The nature of God
Allah comes from the Arabic word ‘al-ilah’, which means ‘the god’. Allah has many different characteristics including:
- tawhidThe belief in the oneness of Allah. It is acknowledged in the First Pillar of Islam: There is no god but God..
- transcendentBelief that God is above and beyond creation and it is up to humans to act on His behalf and do His will..
- Fairness.
- immanentThe belief in various religions that God is immanent - ‘in the world’. God acted in history in the past and continues to be active today..
- omnipotentAll-powerful..
- AdalatThe idea that God is just. One of the five roots of faith in Shi'a Islam. (Adalat only applies in Shi'aMuslims, or Shi’ites, who believe in the Imamah, leadership of Ali and his descendants after the Prophet Muhammad. Islam).
All these characteristics are stated in the Qur’an (Surah 16:35-36), the Islamic holy book.
Tawhid
Tawhid is a fundamental belief in Islam. It forms the basis of faith and worship. Tawhid means ‘the oneness of Allah’.
Tawhid forms the basis of ShahadahA declaration of faith that consists of the statement , the first of the Five Pillars of Islam. This is the belief that there is only one God, Allah. During worship, saying these words allows Muslims to ensure that their full focus is on God.
Transcendence
Transcendence is the belief that Allah is the greatest being and cannot be rivalled by any human. This is shown through his 99 names, which are his key qualities, found in the Qur’an. There is no other being or object that can have these qualities as nothing can compare to Allah.
Some examples of Allah’s 99 names are:
- Al Hakim - The Wise
- Ar-Rahmaan - The Beneficent
- Ar-Raheem - The Merciful
- Al-Quddus - The Most Sacred