Nature of God

Salam Alaykum, may peace and blessings be upon you all.

There's been some confusion on the nature of God both within Islam and other religions. Let us first analyze Islam's God:

Allah and Islam

• All-Knowing, All-Powerful
• Unlimited, Eternal
• Incomparable to absolutely everything
• Creator, Cherisher, Sustainer, Evolver, and Lord of all
• Clear distinction between God as the Creator and the material and spiritual worlds as a Creation

Now let's take a look at Christianity:

God and Christianity

• God is manifested into three forms: Father, Word (Son), and Holy Spirit
• The Father is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, the Word is God's mercy and compassion (eventually incarnated into a man in the form of the Messiah Jesus (a)), and the Holy Spirit is God's spiritual connection with the hearts and minds of all creation
• The Father is Just, the Son is Merciful, and the Holy Spirit is the guide
• Humanity is created in the image of God literally; which means the Father is in a humanoid form
• Christ appears in the form of people, angels and apparitions before and after his birth (Melchezidek is an example)

God in Judaism

• Very similar to Islamic concept
• Only real difference is that God is panentheistic, which means all of creation is in God; that God is both transcendent in His creation, yet separate at the same time

Popular misconceptions Muslims make concerning God's nature

• (Sunni Muslim tradition) God has a physical form, such as a face, hands, shins, etc.
• (Sufi Muslim tradition) God is pantheistic (different from panentheism) which means God is in all of the creation
• God is panentheistic

Let us cover the Muslim misconceptions first.

#1. God has a physical form.

This is actually a very dangerous idea, and it has risen to popularity via two ways. The first being the Qur'an - God often [metaphorically] speaks about His divine Hands, which some Sunni Muslims suggest is a literal meaning. Such as in Surat al Ma'idah (Chapter "the Tablespread") where God says His hands are not fettered, but rather free from all limitations. On a sidenote, this verse actually concerns the Judeo-Christian belief that God is somehow limited and had tied His hands by creating the world and its laws of physics. However, we know that God has power over all things, with or without the laws of physics.

To disprove the so-called physical form of God, I will use none other than verses of the Noble Qur'an:

In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful:

"Vision comprehends Him not, but He comprehends (all) vision. He is the Subtile, the Aware" (6:103)

The verse is made very clear - that no vision can comprehend God. It does not say vision only in this life, nor does it say only human vision, but rather vision itself. God can see all, none can see or even comprehend God.

Let us analyze more verses in the Qur'an. Below is a specific incident in which the children of Israel wanted to see God:

"The followes of the Book ask you to bring down a Book from heaven, so indeed they demanded of Moses a much greater thing than that, for they said 'Show us Allah manifestly!' so the lightning overtook them on account of their injustice" (4:153)

The children of Israel were used to seeing gods being worshiped around them by the Egyptians, each of which having physical depictions. It's only natural that they would think God also had a physical form, kind of like certain Muslims still sub-consciously caught up in their former idolatrous religions.

I will provide one more verse from the most important chapter in the Qur'an, Surat al-Ikhlas (the Purity of Faith)

"And there is none comparable unto Him" (4:112)

Very simply, there is none comparable to God in any aspect. Is God a physical body? No - because the creation is a physical body. Is God a spirit? No - because the creation is also spririts. How is it that God could have a physical manifestation for eternity, when He had created existence and even the idea of having a body and form?

#2. God is pantheistic.

Pantheism is mainly a belief seen in mysticism, as well as eastern religions such as Hinduism, and it is the belief that God is all and all is God. Pantheism has found its way into Islam as well through confusion of Muslim teachings, namely through the verse 50:16 of the Qur'an, which states:

"We verily created man and We know what his soul whispers to him, and we are nearer to him than his jugular vein" (50:16)

Some suggest that the last part of the verse sugests that God is in us. However, the next verses answers the confusion:

"When the two Receivers receive him, seated on the right hand and the left, he uttereth no word but there is with him an observer ready." (50:17-18)

So the jugular vein verse is simply talking about angels. God is here, yes, but through His angels, His knowledge, His mercy, His punishment, and His love. Not physically. The two receivers are the two angels which record our good and evil actions, and through them, God is closer to us than our own veins.

That's another thing worth noting; God is here with us through His attributes (at least ninety-nine of them) but these attributes are not God physically. There's no physical structure to "Truth" for example.

#3. God is panentheistic

The idea of panentheism is one that must be countered with philosophy and logic. It is the belief that God is transcendant through His creation, and/or the creation is in God.

Let us analyze good and evil once more. God had created a neutral creation, giving some of His creatures the freedom of choice. Therefore some of God's creation have inclinations to do good and evil. What is good? Good is submission to God - for example, being a good person would be fulfilling His wishes for you. God has asked us not to muder, so those who do not muder each other are "good people" in that respect.

What is evil? Evil is the disobedience of God's will. One who murder has disobeyed the commandment against murdering, and one who steals has goes against the commandment of stealing, and therefore these acts are evil.

Is God therefore a good God or an evil one? Since God has no choice but to submit to His own will (which means He does what He wills), this would make God eternally good and never evil. What about creation? Creation is, again according to Islamic philosophy, a neutral entity capable of good and evil. Therefore, to say that God is trancendant in His creation is to say that He becomes the basis of creation, the ground of all being, which includes both neutrality and evil in Him.

Is God good all the time? Islam says yes. Therefore, the imperfect, evil and neutral creation can never be in His excellency.

The God of Christianity: do we worship the same God?

We as monotheists worship the same God, however Christianity has confused itself on some of God's important attributes. Namely, the Trinity.

The very basis philosophically of the Trinity is God is manifest in these three attributes:

1. God as a timeless, independant essence
2. God with a power to create ex nihilo
3. God with a desire and ability to connect with His creation

Islam totally agrees with these three attributes of God. What disturbs the monotheism are the three seperate beings these three attributes are attributed to. God's three different "roles" if you will have been divided to three different beings - the Father, the Word/Son, and the Holy Spirit.

According to Islam:

• The "Father" is supposed to be God found in Islam and Judaism that I have described above
• The "Word" is simply "Be!": The act of God's will in order to create. All God must do is will something and it comes into existence.
• The "Son" is simply the Messiah Jesus (a), a prophet and messenger of God to the children of Israel. He is not the begotten "Son" of God.
• The "Holy Spirit" is simply the Angel Gabriel (a) who is responsible for sending revelations to humanity, an archangel between humanity and God

According to the Bible, these three people can no way all be God at the same time. In which way are these three united?

• Only the Father is All-Knowing; the Son and Holy Spirit are not All-Knowing beings. When talking about Yom al Qiyama (the day of Judgment), Jesus (a) said: "No one knows when that day or that hour will come: no, not the angels, not even the Son, but the Father in Heaven" (Mark 13:32)
• The Son is simply fulfilling the mission it was given by the Father, not his own mission. "But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John [(a)] because the works the Father has given Me to complete - the very works that I am doing - testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me." (John 5:36)
• The Father is said to be greater than the Son. Jesus (a) said in the Gospels: "You have heard me tell you that I am going away, but I am coming back to you. If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Fatheri s greater than I" (John 14:28)
  
• Lastly, the will of the Father does NOT equal the will of Jesus (a): And he went a little beyond them, and fell on his face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not as I will, but as You will" (Matthew 26:39)

This therefore proves that the Father (God) has a different will than Jesus, He is more knowledgable than Jesus, and that He had sent Jesus. This clearly testifies that Jesus (a) is the Messiah and Prophet of God and not God Himself. How is it that they are the same person, when their wills are different, their knowledge is different, etc.? What in the Bible made Jesus (a) God?

As for the Holy Spirit, it is said God needs its divine status to inspire the prophets and saints. Again, what makes the Holy Spirit divine and what makes him God?

Therefore, it is with great pleasure that I conclude that the concept of God is greatest when reflected in the Qur'an, with no internal or extrenal contradictions or philosophical inconsistencies.

Wa salam alaykum.