would attack Rome, and Allah will enable you to conquer it67.
It is known that Egypt was one of the countries of the Romans. The Prophet Muhammad spoke about the conquest of Egypt specifically. He urged for kindness to its people in honor of Hagar, the mother of the Prophet Ishmael and the wife of the Prophet Abraham, as she was from the land of Egypt. He informed that the people of Egypt would embrace Islam and help control the land.
The Prophet said: You will conquer Egypt, a land where Qirat (a measure of weight and area) is used. When you conquer that land, you have to treat its people kindly since they have a right of kinship upon you. And when you see two persons fighting for the space of a brick, then get out of that 68. 64 Penton, M. J. "Apocalypse Delayed the Story of Jehovah's Witnesses." 2nd ed. ed. Toronto, Ont.; Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997. 45-46. Print.
65 https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/denominationalfounders/william-miller.html
66 (Sahih Muslim).
67(Sahih Muslim).
68 (Sahih Muslim).
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No Assignment Beyond Capacity
A Japanese Buddhist once told me:
Buddha's teachings depend entirely on non-violence towards any creature. Therefore, Buddhism does not adopt the concept of retribution like Islam.
There is ˹security of˺ life for you in ˹the law of˺ retaliation, O people of reason, so that you may become mindful ˹of Allah˺69.
And he said: Buddhism encourages its followers to refrain from harming, injuring, or killing other creatures. The criminal's punishment should be rehabilitation only.
Then he said: Buddha said:
"If someone offends me, I will repay him with love on my part. The more evil on his part, the more goodwill on my part."
The Japanese also said: It is not permissible for a Buddhist monk to kill, even in self-defense.
Buddha said: "If Bandits cut you off with a two-bladed saw, and you just think to respond to the aggression, then you have not followed my teachings in this case."
I said to him: Imagine that you went home and found your whole family murdered by a person. Then that person was arrested and put in prison for a specific period, eating and enjoying the prison facilities you are funding through the taxes you are paying.
How would you tolerate this?! You will probably either end up going insane or falling into an addiction to forget your pain. If this same situation happened in a country practicing Islamic legislation, the case would be completely different.
The murderer will be brought in front of the family of the murdered. They will decide whether to take revenge through retribution, which is justice itself or take the "Deyaa," which is the money that the murderer must pay for intentional killing to the family of the murdered, or give pardon, which is much favored as mentioned in the Qur'an.
God said:
…But if you pardon (them) and overlook, and forgive (their faults), then verily God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful70.
And said:
69 ( Qur’an. Sura Al-Baqarah. 2: 179).
70 (Qur’an. Sura Al-Taghabun. 64: 14).
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.. But if the offender is pardoned by the victim's guardian, then blood-money should be decided fairly and payment should be made courteously. This is a concession and a mercy from your Lord. But whoever transgresses after that will suffer a painful punishment71.
I also said:
Concerning the love of enemies, there is no assignment beyond capacity according to the world constitutions.
God said:
Allah does not require of any soul more than what it can afford… 72.
God also said:
So be mindful of Allah to the best of your ability, hear and obey, and spend in charity—that will be best for you. And whoever is saved from the selfishness of their own souls, it is they who are ˹truly˺ successful73.
The Creator knows what man is capable of because He is his Creator and knows his nature.
God said:
Does the one who created all creation not know of the secret and that which is more inconspicuous than the secret? He is The Kind to His servants; The Aware of their affairs. Nothing is hidden from Him in that regard74.
Scientifically, it is impossible to control hate and love emotions. Man has been naturally disposed to love who does good to him and hate who harms him.
Does a person love who killed his son or who raped his wife?
Islam offered us a logical alternative to the commandments of Buddha:
God said:
O, believers! Stand firm for Allah and bear true testimony. Do not let the hatred of a people lead you to injustice. Be just! That is closer to righteousness. And be mindful of Allah. Surely Allah is All-Aware of what you do75.
In the sense that a person's hostility should not lead us to wrong him, but treat everyone with justice.
71 ( Qur’an. Sura Al-Baqarah.2 :178).
72 (Qur’an. Sura Al-Baqarah.2: 286).
73 (Qur’an. Sura Al-Taghabun. 64: 16).
74 (Qur’an. Sura Al-Mulk.67: 14).
75 ( Qur’an . Sura Al-Ma’idah.5 :8).
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Islam does not require us to love who wrongfully assaults us but instead asks us not to oppress him.
God said:
O believers! Stand firm for justice as witnesses for Allah even if it is against yourselves, your parents, or close relatives. Be they rich or poor, Allah is best to ensure their interests. So do not let your desires cause you to deviate ˹from justice˺. If you distort the testimony or refuse to give it, then ˹know that˺ Allah is certainly All-Aware of what you do76.
For example, I remember that I liked someone's book very much. I was sure of this book's usefulness to humanity.
I was subjected to a great injustice by this writer to the point that I cried.
Someone took advantage of this situation and asked me to vote against the book as I was a committee member to accept the oppressor's book to ensure the publication.
So I remembered this noble verse:
O, believers! Stand firm for Allah and bear true testimony. Do not let the hatred of a people lead you to injustice. Be just! That is closer to righteousness.
Then, I voted for his book. This is what makes me proud of the teachings of my great religion.
Almighty said:
Good and evil cannot be equal. Respond ˹to evil˺ with what is best, then the one you are in a feud with will be like a close friend77.
Did religion come to provide man honorable or humiliating life? A person is honored by practicing his religion. Do I apply my religion to get humiliated?
God's commands are a source of honor and dignity.
God says:
... but do not exceed the limits. Allah does not like transgressors78.
But before that, stand up, and don't let anyone insult you.
Fight in the cause of Allah ˹only˺ against those who wage war against you,...79.
Self-defense is a universally legitimate right. The penalty for Killing in self-defense is reduced according to man-made laws.
76 (Qur’an. Sura Al-Nisa.4: 135).
77 (Qur’an. Sura Fussilat.41: 34).
78 (Qur’an. Sura Al-Baqarah.2: 190).
79 (Qur’an. Sura Al-Baqarah.2: 190).
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God said:
You ˹believers˺ will surely be tested in your wealth and yourselves, and you will certainly hear many hurtful words from those who were given the Scripture before you and ˹from˺ the polytheists. But if you are patient and mindful ˹of Allah˺—surely this is a resolve to aspire to80.
God also said:
The reward of an evil deed is its equivalent. But whoever pardons and seeks reconciliation, then their reward is with Allah. He certainly does not like the wrongdoers81.
And said:
Be gracious, enjoin what is right, and turn away from those who act ignorantly82.
The questioner said: Indeed, the teachings of your religion are tremendous and logical.
He continued: Buddha warned us of bad intentions in requesting things, by the human desire for the empowerment of oneself. A corrupt purpose controls a person's demand for something. In this case, a person does not get a clear intent between the goal he seeks and conceals and the goals that push him, but he still can't achieve them. Therefore, he is forced to hide his desire to achieve them.
I said: This is what the final Messenger Muhammad said:
The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions. Every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So, whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for 83.
Buddhists Pope's Testimony & the Absolute Truth
The "Dalai Lama" is considered the Pope of the Buddhists, so to speak, just as Francis is the Christian Pope. His word is heard not only in Tibet but throughout the Buddhist world.
This religious leader believes that the specificity of Islam that distinguishes it from others lies in the solid relationship that binds the Muslim to his Lord. The divine transcendence is accompanied by God's closeness to the believer, as the Qur'anic verse says:
80 (Qur’an. Sura Al-Imran.3:186).
81 (Qur’an. Sura Al-Shura. 42:40).
82 (Qur’an. Sura Al-A'raf.7: 199).
83 (Sahih Al-Bukhari).
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Indeed We have created man, and We know whatever thoughts his inner self develops, and We are closer to him than (his) jugular vein84.
Thus, God is near and far at the same time. Islam requires its adherents to believe in God's infinite and eternal nature. Every depiction of God is forbidden because that encourages the worship of idols, which Islam forbids. Therefore, there are no pictures in Muslim places of worship. One of the features of this religion is that the Muslim completely surrenders himself to the Divine Will and submits to it without discussion. Hence the word "Islam."
But the important thing about Islam that caught the attention of the "Dalai Lama" is the emphasis in the Holy Qur'an on mercy and tolerance. He was surprised that every Surat of the Qur'an starts with this verse: "In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful."
However, the current image of this religion is that it is a religion of cruelty, violence, and terror! Why? Before the "Dalai Lama" answers this question, we note that he stops at Surat Al-Fatihah (the opening); even mentions it fully translated. He expresses his admiration for the words "The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful" mentioned more than once.
The "Dalai Lama" stops at this point more than others because the concept of pity or compassion is the principal value in the Buddhist religion to which he belongs. As he said, a faith that calls for compassion and mercy for people and creatures can only be great.
From here came the secret of his admiration for Islam, his surprise and astonishment when he got to know it for the first time.
He believed that it was a religion of violence, beating, and killing, so he found the exact opposite. He says that he only discovered Islam late, and he was surprised by what he found and admired him most. His first visit to an Arab Muslim country was in 2005 when he was welcomed with open arms in Jordan. He was impressed by the call to prayer, which is very loud from the mosques.
On one occasion, a Muslim scholar told him: "He who kills an innocent person cannot be a true Muslim. Killing an innocent soul is forbidden in the Qur'an.
…whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land – it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one – it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors 85.
84 (Qur’an. Sura Qaf.50 :16).
85 ( Qur’an. Sura Al-Ma’idah.5:32).
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The "Dalai Lama" says that it is the strict literal interpretation of the relatively few verses in the Qur'an that deludes people into that Islam is an exclusively violent religion86.
During my conversation with a Buddhist regarding the speech of "Dalai”, he said:
The “Dalai” said:
"Oh people, listen and be aware. There is no one truth in the world, but several facts and religions."
The “Dalai” added: "All religions forbid murder, lying, theft, gossip, and vice and call for noble morals. Consequently, all religions have a common moral core, regardless of their rites, rituals, and beliefs."
Then the Buddhist added: I support the Dalai and say all religions are true, and there is no absolute truth.
I said: Are you sure of that?
He said: Yes.
I said to him: You have now made an absolute statement – and this in itself confirms the existence of the absolute.
He said: The absence of absolute truth is the only truth. A person can believe what he likes as long as he does not impose his opinions on others. There is no absolute meaning but rather an imposed meaning.
I said: How can someone who does not believe in truth or any absolute, and does not have a reference, pass a judgment on something else?
Your statement itself is a belief about what is right and wrong, and you try to impose it on others. You adopt a standard of behavior and force everyone to abide by it, thereby violating what you claim to hold – a self-contradictory position.
He said: Tolerance is the only absolute, and intolerance is the only evil. The insistence by you Muslims that your belief is the absolute truth is considered against tolerance and is even considered the greatest crime.
I said: Tolerance is respecting the freedom of choice that God has given to all. Fairness to a non-Muslim is in dealing with him justly and not underestimating his right.
86https://aawsat.com/home/article/275871/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85-%D9%85%D9%86-%D9%88%D8%AC%D9%87%D8%A9-%D9%86%D8%B8%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%B0%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%8A-%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7-%D9%8A%D8%AA%D9%83%D9%84%D9%85
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On the other hand, tolerance is not recognizing the wrong behavior itself and accepting it as right. The existence of various theories and convictions among people does not mean that there is no single absolute truth.
I also said: Before discovering the tallest mountain in the world "Mount Everest," what was the tallest mountain in the world?
He said: The answer depends on each person's information, culture, and environment.
I said: Your answer is not logical. People's ignorance of a particular piece of information or their conviction of a specific concept does not change the fact that there is true, original, unaltered information that does not change.
"The mount Everest" is the tallest in the world, even if this information was discovered recently, even if all humans are ignorant of it.
No matter how many people's concepts and perceptions of the means of transportation I use daily, it does not negate that I own a black car. If the whole world believes that my car is red, this belief does not make it red; there is one fact that it is a black car.
Even if the entire world agrees on its invalidity, the correct is clear, and the error is as clear as the sun, even if all human beings acknowledge its validity.
Some take this view simply because they want to abdicate responsibility for their actions. The existence of an absolute truth means the certainty of the ultimate principles of right and wrong. Therefore the commitment toward these principles. This responsibility is what you avoid.
The truth is absolute, and the religion is one:
● Acknowledgment of the Creator Who has no son or partner.
● The Creator does not embody in the form of a human or animal.
● He does not unite with His creatures.
● Communicating with this Creator should be done directly, not through a saint or priest.
● There is a day of Judgment when the Creator will hold people accountable for their deeds.
The Buddhist said: Why is the absolute truth with Muslims? Why is the absolute truth not with the Hindu, who says that the Creator comes to the earth in Krishna's form?
Or with the Christian who says that the Creator comes to earth in the form of Christ?
I said to him: Because the Muslims have the "common terms" between all. The belief in the Creator is a fact that is accepted by all, even if they deny it.
Everyone resorts to the Creator (the Power in the heaven) in adversity, including atheists and Buddhists.
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As for the incarnation of God, it is an illogical concept that does not befit the majesty of the Creator. The embodiment is a mystery, as the believers in it admit, while the religion of God should have no secrets in it.
God has the ideal, the player of electronic games does not become a part of the game inside his phone. The Creator controls everything from outside the universe. He created time and space for us humans.
Most Indian and Chinese religions are based on the teachings of their founders. They do not claim to follow direct revelation.
Hinduism is not known to have a founder as it is a traditional, inherited philosophy.
● "Buddhism" goes back to "Siddhartha Gautama ."
● "Jainism" to "Vardhamana."
● “Sikhism” to “Guru Nanak.”
● “Confucianism” to “Confucius. ”
● "Taoism" to “Lao-Tze."
Islam is a religion based on revelation.
God said:
Say, “I am not the first messenger ever sent, nor do I know what will happen to me or you. I only follow what is revealed to me. And I am only sent with a clear warning” ( Al-Ahqaf:9).
All previous religions are based on worshiping more than one deity, while Islam is distinguished by worshiping the One and Only Creator.
The pure monotheistic view of Islam is what separates it from these religions.
There is no trinity or divinity for a prophet. Other races are not required to search for a god of their own. There is no good or evil god, similar to what is found in Zoroastrianism.
A Global Religion
By looking closely at peoples' beliefs, we discover that most nations that have religious heritage and various religious symbols still believe in the existence of a Creator of the universe, who they resort to in times of adversity. We find that humans are innate to search for absolute justice and the inevitability of a day of Judgment for human beings to be held accountable for their actions.
Every child is born sinless. Everyone can call upon their Creator without any intermediary. If the child is left alone without parents or any teachings, he will grow up worshiping the Creator alone.
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At the age of puberty, he will be responsible for his actions. He chooses to remain monotheist, worship his Creator alone, or change his natural religion and take a wrong path by praying to God through an intermediary (Jesus, Mary, Buddha, Idols, Muhammad… etc.).
The Creator said:
Say: "O people of the Scripture: Come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but Allah the same, and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords besides Allah." Then, if they turn away, say: "Bear witness that we are Muslims"87 .
I remember a lovely comment from an elderly German when I explained to him the definition of Islam. He said to me: This is a new religion that I have not heard of before. It is logical and can unite humanity. I live among Muslims, but I have never understood Islam in this way.
I said: This is the old, new, and eternal world religion from the time of Adam; peace be upon him till the last day for humans on this earth.
This Religion is:
Believing in God (the Creator), He has no partner or son. He does not incarnate in any of His creations or any idol. He created Prophet Jesus without a father, as He created Prophet Adam without a father or mother, as He creates but begets not. Also, humans need to directly connect with Him, not through any idol, priest, saint, grave, Prophet, or family member of any Prophet.All human beings must also believe in all the prophets from Adam to Muhammad, including Moses and Jesus Christ. May the blessings of God be upon them all.
If all people applied this religion, humanity would have united.
Muslim respects Non-Muslims freedom of choice. The Muslim does not oppress the non – Muslim or steal him and does not diminish his right. Still, he does not recognize his incorrect faith as a true religion, because the true religion is one, and the Creator is one.
If some Muslims today fail to follow the teachings of their great religion and do not correctly take knowledge, this is due to their human weakness.
The Muslims' failure to convey the correct message of Islam, their lousy treatment with non-Muslims, or their scientific backwardness after they were the pioneers of material science and its founders, does not change the fact that the religion of Muslims is correct.
87 (Qur’an. Sura Al-Imran.3 :64).
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The Austrian philosopher Leopold Weiss, who converted from Judaism to Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Al - Assad, said88:
"The love of domination did not prompt the concern for the spread of Islam; it had nothing to do with economic or national self-aggrandizement or with the greed to increase Muslim comforts at other people's cost. It has never meant the coercion of non-believers into the religion of Islam. It has only meant the construction of a global framework for man's best possible spiritual development as it means today. According to the teachings of Islam, acknowledging morals enforces the responsibility to work according to these morals. A mere Platonic discernment between right and wrong, without the urge to promote right and destroy wrong, is gross immorality. Morality lives and dies with the human endeavor to establish its victory upon the earth."
The Blessing of Islam
Many people wonder about the importance of the phrase that a Muslim always repeats, which says: Thank God for the blessing of Islam.
Where some people say:
What is a Muslim proud of? What is the advantage that Islam has over other religions?
We tell them:
The Muslim praises his Creator for having guided him and enabled him to worship Him alone, for he does not worship a tree or a stone, nor does he worship a person or an animal—the true Muslim resorts to his Creator directly and not through a saint or priest.
The true Muslim does not resort to the saint's graves and does not ask and seek forgiveness from the Messenger or any of the Messenger's family.
A Muslim is proud of his direct communication with the King of Kings. A Muslim is proud of being free from the enslavement of the creation.
There was a rare visit from three monks from a Buddhist temple in Thailand. A diplomatic delegation accompanied them from the Thai embassy—the monks dressed up in similar to the Muslim pilgrimage clothes, but orange. At the beginning of the visit, the delegation instructed us that the monks do not shake hands with women. Also, when it came to taking the memorial photo with me inside the mosque as a tour supervisor, I was supposed to kneel with the embassy staff. At
88 Islam at the Crossroads. Muhammad Al - Assad.
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the same time, the monks remain standing. They consider the monks in a higher position than everyone else.
I said to them: About shaking hands, I do not shake hands with men, but as for the photo, I will only be standing since I only kneel to God. If you don't like that, I will come out of the picture. So they agreed. They took the photo for us. I was standing beside the monks at a distance while the embassy crew sat on the ground.
One of the monks, who was the most fluent in English, asked me: What are your religion's teachings?
I told him: The teachings of our religion are similar to those of your religion, but we follow them fully, and you shortened them.
He said: How is that?
I told him: The commandments that you have regarding respect for human rights, including non-killing and respecting neighbors' rights and kindness to the poor, are found in the teachings of every religion on earth, including Hinduism, Judaism, and Christianity, and they are also in Islam.
However, the difference between Islam and other religions is that other religions marginalized and ignored the first commandment yet kept the rest.
He asked: What is the first commandment?
I told him: The belief in One God, to whom all resort in adversity.
He asked: Do you mean Gautama Buddha?
I told him: No. I mean the Only Truth and Power in the sky, the Creator of Buddha himself and all human beings, to Whom all seek refuge when they exhaust all means to save them from crises.
I then said: When an intense fear of thunder happens, doesn't the Buddhist resort to the Power in the sky to seek protection?
He said: Yes. But what is the evidence that this was among the commandments that we follow?
I told him: The evidence is that you practice it unintentionally. Buddha taught you the religion of Islam by admitting that death is inevitable and giving you a description of the eternal life in which there is neither death nor pain, which is what you call "Nirvana."
One of the famous scholars, Arthur Lily, says: "The following words were carved in stone: (What Buddha's disciples thought about God, the soul, and the future of man) 'We recognize and believe in God, who is a being worthy for this (faith).'89"
89 Gospel of Buddha by Carus pg.217 and 218 (from Ceylon sources).
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He said: But Buddha is a god.
I asked him: Does God say about Himself, I am not the first Buddha, and I will not be the last Buddha90?
Gautama Buddha did not demand any of his followers to worship him as a god or worship anything or any other person. Also, "Gautama" used the word "Buddha" in the context of the word "prophet," meaning a person who is enlightened by a divine revelation.
Buddha said: Everyone should believe in the next Prophet (Maitreya)91.
The word "Maitreya" or "Meta" in the Bali language and related terms used in Burmese, Chinese, Tibetan, and Japanese have the same meaning.
It is the same word "Rahmat" in Arabic, which means "Mercy", where God Almighty referred in the Noble Qur'an to the Prophet Muhammad as a mercy to the worlds92.
And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds93.
He said: Wondrous! Do you assert that Buddha was a messenger of God who predicted the coming of your Prophet?
I told him: We can never be sure; God never mentioned the name of Buddha in the Qur'an, but we see that there are striking similarities between religions; this does not exclude that its source is one, which is the Creator, and they differed due to human distortions.
The Qur'an repeatedly affirmed that God sent messengers and prophets to all nations to recall the worship of One Creator and mentioned the names of some, and others did not.
He asked: Is there evidence of Muhammad's prophecy in the books of Hinduism too?
I told him: Yes. Narashansa, or the praised person (Muhammad), is a Karma: Prince of Peace or Expatriate, and he is safe, even among a group of sixty thousand and ninety enemies. He rides the camel, and his chariot touches the sky.
Narashansa, "The man of praise," refers to the Prophet Muhammad. The actual meaning of the Arabic word "Muhammad" is: "the praiseworthy man." It is not known exactly how many enemies the Prophet Muhammad had at that time, but it has been proven that there were thousands94.
90 Quote from the book "India in Primitive Christianity", p. 85.
91 "Arshagyanam”(Page282).
92 Prophecy on The Coming of Prophet Muhammad in Other Scriptures – Zakir Naik.
93 ( Qur’an. Sura Al-Anbia’.21:107).
94 Atharva Veda،Book (Kuntap Sukta) book 20 Hymn 127 verses 1-2.
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When the Prophet Muhammad migrated from Mecca to Yathrib, he went on a camel.
I also said: There are many others.
God said:
Say, [O Muhammad], "O mankind, indeed I am the Messenger of God to you all, [from Him] to whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. There is no deity except Him; He gives life and causes death." So believe in God and His Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, who believes in God and His words, and follow him that you may be guided 95.
The visit ended, and they requested copies of the Qur'an's translations in the Thai language, and they thanked us very much.
Your God is One God
Since the time of Adam, the father of humans, the Creator has chosen the pious among his people as a messenger to them whenever the message of the previous Prophet was distorted and they deviated from the straight path and differed among themselves by worshiping other than their Creator, and to provide them with satisfactory answers to the existential questions that revolve in their minds (the source of their existence, the purpose of their existence and their fate after death).
We surely sent a messenger to every community, saying, "Worship Allah and shun false gods." But some of them were guided by Allah, while others were destined to stray. So travel throughout the land and see the fate of the deniers96!
The message of the messengers is summarized as follows:
● There is no god except The Only God, the Creator, and Sustainer of the whole universe and its contents.
● Pray only to Him and no others. Pray like what the Prophet did. Don't pray to the Prophet himself.
● Believe and follow the messengers (of that period). (The messengers prophesied the coming of the last Prophet- Muhammad, and urged their followers to believe in him and follow him if they reach his time).
95 (Qur’an. Sura Al-A'raf. 7:158).
96 (Qur’an. Sura Al-Nahl.16:36).
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● Do good and avoid evil. Preparing to meet the Creator after death for Judgment and then reward or punishment.
Just as peoples' values, morals, and aspirations were similar, they also shared the origin of religion, and there was evidence of that from their sacred books despite their distortion. In contrast, the seal of these books - the Noble Qur'an - was preserved from distortion.
Some similarities can still be detected that prove that the core of each of these books is the same, and that they are all sent from the same source, but they were corrupted and they diverted from the original message.
Your God is One God
In Islam
(Qur'an 112)
Say, "He is Allah, The One and Only, Allah the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born. Nor is there to Him any equivalent."
In Christianity/Judaism
(Bible, Mark 12:29)
"Hear, O Israel; The Lord, our God, is one Lord."
(Bible, Isaiah43:11)
"I am the Lord; there is no savior besides Me."
(Bible, Isaiah 46:9)
"I am Lord, and there is none else; there is no god besides Me."
In Hinduism
(Chandogya Upanishad 6:2-1)
"He is One only without a second."
In Sikhism
(Sri Guru Granth Sahib, vol:1, Japuji verse:1)
"There exists but one God, who is called The True. The Creator."
In Zoroastrianism (the religion that was practiced in Persia in the pre-Islamic era)
(Dasatir, Ahura Mazda. Refer to Yasna 31:7&11)
"He is one; He is without an origin or end. He has no father or mother, wife or son."
In Buddhism
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Due to ignorance of the true concepts of the teachings of Buddha, many Buddhists believe that in Buddhism, there is no place for the belief of God. But many theologians found proof that Buddha emphasized the faith in One God and that he prophesied the coming of Prophet Muhammad.
(Quotation from Book title "India in Primitive Christianity" - Page 85)
"Much longing after the things (of this life) is disobedience, I again declare; not less so is the laborious ambition of dominion by a prince who would be a propitiator of heaven. Confess and believe in God, who is the worthy object of obedience. For equal to this (belief), I declare that ye shall not find such a means of propitiating heaven. Oh, strive ye to obtain this inestimable treasure."
{A famous scholar, Arthur Lily, says that the following was seen as an inscription on a stone. (What Buddha's disciples thought about God, spirit, and man's future)}.
Don't Make an Image of God; Nothing is like Him
In Islam
(Qur'an 42:11)
"[He is] Creator of the heavens and the earth. He has made for you from yourselves, mates, and among the cattle, mates; He multiplies you thereby. There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing."
In Christianity/Judaism
(Bible, Exodus 20:3-5)
"You shall not have other gods beside me. You shall not make for yourself an idol or a likeness of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or serve them.
In Hinduism
(Vedas, Svetasvatara Upanishad: 4:19, 4:20, 6:9)
"Of Him, there are neither parents nor lord."
"His form is not to be seen; no one sees Him with the eye."
"There is no likeness to Him."
Worship Him Alone
In Islam
(Qur'an 18:110)
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"Say (Muhammad), I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed that your God is one God. So, whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord - let him do righteous work and not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone."
In Christianity
(Mathew 4:10)
"Jesus said to him: away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.' "
In Hinduism
(Yajurveda 40:9)
"They enter darkness, those who worship the natural elements (Air, Water, Fire, etc.). They sink deeper in darkness, those who worship sambhuti (created things like an idol, stone, etc.)."
Knowing the Creator
An elderly Latino once asked me: Who created the Creator?
I said: This common question is meaningless. It is similar to the question: Who baked the baker?
He said: If we accept the existence of a Creator for the sake of argument, then this Creator should be complex in structure because this universe is complex, so its Creator would require an even greater explanation.
He also said: The concept of the Trinity is closer to the truth than the oneness of the Creator.
I told him what I heard once: The philosopher and agnostic “Anthony Kenny “says:
" Atheist's argument about the complexity of the universe is a direct indication of the complexity of the Creator is a fallacy. The electric razor, which comprises many different parts, serves fewer functions than the cut-throat razor, which is made up of one part. The cut-throat razor cuts your throat and cuts a fruit."
The questioner said: The Trinity's proof is that God in eternity and before He created the universe had attributes. If He was only one, His qualities would be disrupted. Therefore, He had to be three in one to be merciful, give sustenance, and interact through the three within Him.
I said: I am, for example, a good speaker. Therefore, when I decide to be silent, does this speaking trait disrupt inside me.
He said: Does not the concept of God in Islam, Who is the Eternal, Self–Sufficient, contradict God's need for human existence to have mercy on them and forgive them?
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I said: God has a Will. He does not have a need.
He said: Why does the Creator not incarnate in any of his creatures?
I said: How is it possible to accept mating a human with a cow or another animal to give birth to a half-human and half-animal for animal nature to become one of the human forms? (i.e., animal nature is the embodiment of the human image).
Certainly،, this is a moral decadence and underestimation of the human being whom God blessed and honored.
What about if the matter is related to the Creator, the Unique, Glory be to Him?
How is it possible for the divine nature to converge with the human nature or whatsoever, for the human nature to become the embodiment of the divine image?! The human born of a woman, who needs care, will end up dying and being buried like other creatures.
Indeed, this is a belittling of the Almighty God.
He said: You believe that the Creator has a hand. Is this not an embodiment?
I said: As a human being, I have a hand, and the door has a hand, but the difference between them is vast. By this analogy, we say that the Creator is not like humans.
The Almighty:
The Originator of the heavens and the earth. He made for you mates from among yourselves, and pairs of animals, through which He multiplies you. There is nothing like Him. He is the Hearing, the Seeing 97.
Islam calls to honor the Creator from imperfections and shortcomings.
A Hindu with a Ph.D. once told me:
What prevents Him from descending in an animal or human form if God is omnipotent?
I answered him with what I had heard once and liked:
When God descends in a human being form, he will abandon His attribute of divinity. There is a big difference between the Creator’s attributes and the creature's attributes. If you were told that the air became an airplane in New York, would you believe that?
The air has nothing to do with the plane. The air quality is entirely different from that of the plane, so one cannot choose the image of the other.
He said: We worship statues to have mental focus while worshiping the Creator and avoid mind wandering to worldly things.
97 (Qur’an. Sura Al-Shura.42 :11).
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I was shocked by this man's words who attained this high degree of knowledge.
I said to him: Do you look at the tree to focus on your absent father? The tree has nothing to do with your father. How about God Almighty? The difference is vast between these weak statues and God the Mighty, the Owner, the King, possessed of might and honor.
I also said: In any way, is this a kind of focus or distraction? If the worship of idols is for focus only, why do you take care of them and decorate them, spend thousands of money on them, and come to worship them from faraway places?
A person may think of an issue where he forgets about everything around him, even though he does not have a moral image.
I recalled then the words of God Almighty:
Have they not travelled throughout the land so their hearts may reason, and their ears may listen? Indeed, it is not the eyes that are blind, but it is the hearts in the chests that grow blind98.
God also said:
...they have hearts they do not understand with, eyes they do not see with, and ears they do not hear with. They are like cattle. In fact, they are even less guided! Such ˹people˺ are ˹entirely˺ heedless 99.
When God placed the need to worship Him in human instinct, He guided him to the way of worship through the prophets and messengers. He did not leave them at their whims to do what they wanted.
God causes man to be begotten out of the essence of a humble fluid. So, what is the purpose of man's existence?
How can he communicate with his Creator?
What is his fate after death?
Man can’t get answers to these questions according to his reasoning and comprehension without the guidance of God Almighty.
Islam has dealt with this problem. Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, says what means:
Perfection in prayer can be achieved by worshiping God as if you see Him. If you cannot achieve this state of devotion, then you must consider that He is watching you" 100.
98 (Qur’an. Sura Hajj. 22: 46).
99 (Qur’an. Sura Al-A'raf.7: 179).
100 (Sahih Al-Bukhari).
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Then the Hindu said: Life return to the idols after reciting the hymns.
I said: This is an illusion. It has nothing to do with the truth.
If we accept for the sake of argument that life returns to them after reciting the hymns, they start to walk, speak and act as they want. Can then a person create life in the first place? So far, none of your scholars has claimed to restore life to something with no life.
Benefit and harm are by the Will of God Almighty.
Therefore, whoever thinks that these statues can benefit him is delusional.
He said: Have you not seen through youtube channels the statue's tears and the flowers scattered from their hands?
I told him: I am surprised by a man in your scientific position who believes in these methods of deception. These methods are a way to earn money by deceiving people.
The Creator responds to these:
O humanity! A lesson is set forth, so listen to it ˹carefully˺: those ˹idols˺ you invoke besides Allah can never create ˹so much as˺ a fly, even if they ˹all˺ were to come together for that. And if a fly were to snatch anything away from them, they cannot ˹even˺ retrieve it from the fly. How powerless are those who invoke and those invoked101!
It is wrong to introduce Islam by saying that Islam means to believe in one God and just stop there. We have to explain in order to have deeper understanding. Islam means to believe in One God and directly connect with God, the Creator. Nothing is like Him.
He does not come to earth in any animal or human form; He has no image known to humans. Our minds can only imagine objects, people, and situations based on past experiences and memories. God is beyond our perception and cannot be comprehended.
Whenever we sin, we repent to Him directly. We ask Him to solve the problem directly when we have a problem. When we feel blessed, we have to thank Him directly. The faith in One God already exists in many religions.
It was even the faith of the disbelievers of the tribe of Prophet Muhammad. They believed in One God. When they were asked about worshiping the idols, they said they worship idols to make them closer to God. So, their problem was not with the faith in One God. Their problem was with having a direct connection with Him.
The Creator said:
101 (Qur’an. Sura Hajj. 22: 73).
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Indeed, sincere devotion is due ˹only˺ to Allah. As for those who take other lords besides Him, ˹saying,˺ "We worship them only so they may bring us closer to Allah," surely Allah will judge between all regarding what they differed about. Allah certainly does not guide whoever persists in lying and disbelief102 .
The ignorance of the Creator's genuine concept led to confusion of minds and, thus, the resort to atheism.
Let's imagine that it is rumored among people that the writer of this book has reached the moon and roamed space, so whoever knows her well will not believe this information and will make fun of her because they know very well that she is afraid of boarding a plane.
God has the highest example, so whoever knows the genuine attributes of God will not believe these human and animal attributes people ascribed to him.
Causation is a law for us who live in space and time. God, who created space and time, is necessarily transcendent concerning both. It is an error on our part to think that either binds Him. God created the law of causation, and we cannot consider Him as a subject to the law He made. Therefore, God does not change. He created the time, so He does not subject to time.
God does not go through the same stages of time that we go through, does not get tired, and does not need to put Himself in a physical form or descend to earth.
Therefore, we cannot see God in this life because we are trapped in time and space while He transcends both. For example, a person sitting in a windowless room can only see the room's interior. To see outside, he must leave the room; that is to say, he must overcome the room as a hindrance to seeing the outside.
Although the Creator is all-powerful, He does not do what does not fit His majesty; exalted be He above that.
God has the ideal: even though a high-ranking cleric can go out naked in public, he does not do so because this behavior does not fit his religious position.
Existence as we see it (the universe and man) must be fully understood by who created it. Therefore, the Creator's attributes must not be on the same level or lower than His creations' attributes. Absolute Perfection is the attribute of the Absolute Generator, Who absorbs all existence. Who creates and directs its laws. Knowing the Creator begins with understanding the human himself (who knows himself knows his Lord). It is only after realizing the greatness of the Creator
102 (Qur’an. Sura Al-Zumar. 39: 3).
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Who created the human soul and this cosmic existence that we fully realize that all that exist are incomplete and limited compared to the creative Creator.
Therefore, our qualities are different than the qualities of our Creator.
God said:
Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ "He is Allah—One ˹and Indivisible˺; Allah—the Sustainer ˹needed by all˺. He has never had offspring, nor was He born. And there is none comparable to Him" (Al-Ikhlas)103.
We understand from the above: The Creator does not come to earth in any human form, animal, or idol. Humans must worship Him directly without any priest, saint, idol, or intermediary.
Monotheism: The Way of Salvation
Islam emphasizes the infallibility of the prophets from error in what they report about the Creator. There is no infallibility of a priest or saint.
It is completely forbidden in Islam to resort to someone other than the Creator in seeking help and request, even if the request is from the prophets themselves. The demand from the Creator Almighty is an honor and, from others, humiliating.
Is it reasonable to equate the king and the ordinary people by demand?
God said:
To Him [alone] is the supplication of truth. And those they call upon besides Him do not respond to them with a thing, except as one who stretches his hands toward water [from afar, calling it] to reach his mouth, but it will not reach it [thus]. And the supplication of the disbelievers is not but in error [i.e. futility... 104.
The Almighty said:
Say (oh Muhammad), "I have no power to benefit or protect myself, except by the Will of Allah. If I had known the unknown, I would have benefited myself enormously, and no harm would have ever touched me. I am only a warner and deliverer of good news for those who believe"105.
103 (Qur’an. Sura Al-Ikhlas).
104 (Qur’an. Sura Ar-Ra'd. 13: 14).
105 (Quran. Sura Al-A'raf.7:188).
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The distinguishing feature of the religion of Islam over the rest of other religions is the Creator's attributes, which is a universal concept shared by all, and no one disagrees with it.
In human law, violating the king's right is not equal to other crimes. How about the right of the King of kings.
God's right over His servants is to worship Him alone, and the right of His servants is to have a direct relationship with Him, thus, obtaining safety in this world and the hereafter.
It suffices to imagine that you give someone a gift, and he thanks another person and praises him. God has the highest example. This situation is similar to what humans do with their Creator. God has given them countless blessings, and they, in turn, give thanks to others. And the Creator, in any case, does not need them.
Should I ride on his back instead of on the plane if the airport porter points me to the gate?
Suppose, for example, if I made a television myself, do I need to be shaped into a television image to know the correct mechanisms and the incorrect ones?
Instead, I will give instructions for its operation to make it easy for everyone to use this device.
Giving the Creator's right to one of His creatures is one of the greatest sins. If I take a chaplain or a saint between the Creator and me means that I gave them the Creator's right.
The human perception that the Creator embodies in His creatures gives the Creator creatures qualities while He is above them. The Creator is different from His creation.
For example: Is cutting a tree in half and cutting the body of a small child in half lead to the same result? Of course not. The value of human traits is higher than the value of plant traits.
The value of the Creator's attributes is higher than the value of the creation's characteristics. In addition to that, God's attributes are unlimited because He is unlimited; that's why the punishment for the one who takes mediators in his relationship with the Creator is eternal.
Islam is:The belief that there is no god but the Creator alone, Who has no partner or son. He is the Creator and Provider of the entire universe and what it contains. The Creator created Christ without a father and created Adam without a father or a mother.
When we are generous and rich, we invite others to food and drink because we want to fulfill our generosity. God is the most generous, the most merciful. He created us to bestow His blessings on us and provide His mercy if we sincerely obey Him and comply with His command. All beautiful human attributes are derived from His attributes. Knowing that a person uses his attributes for a need. The Creator has no need but Will.
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He created us and gave us the ability to choose. Either we choose the path of obedience and worship, or we deny His existence and choose the way of rebellion and disobedience. This ability to choose is undoubtedly a greater degree of honor for a man than the compulsion to obey, which leads to false happiness.
God created us to worship Him as He is the Master of the universe.
God said:
And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me106.
Emergency Law
Oh, Man:
You did not exist, then you were, and you knew that you did not create yourself, nor did anyone similar to you created you.
If I have not created myself with certainty, and someone with confidence did not create me, then the third possibility remains the only option, namely that He Who made us is not like us.
If the one who created us is similar to us and characterized by our qualities, we would also be able to develop those who are like us.
The language might not be able to express the meaning precisely. And even the human mind is incapable of knowing the nature of the great Creator. Between language and reason in their places, we can come out with absolute truth, namely that who created us and created the universe and its laws discovered by modern science, He is not as we are.
If we cannot avert the harm for ourselves and we cannot save ourselves and our loved ones from doom, we cannot find ourselves because the matter is beyond our control.
We don't know what's happening inside us, and even human anatomy specialists are amazed at the fantastic work and creativity that goes into the human body.
The Creator said:
Is it that they are created by none, or are they themselves the creators107?
106 (Qur’an. Sura Al-Dhariyat. 51:56).
107 (Qur’an. Sura. At-Tur.52 : 35-36).
