Monotheism / Unity of God
 

[B][U][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Monotheism / Unity of God[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B]By Atta ur Rehman Khilji (AC Quetta)[/B]

Islam is a perfect and comprehensive code of life which covers all the aspects of human life emphasizing equally on beliefs and practical deeds. According to Islam, good deeds are futile without correct and right beliefs.

The first major and fundamental belief of Islam is that of tawhid/ monotheism or unity of God, which prescribes that Almighty God is one in His person and characters and He has not delegated His powers to human beings and other creatures. The other revealed and non-revealed religions also accept the existence of an Eternal being but these religions seek partners with Almighty God such as those Christians who believe in Doctrine of Trinity i.e. One God in three persons the father, the son and holy ghost and the Hindus who believe in a number of gods and goddesses. In paying undue reverence to their prophets and spiritual leaders, they have crossed the limits by declaring their prophets and spiritual leaders as partners of Almighty God and even comparing them with Almighty God. The savages had also the concept of God as they used to sacrifice animals and even human beings at the altar of deities for pleasing their gods and goddesses. They also used to practise different forms of self-mortifications for this purpose.

Even nowadays we can see some people teasing themselves by piercing arrows, needles and swords through different argons of their bodies for seeking spiritual pleasure. Islam strictly prohibits all such and other forms of polytheism. About the nature of the doctrine of monotheism, Almighty God says in Surah Al-Ikhlas, [B]“Say: He is Allah, the One and Unique. Allah Who is in need of none and of Whom all are in need. He neither begot any nor was He begotten. And none is comparable to Him.” [/B]

The presence of God is not some thing physical on tangible but spiritual and metaphysical. Science which is based on observation and practical experiment cannot prove those things which are metaphysical and spiritual. Therefore, it is not the sphere and scope of science to prove or deny the existence of God. The famous French scientist Lather says in this regard, “Science has no excess to the beginning and end of universe; therefore it is not our aim to deny the existence of an eternal being. In the same way, it is not our task to verify this existence.”

With the available human capabilities such as five senses and wisdom, we are not in the position to grasp all expects and attributes of One Allah. Islam recognises this human deficiency by conveying comprehensive and exhaustive information about Allah that fully satisfies human intellectual needs.

Owing to our inherent weaknesses Islam prohibits us from thinking unnecessarily about Allah by declaring that the more you think about Almighty God the more you are surprised. We have to rely on Quranic information about Allah and should not crave for those things which are beyond our scope. Each one of the 99 names of Almighty God shows a different attribute. The Holy Quran is replete with the traits and characteristics of Allah.

The discipline and proper working of the universe and its complex nature clearly exhibits that there is someone who has created it. It is not possible to think of management without a manager, law without lawyer, engineering without engineer, administration without administrator, etc. In the same way it is completely illogical and irrational to accept the existence of the creatures of universe without a creator. Once Hazrat Imam Abu Hanifa was having a debate with a group of atheists about the existence of Allah. They mutually decided to meet again on a stipulated day at a specified place. On that day the great Imam deliberately came late. The atheists inquired about the reason for that delay. On that the great Imam told them that he had seen a strange incident that day. He was walking along the bank of river and he saw a tree which cut into pieces itself. Then these pieces assumed the shape of a boat and the boat itself started shifting passengers from one side to the other side of river. The atheists denied him and said that it is not possible that the tree would cut into pieces itself and would become a boat without a maker. The Imam Abu Hanifa said: “when we cannot think of a single boat without a maker, then how is it possible to think of this whole universe without a creator”. The Holy Quran says in verse No. 10 of Surah Ibrahim [B]“Can there be any doubt about Allah the Creator of the heavens and the earth?”[/B] Similarly God Almighty says in verse No 190 of Surah Al Imran [B]“Verily in the creation of heavens and earth and in the alternation of night and day, there are signs for people of understanding.”[/B]

There cannot be two or more rulers/kings of one state; two or more ministers of one department/ portfolio, two or more principals of one educational institute, two or more governors of one province, etc. In the same way there cannot be two or more creators of this universe. In this regard, Almighty God says in verse No. 22 and 23 of Surah Ambia, [B]“Had there been any gods in the heavens and the earth apart from Allah, the order of both the heavens and the earth would have gone to ruins. Glory be to Allah, the Lord of the Throne, Who is far above their false descriptions of Him. (22) None shall question Him about what He does, but they shall be questioned (23)”[/B]

Similarly, majority of things in this universe is in the shape of pairs generally having opposite features such as man and woman, water and fire, earth and heaven, day and night, light and darkness, etc. It is against the canons of justice and common sense to believe that one part of the pair has been created by one being and the other by some one else.

Furthermore, the excellence, beauty and utility of creatures also testify the glory and greatness of the Creator. The Holy Quran has also elaborated that Almighty God has created everything in an excellent manner. Thus all the natural, logical and intellectual principles and aspects of life and universe testify and verify the presence of One Allah and the universal truth that all the visible and invisible objects of the universe are under His command.