Today Hazrat Khalifatul Masih presented some extracts from the writings of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) illustrating the reality and station of Allah the Exalted, the station by virtue of which He is the Possessor of all powers and The One, the Creator of all creations and while everything will perish, Allah is above it.
Now the only source to reach the God of this universe is the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). In order to appreciate the power of God one must turn to God in complete sincerity and worship Him. If this is done, God runs to embrace His servants and showers them with His blessings. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) asked us with great anguish to connect to God in this manner and thus adorn our life in this world as well as in the Hereafter.
Writing about the realty of God as presented by Islam the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said: ‘God is the light of the heavens and the earth. Every light that is visible on the heights or in the valleys, whether in souls or in bodies, whether personal or impersonal, whether apparent or hidden, whether in the mind or outside it, is a bounty of His grace. This is an indication that the general grace of the Lord of the worlds envelops everything and nothing is deprived of that grace. He is the source of all grace, the ultimate cause of all lights and the fountainhead of all mercies. His Being is the support of the universe and is the refuge of all high and low. He it is Who brought everything out of the darkness of nothingness and bestowed upon everything the mantle of being. No other being than Him is in himself present and eternal or is not the recipient of His grace. Earth and heaven, man and animals, stones and trees, souls and bodies, have all come into existence by His grace.’ (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 1, pp. 191-192, footnote, Essence of Islam, Vol. I, p. 38)
The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) wrote the following about Unity of God: ‘Association can be of four types. It could be in respect of number, rank, descent, or action and effect. In this Surah, it has been declared that God is free from association of all these types. It has been made clear that He is the One in number and is not two or three; He is the Besought of all; He alone is Self-Existing while everything else is contingent and mortal and is ever dependent upon Him; and He is لَمْ یَلدْ which means that He has no son who can claim to be His partner; and He is لَمْ یُوْلَدْ which means that he has no father to share His power; and He is لَمْ یَکنْ لَّہُ کُفُوًا which means that no one can be His equal in His works to claim partnership with Him on this account. Thus, it has been made clear that God Almighty is free from associates of any of the four types and is One, without associate.’ (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 1, p. 518, sub-footnote 3, Essence of Islam, Vol. I, p.86)
Explaining this passage Huzoor said that one way of associating with anything/anyone is when there is more than one of something/someone, the second kind of associating is owing to status and position of things and individuals. The third kind of association is regarding capacity to do something. Here it has been explained very clearly that God is One and is alone worthy of being turned to and no other being can meet the needs and requirements of someone like God does. This is because save Him everything is created while He always was and always will be. All creation came into existence and will one day perish. By virtue of this all creation is impermanent and whatever is impermanent cannot facilitate arrangements for itself or for anything else. Whatever is impermanent is in need of a God, Who is Eternal. Indeed, this God has declared that He has made provisions for all His creation. He is over and above all other statuses and none can be His partner. The fourth aspect is that none can be His equal in what He does. Therefore none can bring about the results and effects that God can. Results attained by a worldly person are not his own doing but are in fact the reward of his hard work under the laws of natures. It is by virtue of the beneficence of the Divine quality of Rububiyyat (quality to nurture and sustain). Unfortunate is that individual who does not turn to such a God and turns away from him.
The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) wrote the following about God, the Possessor of all powers: ‘In the Holy Qur’an, our God describes His attributes thus:
‘Say, He is Allah, the One; Allah, the Independent and Besought of all. He begets not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.’ (112:2-5)
This means that: Your God is One in His Being and in His attributes. No other being is eternal and everlasting and self-existing like His Being, nor are the attributes of any being like His attributes. A person's knowledge needs a teacher and yet is limited. God's knowledge needs no teacher and is unlimited. A person's hearing is dependent upon air and is limited, but God's hearing is inherent and is unlimited. A person's seeing is dependent upon the light of the sun or some other light and is limited, but God's seeing is by His inherent light and is unlimited. The power of man to create is dependent upon some matter, needs time and is limited. God's power to create is neither dependent on any matter nor does it need time and is unlimited. All His attributes are without equal and as He has no equal in His Being, no one is His equal in His attributes. If one of His attributes were to be defective, all His attributes would be defective and therefore His Unity cannot be established unless He were without any equal in His attributes as He is without any equal in His Being. He is not anyone's son, nor is anyone His son. He is Self-Sufficient and needs neither father nor son. This is the Unity which the Holy Qur’an teaches and which is the basis of our faith.’ (Lecture Lahore, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 20, pp. 152-155, Essence of Islam, Vol. I, pp. 46-47)
Elucidating the reasoning behind Unity of God the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) wrote: ‘Then the Holy Qur’an sets forth an argument in support of His being One, without associate, by stating: ‘If there had been in them (the heavens and the earth) other gods beside Allah, then surely both would have gone to ruin…’ (21:23) ‘…nor is there any other God along with Him…’ 23:92) That is, had there been any other god beside the One Who combines in Himself all perfect attributes, both heaven and earth would have been corrupted. Since it was inevitable that at times this plurality of gods would have acted against one another, and their differences would have resulted plunging the universe into chaos, each one of them would have worked for the welfare of his own creation; for whose comfort, he would have considered it permissible to destroy others. This too would have led to chaos.’ (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 1, pp. 518, sub-footnote 3, Essence of Islam, Vol. I, pp. 86-87)
Describing some Divine attributes, the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) wrote:
‘…The attributes of God to Whom the Holy Quran calls us, which are as follows:
‘He is Allah, there is none worthy of worship except Him, the Knower of the unseen and the seen. He is the Gracious, the Merciful.’ (59:23) ‘Master of the Day of Judgment.’ (1:4) ‘…The Sovereign, the Holy One, the Source of Peace, the Bestower of Security, the Protector, the Mighty, the Subduer, the Exalted…’ ‘He is Allah, the Creator, the Maker, the Fashioner. His are the most beautiful names. All that is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Him, and He is the Mighty, the Wise. (59:24-25) ‘Allah has the power to do all that He wills.’ (2:21) ‘…Lord of all the worlds, The Gracious, the Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgment.’(1:2-4) ‘…I answer the prayer of the supplicant when he prays to Me.’ (2:187) ‘…The Living, the Self-Subsisting and All-Sustaining…’ (2:256) ‘Say, He is Allah, the One; Allah, the Independent and Besought of all. He begets not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.’ (112:2-5)
This means that God is One without associate and no one else beside Him is worthy of worship and obedience. This affirmation is made because, if He were not without associate, there might be an apprehension that He might be overcome by a rival, in which case Godhead would always be in peril. The affirmation that no one is worthy of worship beside Him means that He is so Perfect and His attributes are so excellent and exalted that if we were to select a god out of the universe who would be equipped with perfect attributes, or were to contemplate in our minds the best and most exalted attributes that God should possess, He would be more exalted than all our fancies. Whom no one can exceed and… Whom no one can be more exalted. That is God, to associate anyone in Whose worship would be the greatest wrong. Then he said: He is the Knower of the unseen, that is to say, He alone knows Himself.
No one can comprehend His Being. We can comprehend the sun and the moon in their entirety, but we cannot comprehend God in His entirety. Then he said: عالم الشھادۃ that is He is the Knower of the seen, that is to say, nothing is hidden from Him. It is not to be imagined that He should be unaware of anything. He has every particle of the universe within His sight; but man does not possess such comprehensive vision. He knows when He might break up this system and bring about the Judgement. No one else knows when that would happen. It is God alone Who has knowledge of all those times. Then it is said: ھو الرحمن He is the Gracious One. This means that before the coming into being of animates and before any action proceeding from them, out of His pure grace and not for any other purpose, nor as a reward for any action, He makes due provision for everyone; as for instance, He brought into being the sun and the earth and all other things for our benefit before we came into being and before any action had proceeded from us. This Divine bounty is designated Rahmaniyyat in the Book of God, and on account of it God Almighty is called Rahman. He rewards righteous action richly and does not let go waste anyone’s effort. Then he said: الرحیم that is on account of this attribute He is called Rahim, and the attribute is designated Rahimiyyat.
Then it is said: ‘Master of the Day of Judgement’ (1:4) That is, He is Master of the Day of Judgement. This means that He keeps the recompense of everyone in His own hand. He has appointed no agent to whom He has committed the governance of the heavens and the earth, having withdrawn from it altogether, being no longer concerned with it, leaving to the agent the determination of all recompense at all times. Then it is said: ‘…the Sovereign, the Holy One…’ (59:24) That is, He is the Sovereign without any default. It is obvious that human sovereignty is not without default. For instance, if all the subjects of an earthly sovereign were to leave their country and to migrate to another country, his sovereignty would come to an end. Or if all his people were afflicted with famine, how could any revenue be collected? Or if the people were to enquire from him what is it that he possesses beyond that which they possess on account of which they should obey him, what could he say in answer to their question? But God’s sovereignty is not subject to any default. He can destroy everything in one instant and can create another kingdom. Had He not been such a Creator, possessing all power, His kingdom would not have endured without injustice. For instance, having forgiven and having bestowed salvation upon the people of the world once, how would He have acquired another world? Would He have sought to catch those upon whom He had already bestowed salvation so that He might send them back into the world, and would have revoked His forgiveness and salvation unjustly? In such case, His Godhead would have proved defective and He would have become an imperfect ruler like earthly sovereigns who frame ever new laws for their people and are put out of temper time after time; and when they find in their selfishness, that they cannot carry on without injustice, they have recourse to it without compunction. For instance, in terrestrial sovereignty it is considered permissible to let the passengers of a small vessel be destroyed in order to secure the safety of a large vessel, but God is under no such compulsion.
If God had not been All-Powerful and had not the power to create out of nothing, He would have been compelled either to have recourse to injustice like weak sovereigns, or would have clung to justice and lost His Godhead. God’s vessel continues its voyage with full power on the basis of justice.
Then he said: السلام that then He is the Source of Peace, that is to say, He is safeguarded against all defects, and misfortunes, and hardships, and provides security for all. If He had been liable to being afflicted with misfortunes, or to be killed by His people, or could have been frustrated in His designs, how could the hearts of people in such cases have been comforted by the conviction that he would deliver them from misfortunes? God Almighty describes the condition of false gods in the following words: ‘…Surely, those on whom you call instead of Allah cannot create even a fly, though they combine together for the purpose. And if the fly should snatch away anything from them, they cannot recover it therefrom. Weak indeed are both the seeker and the sought. They esteem not Allah with the estimation which is His due. Surely, Allah is Powerful, Mighty. (22:74-75)
Those on whom you call beside Allah cannot create even a fly, though they should all combine together for the purpose; and if a fly should snatch away anything from them, they cannot recover it therefrom. Their worshippers lack intelligence and they themselves lack power. Can such as these be gods? God is One Who is more powerful than all those who possess power. He is the Mighty, Who is supreme over all. No one can apprehend Him or kill Him. Those who fall into such errors have not a true concept of God’s attributes.
Then he said: then God is the Bestower of Security and sets forth proof of His attributes and His Unity. This is an indication that he who believes in the True God is not embarrassed in any company, nor would he be remorseful in the presence of God, for he is equipped with strong proofs. But he who believes in a false god finds himself in great distress. He describes every senseless thing as a mystery so that he should not be laughed at and seeks to hide demonstrable errors.
Then He is: ‘…The Bestower of Security, the Protector, the Mighty, the Subduer…’ (59:24)
Meaning that He safeguards all and is supreme over all and sets right all that might have gone wrong and is completely Self-Sufficient.
Then it is said: ‘He is Allah, the Creator, the Maker, the Fashioner. His are the most beautiful names.’ (59:25)
This means that He is the Creator of the bodies as well as of the souls. He determines the features of a baby in the womb. To Him belong all the beautiful names that can be thought of.
‘All that is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Him, and He is the Mighty, the Wise. (59:25)
The dwellers of the heaven and the dwellers of the earth glorify Him. This is an indication that the heavenly bodies are also populated and their dwellers follow Divine guidance.
‘…Allah has the power to do all that He wills.’ (2:21)
Then he said: that He has the power to do all that He wills. This provides great comfort for His worshippers, for what can be expected of a god who is weak and without power?
Then it is said: ‘Lord of all the worlds, The Gracious, the Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgment.’ (1:2-4) ‘…I answer the prayer of the supplicant when he prays to Me.’ (2:187)
That is, He is the Lord of the worlds, Most Gracious, Ever Merciful, Master of the Day of judgement. This means that He provides for the universe and is Himself the Master of the Day of Judgement and has not committed Judgement to anyone else. Then it is said: I respond to the call of him who calls on Me,
Then he said: ‘…The Living, the Self-Subsisting and All-Sustaining…’ (2:256) That is, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting, and the Self-Sufficient.
The life of every life, and the support of every being. He is the Ever-Living, for if He were not Ever-Living, His worshippers would be apprehensive lest He should die before them. Then it is said: Proclaim: He is Allah, the Single. He begets not, nor is He begotten; and there is no one who is His equal or like unto Him.’ (Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam, pp. 95-104)
The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) wrote: ‘The objective of all commandments of the religion of Islam is to elucidate the reality of the beauty that is inherent in the word ‘Islam’. The Holy Qur’an comprises teachings which work towards endearing God. They exhibit His beauties and remind us of His beneficence, inasmuch as love is created either by the observation of beauty or by the remembrance of beneficence. The Qur’an teaches that by virtue of His excellences God is One, without associate. He suffers from no defect. He comprehends all good qualities and manifests all holy powers. He is the Originator of all creation and is the fountainhead of all grace.
He is the Master of all recompense and everything returns to Him. He is near and yet far, and He is far and yet near. He is above all, but it cannot be said that there is someone below Him. He is more hidden than everything else is but it cannot be said that there is something more manifest than Him. He is Self-Existing in His Being and everything is alive through Him. He is Self-Sustaining and everything is sustained by Him. He supports everything and there is nothing that supports Him. There is nothing that has come into being on its own, or can live without Him on its own. He comprehends everything, but it cannot be said what is the nature of that comprehension. He is the Light of everything in heaven and earth and every light has shone forth from His hand and is a reflection of His Being. He is the Providence of the universe. There is no soul that is not sustained by Him and exists by itself. No soul has any power which it has not obtained from Him and which exists by itself. His mercy is of two kinds. One, which has been eternally manifested without being the result of any action on the part of anyone. For instance, heaven and earth, the sun, moon and planets, water, fire and air, and all the particles of the universe which were created for our comfort, and all those things that were needed by us, were provided before our coming into being. All this was done when we were not even present. No action had proceeded from us. Who can say that the sun was created on account of some action of his, or that the earth was created in consequence of some good action of his? This is the mercy which came into operation before the creation of man and is not the result of anyone's actions. The second kind of Divine mercy comes into operation in consequence of human action. (Lecture Lahore, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 20, pp. 152-153 Essence of Islam, Vol. I, pp. 43-44
Writing about the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) as the only way to God the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said: ‘Our soul and every particle of our being are prostrate before the Mighty, True and Perfect God from Whose hand every soul and every particle of creation together with all its faculties came into being, and through Whose support every being is sustained. Nothing is outside His knowledge, outside His control, or outside His creation. We call thousands of blessings and peace and mercy on the Holy Prophet Muhammad, the chosen one [peace and blessings of Allah be on him] through whom we have found the Living God Who gives us proof of His existence through His Word. He demonstrates to us through extraordinary signs His shining countenance which possesses eternal and perfect power. We found the Messengersa who manifested God to us and we found the God Who created everything through His perfect power. How majestic is His power that nothing came into being without it and nothing can continue to exist without its support. That True God of ours possesses numberless blessings, numberless powers, numberless beauties and beneficences. There is no other God beside Him.’ (Nasim-e-Da‘wat, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 19, p. 363. Essence of Islam, Vol. I, p. 39)
The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) wrote about those who do not believe in the existence of God and said: ‘The Being of God is transcendental and beyond the beyond and is most secret and cannot be discovered by the power of human reasoning alone. No argument can prove it conclusively, inasmuch as reason can travel only so far that contemplating the universe it feels the need of a Creator. But the feeling of a need is one thing and it is quite another to arrive at the certainty that the God, Whose need has been felt, does in fact exist. As the operation of reason is defective, incomplete and doubtful, a philosopher cannot recognize God purely through reason. Most people who try to determine the existence of God Almighty purely through the exercise of reason, in the end become atheists. Reflecting over the creation of the heavens and the earth does not avail them much and they begin to deride and laugh at the men of God. One of their arguments is that there are thousands of things in the world which have no use and the fashioning of which does not indicate the existence of a fashioner. They exist merely as vain and useless things. These people do not seem to realize that lack of knowledge of something does not necessarily negate its existence.
There are millions of people in the world who regard themselves as very wise philosophers and who utterly deny the existence of God. It is obvious that if they had discovered a strong reason for the existence of God, they would not have denied it. If they had discovered a conclusive argument in support of the existence of God, they would not have rejected it shamelessly and in derision. It is obvious, therefore, that no one boarding the ark of the philosophers can find deliverance from the storm of doubts, but is bound to be drowned, and such a one would never have access to the drinking of pure Unity.
It is a false and stinking notion that belief in the Unity of God can be achieved otherwise than through the Holy Prophet [peace and blessings of Allah be on him]; nor can man achieve salvation without it. How can there be faith in the Unity of God unless there is perfect certainty with regard to His existence? Be sure, therefore, that belief in the Unity of God can be achieved only through a Prophet, as our Holy Prophet [peace and blessings of Allah be on him] convinced the atheists and pagans of Arabia of the existence of God Almighty by showing them thousands of heavenly signs. Up till today, the true and perfect followers of the Holy Prophet [peace and blessings of Allah be on him] present those signs to the atheists. The truth is that till a person observes the living powers of the Living God, Satan does not depart from his heart, nor does true Unity enter into it, nor can he believe with certainty in the existence of God. This holy and perfect Unity is appreciated only through the Holy Prophet [peace and blessings of Allah be on him]. (Haqiqat-ul-Wahi, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 22, pp. 120-121, Essence of Islam, Vol. I, pp. 40-41)
Writing about complete belief in God, the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said: ‘Our God possesses many wonders, but they are visible only to those who become His out of sincerity and loyalty. He does not disclose His wonders to those who do not believe in His Power and who are not sincere and loyal to Him. How unfortunate is the man who does not know that he has a God Who has power to do all that He wills. Our paradise lies in our God. Our highest delight is in our God for we have seen Him and have found every beauty in Him. This wealth is worth procuring though one might have to lay down one's life to procure it. This ruby is worth purchasing though one may have to lose oneself to acquire it. O ye, who are bereft! run to this fountain and it will satisfy you. It is the fountain of life that will save you. What shall I do, and how shall I impress the hearts with this good news, and by beating what drum shall I make the announcement that this is our God, so that people might hear? What remedy shall I apply to the ears of the people so that they should listen?’ (Kashti Nuh, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 19, pp. 21-22 Essence of Islam, Vol. I, pp. 98-99)
In following the Imam of the age and true and ardent devotee of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) may God enable us to take the message of the Living God to the world and may we make them realise about the Living God, Who still listens and shows signs and that they should return to Him. May we too forge a living relationship with God and practice His teachings and worship Him and have correct insight of His attributes and become recipients of His blessings and may we and our generations be protected against associating partners with God.