God

How do Muslims teach about God?

The word "Allah" means "God" (al-Ilah) according to the most common etymology, but Muslim theologians insist that this is the proper name of God, which is why they prefer not to translate it into other languages, and in their literature in Russian, English and other languages they use the transcription of the Arabic "Allah". This word is related to the Hebrew word "Eloah" ("God"), which, however, in the Old Testament is almost always used in the plural "Elohim" ("Gods"), and is not a proper name of the Most High (since it is also used in reference to the pagan gods in Judges 10:14, 2 Samuel 2:5, etc.).

"Faith in Allah" is the first of the six foundations of the Muslim faith (Aqeedah). It implies the knowledge that Allah exists and that He is the only one in His deeds, the only one worthy of worship, and the only one in terms of His names and His attributes. The confession of monotheism (tawhid) is considered the highest virtue and, on the contrary, the violation of monotheism (shirk) is the most terrible and the only unforgivable sin according to the teachings of Islam: "Verily, Allah does not forgive that He is given partners, but forgives what is less than this, to whom He wills. And whoever gives partners to Allah has invented a great sin" (Qur'an 4:48)1.

In addition to acknowledging the existence of Allah, faith also includes acknowledging Allah as the only Creator. Muslims understand this to mean that He creates the world anew every moment,2 and when they say that God is the only Creator, they mean that He is the creator not only of the world, but also of every action of man and animal that inhabits it: "God created you and what you do" (Qur'an 37:96).

Perfect monotheism, according to Muslims, is expressed in the first part of the confession of faith (tashshahud): "There is no god but Allah." Sincere and confident pronunciation of these words, from their point of view, guarantees the salvation of a person.

Islamic theology teaches that Allah has names and attributes (sifatah). Muslims, based on one of the hadiths, speak of 99 names of Allah, through the reverent enumeration of which a person is vouchsafed paradise. These are names such as "Omniscient," "Knowing," and so on.3 Many of the attributes recognized by Muslims coincide with the Christian concept of God, but there are also differences. For example, the Quran is considered an attribute of Allah.

In Islam, it is believed that Allah himself and his angels speak only Arabic, Arabic is the language of the inhabitants of paradise, the language of the Arabs is the original language of God.

Sins against monotheism are recognized as unbelief, polytheism and hypocrisy. Each of them is divided into two degrees: large and small. Disbelief, polytheism and hypocrisy of a small degree (for example, an oath not by Allah, a Muslim fighting against a Muslim, deceit, betrayal, etc.) does not mean that a person affected by them ceases to be a Muslim or loses the fate of paradise, since "Allah can forgive if it pleases Him, even without repentance." Unbelief, polytheism and hypocrisy of a large degree (mockery of Islam, denial of the divine origin of the Koran, etc.) leads a person out of Islam and he is considered an infidel.

Asserting the radical inaccessibility of God to man, the Islamic doctrine denies the possibility of the incarnation, the manifestation of God, and even the communication of divine grace through the sacraments. Allah is thought of as an absolutely otherworldly, impenetrable, incomprehensible being. Here is how the great theologian of the ninth century, Al-Ashari, described Allah: "Nothing that can be imagined by reason or imagined by calling on fantasy has a resemblance to Him. It is impossible to see Him with the eyes, it is impossible to experience pleasure or joy in comprehending Him. He doesn't care about anything."4

The Qur'an never speaks of Allah's love for humanity. A couple of times it is said only about His love for those who fear Him and for those who follow Muhammad: "Verily, Allah loves those who fear Allah!" (3.76) and also: "Say (Muhammad): 'If you love Allah, then follow me, then Allah will love you and forgive you your sins' (3:31). Believers are called to fear Allah: "Fear Me" (5:44), "... and fear Me" (3.40), etc.

Orthodox theologians even condemned the idea of direct love for God, pointing out that "love is an act of will, and the ultimate will of man cannot have the infinite as its object. For example, the thirteenth-century theologian Ibn Tamiyya asserted that love presupposes correlation and proportionality, which do not and cannot exist between the Creator and His creation. Therefore, perfect faith must be expressed in love for the law of Allah and not for Allah Himself."5 The Sufi mystics taught about love for Allah and Allah's love for man, but they also explained this in terms of slavery and submission: "the highest honor bestowed by God is the title of Abdallah" (slave of God),6 "to love God is to love obedience to God"; "True love is obedience to the Beloved."7 And speaking about the love of Allah, one of the greatest Sufis, Al-Ghazali, asserted that "His love should be defined solely as the goal, affirming and showing his favor towards the one who seeks it. It is higher than the empathy associated with simple human sympathy. His love and mercy are motivated only by his own benefit, and not by empathy."8

The basis of the worship of Allah in Islam is the belief that human beings are the slaves of their Creator and Master. In the Qur'an it is said in the name of Allah: "I created jinn and men only to worship Me" (Qur'an 51:56). It is not surprising that in the Arabic language the word "piety" (ta'abboud) is rooted to the word "slavery" (ubudiyya).