God's essence is one that can never be perceived, whether in this world or the next. We cannot speak of Him in terms of any point of reference, including spatio-temporal. However, nothing is more evident than His attributes, manifesting themselves like the smoke of the fire. He, through His attributes, is everywhere in the heavens and earth
57:4,58:7,12:105,31:20,2:115"so whichever way you turn, there is the Face of Allah".
These attributes manifest in every aspect of creation, down to our
45:3-4,51:21"own souls (too); will you not then see?".
It is a continuously unfolding phenomenon as denoted with the present progressive tense in 41:53. As also denoted with "musiun" 51:47 which carries the meaning of expanding, the universe is not a finished work, but in continuous expansion, with new manifestations of God's creation
87:2"Who creates, then makes complete".
Musiun stems from W-S-Ayn meaning wide or to encompass something. It is often used in the Quran to imply both meanings 4:97,130,7:156,20:98,29:56. Musiun is a noun describing the subject doing the widening or the encompassing. Here the meaning that fits better the context is widening or expanding.
The passage turns the audience's attention to the sky whose primary characteristics they know and see, obviously is its vastness. It first says God built it with power, because something that vast could only have been done with immesurable might. This verse is part of a group of verses arguing for the resurrection by pointing to mankind's creation as insignificant in terms of complexity and strength needed to achieve it, compared to the heavens above 40:57. The idea of making the heavens vast thus then naturally follows the initial description of the creation from the perspective of the strength needed. Strength however does not necessarily imply exertion and effort. And this is where the eloquence of the Quran manifests. The statement "musiun" is a noun denoting a state, not a temporary action. It also implies ease. The Quran could have used here other words to derive the same meaning of expanding, but without that nuance of ease. Muwassi3 for instance carries the same meaning but with an emphasis on effort because of the shadda. Ibn Abbas comments
"(We have built) created (the heaven with might, and We it is who make the vast extent (thereof)) as We will; it is also said that this means: we expand the provision thereof".
He understood musiun as implying vastness, and as reflected in the view he reports, musiun is a constant action. Ancient people did not know the universe is in expansion and in a constant state of creation, so they connected musiun to the provision from the heaven, ie the rain. Here is a typical case of Quranic eloquence, allowing its words not to violently disturb nor confirm its audience's understanding of nature, so as to not deflect the attention from the spiritual portents of the verse. This is because the Quran's objective isnt to cause scientific, but spiritual reform.
The Quran has pointed and explained the implications of many signs which exist in the world around and within man calling, him to ponder on every aspect of existence. These are in fact the true miracles happening everyday and only the one with an open heart is able to derive the higher realities from them. This is the particularity of the Quranic argument, to grasp things, concepts, phenomena which the human sees and experiences on a near daily basis, and teaches him the right angle from which to perceive them. The Quran uses simple scenes long familiar to man to attract attention to the higher realities and build profound faith. From a spiritual point of view, the same miraculous complexity applies to the building blocks of life as to gigantic structures and the universe. These scenes are used by the Quran because it addresses every human being, at all times and conditions. It does not seek to accommodate the philosophical and scientific intellectual elite while disregarding less educated people. The observations to which it points can be utilized by anyone so as to derive spiritual benefits. Through this approach among others, including a balance of warnings and glad tidings, as well as prophecies progressively unfolding, history attests that the prophet Muhammad, although often denigrated by Judeo-Christian critics who are ignorant of their own books, this prophet was in fact the most successful in implementing the will of God on an unprecedented scope and scale. Every time the prophet's opponents asked him for a miracle on demand, he was told to point them to ta similar phenomena occurring daily under their eyes as evidence of a wise Creator
45:25-6"And when Our verses are recited to them as clear evidences, their argument is only that they say, "Bring [back] our forefathers, if you should be truthful". Say, "Allah causes you to live, then causes you to die; then He will assemble you for the Day of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt, but most of the people do not know".
How will they admit to a miraculous sign the like of which they are demanding, if they arent able to see the imprint of a Creator in everyday causality? That is why we find that even those prophets that did perform miracles on demand to those kinds of obdurate people, were accused of sorcery and had in fact very little following
45:23"Have you seen he who has taken as his god his [own] desire, and Allah has sent him astray due to knowledge and has set a seal upon his hearing and his heart and put over his vision a veil? So who will guide him after Allah? Then will you not be reminded?"
The human mind has been designed so as to observe and meditate upon the creation, not the Creator. Our minds cannot and will not ever be able to absorb Allah's infinite essence. Once, the prophet said to his companions who were in deep contemplation;
"Contemplate and reflect on Allah's creation, and not on the Creator for you will never be able to understand Allah in measures or quantum".
The Quran embraces all scientific endeavor that does not reject the spiritual dimension, which is present in all things, in and outside of man
3:190-1"Most surely in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day there are signs for men who understand. Those who remember Allah standing and sitting and lying on their sides and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth".
The Quran guides and imparts knowledge regarding the unseen realm, which is beyond our reach. But the material world is available for anyone to explore. That is why the Quran doesnt impart new knowledge in relation to our world but rather seeks to purge the scientist's intention and attitude when exploring it.
These passages lay the ground for the proper understanding of many verses that mention God's attributes. For instance, looking towards Allah in the Hereafter 75:23 is the same as seeing His face in this world 2:115 except that the perception and experience will be far more intense. This is because the believers will literally be 3:107"in Allah's mercy" and are repeatedly described as meeting Him 76:11. This meeting, translates into experiences of bliss and relief
"and (Allah) has met them with freshness and joy".
Looking towards Allah 75:23 is the most suited expression to convey the idea of the very strong perception of God's manifestation through His attributes. The Quran averts any possible misuse of such verses through its explicit statements
6:103"Visions comprehends Him not, and He comprehends (all) vision".
To leave no room for ambiguity, the verse actually says alabsar/visions in the plural. This covers any type of physical vision, even including the impossibility to imagine God. Allah's mathal or example, is therefore unimaginable, incomparable
30:27"and His is the most exalted essence/mathal in the heavens and the earth, and He is the Mighty, the Wise".
The statement that He "comprehends all visions" is quite powerful as it entails God not only seeing but encompassing the entity He sees. Creatures with vision are limited to the physical sight of things, without always seeing its inner reality. That is how precise and complete the Quran is in its monotheistic approach to the divine essence. He does not need to be detached from the creation to remain beyond all perception. He is fully present and aware of the reality of all things.
Similarly to seeing their Lord, the believers meeting Him in the Hereafter is equal to an intense perception of the way in which He manifests His attributes 2:46. In fact it clearly says, that in the Hereafter, the successful will meet God's good promise 28:61. Another aspect through which the Quran places the divine reality beyond human perception is the statement
112:4,42:11"there is nothing like a likeness of Him"
This is the Quran axiom as regards the manner by which God manifests in this world, He does so through His attributes, but never through His imperceptible essence. 42:11 literally says "like a likeness of Him" meaning His reality is not only above all material limitations, but even above the limitation of metaphor. This also carries the meaning that even the "how" of His being is beyond the category of human thought. There is no reason to assume that this reality will cease in the hereafter, with Allah's essence being brought to the realm of physical perception.
"Like a likeness" can be both taken as nothing similar to Allah or nothing identical to Allah. Scholars have taken different positions on the matter, with the most logical being that there is similarity but nothing identical to Him. For example humans can hear but nothing like the perfect hearing of Allah. Whatever similitude is given to Him, it always is better than the thing or concept used to illustrate
16:60"and for Allah is the highest likeness. And He is Exalted in Might, the Wise".
Whatever symmetry is used with creation, to illustrate something about Allah, must end up exalting Him rather than diminishing from His majesty 16:74,36:77-8.
Trinitarians on the other hand have completely identified God with creation as symbolized in the mysterious hypostatic union in Jesus; fully man and fully God. Every atom composing the incarnate son of God, contain this full characteristic of divinity and humanity. Where are now the pieces of skin, hair, excrements, or even the foreskin of the circumcised son of God while he walked this earth? Have they disintegrated and merged into other worldly entities, like plants, animals or humans, which in turn contain atoms of divinity within them? Trinity is impossible to logically deduce, reasonably arrive to through the mind and senses; humans naturally, as contingent beings seek the intrinsically different, non-contingent, necessary being that transcends all things as the origin of creation. Christians, and more particularly Catholics and Orthodox, cannot derive their ultimate beliefs from reason alone, they are forced to operate with the presupposition that the Bible and church tradition are true for the Trinity to be the correct notion of God yet the consensus on the canon of the scripture as well as the creed of Christianity werent agreed upon for 300 years. The epistemology of Christianity, moreso that of Catholicism and Orthodoxy, is not only presuppositional which is poor philosophically as it entails circular reasoning based on writings of highly disputed authenticity, but ultimately leads to mysterianism which negates reason and logic entirely. It is a religion of blind faith with no place for reason outside revelation to corroborate independently that revelation. This entails that either one is born into it, or forcefully converted and brainwashed into it. One cannot come from the outside and start with the presupposition that it is the truth without a process of reasonable deductions. And if one does so, then one cancels the central requirement of that belief system even before embracing it. This demonstrates that, contrary to the demand of the Church, human nature needs logical, reasonable premises to accept a spiritual proposition as potentially true.
Among the scholars and commentators of the past, a terminology was coined whenever they had to interpret such verses "bi-la kayfa"/without how. The scholars of Islam are therefore not arbitrarily delimitating human understanding in light of statements about God. The notorious "divine mystery" cop out term of Trinitarian scholars on the other hand is arbitrary and not based on anything other than 2000 years of fruitless efforts in trying to make sense of irrational doctrines.
The prophet said
“Allah laughs for the despair of His servant, as He will soon relieve him.” I said, “O Messenger of Allah, does the Lord laugh?” The Prophet said, “Yes.” I said, “We will never be deprived of goodness by a Lord who laughs!”
Here the prophet demonstrates that principle of interpretation; maintaining a balance between Allah’s absolute transcendence and the affirmation of His attributes. Despite the person's desire for more details, the prophet doesnt describe the "how" and "why" of Allah laughing but only confirms it as fact. This means the similitude of Allah's laugh with that of creation stops at the level of the effect which is entailed by such an attribute. How it manifests in God is unknown.
The same principle, as taught by the prophet and the Quran, is adopted whenever one comes across other references to God's attributes including mercy, love, wrath, dislike, mockery, pleasure etc. Mercy for example, is caused by an emotion of compassion, leading to favourable actions. It is from our own experience that we associate a merciful action with compassionate feelings, but such experience doesnt apply to God as we do not know how any attribute manifests within His infinite essence. The "How" of things is always excluded for Allah. The Quran in countless instances explains, explicitly and implicitly, that Allah is self-sufficient, beyond the need of anything outside of Himself. Emotions therefore, which are contingent on need, cannot be what drives Allah's category of attributes which we perceive as emotional.
The prophet once recounted an intense revelational dream in which he experienced something of the realm of the unseen. At no point does he speak of seeing Allah. He says he was in Allah's presence
"ana bi rabbi".
God's presence manifests through His attributes as is amply demonstrated in the Quran. In that dream the prophet knew He was in Allah's presence when he perceived something that represented Allah. In the abstract, metaphysical realm, as in a dream, things are experienced differently than with the physical senses. All aspects of Allah which he saw and interacted with were visions of the spirit, of the heart
"I saw Him place His Palm between my shoulders, and I sensed the coolness of His Fingertips between my breast. Then everything was disclosed for me, and I became aware".
Even in this world, references in the Quran and ahadith to attributes of Allah such as His Hands, manifest in a non-material, metaphysical sense
48:10"Surely those who swear allegiance to you do but swear allegiance to Allah; the hand of Allah is above their hands".
Just like Allah's face is everywhere one looks 2:115 His presence with each and everyone at all moments 57:4,58:7 closer than the jugular vein 50:16 anytime we read of other attributes of Allah, including His eyes, fingers, foot, shin etc, we understand them in light of the supreme and firm Quranic axioms of divine transcendence spoken of earlier. This is further borne out by the repeated notion of there being spiritual senses by which the God-conscious experiences the unseen, whether in this world or in the hereafter. Allah, the necessary being, has the attribute of mercy or wrath, just as He has the attribute of foot, shin, eyes or hands. We know those attributes not by the description of their reality, or their essence, but by the way they interact with creation. God in His revelation told us how in some cases His mercy, wrath or His hand or foot affect us and this is the extent to which we understand His attributes.
God's attributes are distinct, but distinction of attributes within Allah's essence isnt analogous to distinction of persons (father-son-holyspirit) within the trinitarian godhead. In the trinitarian model, each person is distinct from the other but is of one divine essence. This results in 3 different gods as they instantiate different attributes, as classical identity suggests. Not only that, these "persons" cause oneanother to come to being, the Father "begets" the Son and the Holy Spirit "proceeds" from the Father. There is a hierarchy in time and rank, no matter the word contortions. That reality is more blatantly conveyed by the pre-Nicea Church Fathers who clearly saw the Son as subordinate in power, rank, knowledge to God the Father. In addition, these divine persons of the trinity must have different minds because the Father can never know that he is the Son and vice versa (logic of indexicals).
The attributes of Allah, although distinct, like human love or wrath, arent entities with an independent will nor are they divine. In the end, whatever the semantics and sophistries used, Muslims maintain strict monotheism by distinguishing the Creator from the created, and do not ascribe divinity to anything else than one entity.
This is where the fundamental Islamic principle that Allah is One, both numerically and in kind, eternally, serves as an anchor whenever the human mind ventures into exploring the divine reality. Muslims, no matter their philosophical background and musings in that area, will always remain anchored in their monotheism and will never declare more than one entity divine.
There is however a school of philosophical thought within branches of Islam that come close, by implication, to what trinitarians have explicitly done. It finds its source in Greek philosophy and is called the doctrine of Divine simplicity. It entails that the attributes spoken of separately in the Quran and traditions like creator, mercy, power, love, wrath, hand, eyes etc are all names of one and the same thing, that thing being God's very essence, eternally existing. This results in Allah continuously creating for instance, making the universe eternal along with Allah. It further makes the act of creation necessary, Allah had to be eternally creating from eternity past, regardless of His will. The Quran states otherwise, that Allah is free from all constraints, because He is the only necessary being. He creates, loves, destroys etc within time, and He existed by Himself, prior to all creation. Lastly, not only does the doctrine entail necessity beyond the necessary being in regards to creation, it also means that our particular universe was the only possible one God could have created from eternity past, thus constraining His power and will. The Muslim proponents of that doctrine, which is totally unnecessary if one takes the primary sources of Islam as basis, have different semantical ways to work around those problems so as to maintain divine transcendence. Mainstream Islam avoids such pitfalls by accepting what is plainly stated in the primary sources, the sacred text and traditions, namely that the attributes of Allah are real and distinct, that they manifest in time. In regards to the relation of the attributes to the divine essence, the stance adopted is one of neutrality as there are no guiding statements in the primary sources. The attributes subsist without being equal to the essence nor different parts of it.
Allah having attributes like the aforementioned ones, does not negate that certain literary contexts in which they appear may entail a metaphor. There are many examples of these expressions, well known in Arabic usage, both in the Quran and ahadith. For instance the statement
51:47"And the heaven We constructed with strength/biaydin, and indeed, We are [its] expander".
The use of "hands" denotes power, while the plain reading of constructing the universe with hands has no benefit nor bearing on the context of the verse. Elsewhere the Quran literally speaks of the hands of God's mercy 25:48. The idea of an attribute of Allah having hands is obviously misplaced; the meaning conveys a sense of care and sustenance
25:48"And He is the One who sent the winds as glad tidings between the hands of His mercy. And We sent down from the sky water which is pure".
Similarly, the statement that both of Allah's hands are right hands conveys a sense of honour. The prophet, speaking of the first moments following Adam's completion said:
"..Then Allah said to him – while His Two Hands were closed – ‘Choose which of them you wish.’ He said: ‘I chose the right My Lord and both of the Hands of my Lord are right, blessed..."
Adam was given the choice between 2 hands, of which he chose the right one. His subsequent statement that both hands are right cannot be taken literally or else Adam could not have chosen THE right one when initially given the choice. The "right hand" in Arabic culture, and in most societies symbolizes honour, trust, authority, strength. Adam's statement was meant at glorifying Allah. In another report, mention is made of a "left hand". This part of the hadith however is a known anomaly/shaadh (al-Albani). As to what Adam saw and whether he saw a form, the whole incident could have occurred through inspiration, as the Quran clearly says whenever Allah communicates with someone. Another instance is the statement 28:88"Everything will be destroyed except His Face". The face, as is amply used in classical Arabic, with examples from both the Quran and ahadith entails the essence of an entity. With this linguistic reality in mind, and the verses stating that Allah is the ever-living, Who precedes and outlasts all things, one applies the meaning of "face" here to Allah's essence, His self. This doesnt negate the Face as an attribute of Allah 2:115.
Sometimes, nothing can be derived from a statement other than a metaphorical meaning, without any indication of the imagery applying to God in a literal sense
39:56"Lest a soul should say, "Oh [how great is] my regret over what I neglected the side/janb of Allah and that I was among the mockers".
Janb is used for the side of the abdomen where the ribs are. It is also an everyday expression that indicates the side in the sense of what it represents. The English equivalent would be "to take the side of X" or "to be on the side of X". Obviously here a plain, literal reading brings nothing to the verse and is irrelevant to the message. This verse is similar in meaning to statements that Allah literally is "with" the righteous 29:69.
The prophet said, from ibn Abbas
"The rahim (kinship ties, lit. "womb") is hanging on to the Hujzah of The Most Merciful; He maintains ties with whoever maintains it and severs ties with whoever severs it."
In another version through Abu Hurayra
“Allah created the creation, and when He had finished it, the rahim got up and caught hold of the Haqw of Allah, whereupon, Allah said, ‘What is the matter?’ It said, ‘I seek refuge with You from those who sever the ties of kinship.’ Allah Said, ‘Will you be satisfied if I bestow My favors upon those who maintain your ties and withhold My favors from those who sever your ties?’ It said, ‘Yes, O my Lord!’ Then Allah said, ‘That is for you”.
Both Hujzah and Haqw mean the waist. In Arabic "holding on to the hujzah of another" means seeking his help, without entailing physical contact. Following the guidelines of interpretation Allah Himself has laid down in the book as regards His attributes and descriptions, the waist of Allah, like any other attribute is beyond comprehension. Only He knows its reality and implications. Just as Allah being nearer to us than the vein of the neck does not entail physical contact, the prophet here is using an expression in relation to the waist of Allah, to convey a message as regards the ties of kinship. The womb holding unto Allah's waist is another way of saying that it called upon Him for help. When something is depicted as being in contact with Allah, it is not a created, tangible thing, rather a concept
"Glory is Allah’s izaar and pride is His cloak".
The izaar is a traditional cloth that is wrapped around the waistline and that goes down until the ankles.
The throne of Allah
2:255"His chair (kursiyyahu) extends over the heavens and the earth"
20:5"The Beneficent One, Who is established (istawa) on the Throne (arsh)"
7:54"Surely your Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six periods of time, and He is firm in power (thumma istawa alal arsh)"
In all the seven instances where God is spoken of in the Quran as "istawa alal arsh/established on the throne" 7:54,10:3,13:2,20:5,25:59,32:4,57:4 this expression is connected with a declaration of His having created the universe. Nothing symbolizes dominion more in human psyche than the image of a powerful king sitting on his throne and ruling his kingdom. Allah however is not like any human king. He is the King of Kings Who not only possesses a mighty throne, but is the sustainer of that throne
9:129,23:116"So exalted be Allah, the True King; no god is there but He, the Lord of the Throne/arsh".
This means, despite Him being the absolute ruler of all that exists, He stands by Himself and does not need the support of a throne. This is a major point in the Quran's depiction of creation. At no point is there any hint or reference to God needing a time of rest, or break from a tiresome endeavour.
As to the statement "established over/on" that generally accompanies the mention of the throne, it does not entail "sitting". It is important to emphasize, whenever there is mention of Allah being in a location, the only understanding that is open to us is in terms of implication relevant to each context. The "how" is beyond any human being's grasp since outside our experience. This, again, is a principle of interpretation established in the Quran and the teachings of the prophet.
For instance it says Allah is at all times nearer than one's jugular vein 50:16. The implication is that His knowledge and control encompass every aspect of every human being's life, at each instant of their existence. It also says Allah's face is visible wherever one looks 2:115. How is Allah's face simultaneously present in whatever direction one lays his eyes is beyond human understanding but the implications are clear; the spiritually aware perceives in all aspects of creation and at all moments the divine will and design. Interestingly, in the very verse talking of Allah's establishing Himself above the throne, it says
57:4"He is with you wherever you are".
Again, His simultaneous presence above the throne and with every human at all moment shows that He is absolutely transcendent, unbound by space and time, or any other type of restriction. This is an unfathomable notion to our minds, hence the uselessness of seeking the "how". The implications of that statement however are clear; God has unrestricted sway over all that exists, including the throne itself which is a creation.
God's presence, not appearance, during His communion with Moses follows this exact pattern of religious terminology 27:7-9,28:29-30. The same understanding applies to the hadith describing Allah descending
"every night to the lowest heaven when one-third of the night remains"
so as to bless and forgive those that request it. Just as Allah is closer, at each instant, than the jugular vein, with all humans wherever they are, His face simultaneously visible all around us at all moments, all the while being established over the throne, His presence in the lowest heaven at a certain point in time is an unfathomable concept to the human mind. The implications of the statement however is understood by the information provided; such descent is accompanied by a manifestation of His attribute of mercy which is more prominent during that interval to those that seek it.
The Quran, as well as the prophet, draw the boundaries of our understanding of those verses. What we can seek to understand, and what is a fruitless effort, as pointed to earlier. Him encompassing all of existence from close and far simultaneously, as well as being in a certain place at a certain time, is unlike any concept we can imagine. We can however understand the implications of those descriptions.
Again, when Allah 87:1"the Most High" is 6:61,16:50"above" or in the heavens (which He created), the expression is understood as denoting his all encompassing sway and dominion, that there cannot be something higher than Him in the sense of perfection, exaltedness. Such verses cannot be taken in isolation of the principles of interpretation mentioned earlier, as well as the numerous statements of Allah's all encompassing presence unrestricted by time and space. In fact, in connection to Allah being "above", we read that He does not "reside" in a fixed place
6:3"He is Allah in the heavens and in the earth".
We find in certain passages of the HB principles that similarly protect divine transcendence despite descriptions of God acting within time and space. Among such restrictive verses we read that
Isa33:5"The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high".
That dwelling place is somewhere in the
Amos9:6"upper stories in Heaven"
which He has built. These chambers are above the solid canopy of the earth upon which He sometimes sits Isa40:22,Ps104 in order to
Ps33:13-14"oversees all the inhabitants of the earth".
The heavens strictly belong to him, while humans were made for the earth Ps115:16. In a closer sense, in the context of the Temple of Jerusalem, God is said to dwell among His people 1kings8:27. This is where the prophet Solomon salvages divine transcendence and provides an axiom by which to understand such "restrictive" Biblical verses. He states here that no location on the earth and neither of "the heaven of heavens" can contain Him. By definition, infinity cannot be limited in quantity or quality. This passage, which is in congruence with the Islamic principles mentioned earlier, refute the Hellenistic misappropriation of the HB by the NT authors. Jesus being fully God limits the infinite to a location. If the divine essence was not limited to a location when Jesus walked the streets of Jerusalem, then it means Jesus was not fully God. Solomon's words are decisive and closed to any misinterpretation. God manifests His presence through His attributes, not by entering His creation.
The Quran has also warned that these type of ambiguous verses are a test to those in whose heart there is perversity 3:7. They will deny the explicit verses that shed light on the right manner to approach these passages, preferring to apply their own desires and notions unto them. Trinitarians will often reply that God can do whatever He wishes. God surely has power over all things, but the contention here isnt about what God can or cannot do. God doesnt contradict Himself or negate His attributes, including Majesty and Self-sufficiency. Entering creation compromises both. This also opens the way for speculation, can God, for whatever theological construct, also incarnate into a worm? If not why not?
With those principles in mind we may further understand the implications of Allah "coming". We do not and cannot fathom how Allah can come within space and time, but we certainly can know the implications of that statement. Besides the hadith mentioned prior which entails mercy, in the Quran it means the execution of His command or of His threatened punishment. Similarly, the HB states in the context of divine chastisement visiting a wicked people, that God swiftly comes "riding" the clouds to destination Isa19:1,Ps104:3 or is transported by majestic angels Ps18:10. More in line with the Quranic imagery is God "descending" on the sinners for punishment or on a people for battle Isa31:4,Micah1:3 or "coming with a strong hand" to mete out retribution upon the heathens Isa40:10.
The idea of tiredness is completely excluded from God's creative work 46:33. God's establishment over the throne, which is itself a creation sustained by Him, symbolises His constant dominion upon all that exists. He has not relinquished His rule in favour of others nor has He made the whole of His creation or any part of it independent like a clock running by itself. He has instead remained at all times the sole Sustainer upon Whom the functioning of all things depend. The ending of these verses with
"surely His is the creation and the command"
refer precisely to this; after creation comes the command, symbolized by the establishment on the throne
32:5"He manages and regulates every affair from the heavens to the earth. Then, it will go up to him, in one Day, the space whereof is a thousand years of your reckoning".
In fact the Quran is silent about a seventh day in the history of creation, where the Bible depicts God as seemingly collapsing on a throne following a tiresome task. Rather, God creates in six days only and then controls His creation, including the throne upon which He is established. Had His management abandoned the world of existence for one single moment, the organization of them all would have perished 22:65,35:41.
In the HB, despite being One that Isa40:28"neither tires nor wearies", the crudely depicted Hebrew God is one that needed "resting" after "finishing" the monumental task of creating the universe, a pre-measured and finalized work
Isa40:12"Who measured water with his gait, and measured the heavens with his span, and measured by thirds the dust of the earth, and weighed mountains with a scale and hills with a balance?"
also Isa48:13.
This concept borders with the polytheistic beliefs of many people around the world, including the Arabs of the Hijaz, who attributed the act of creation to the One God supreme, who then for many various reasons, left it either partially or completely, to the interceding deities or lesser gods to administrate the natural processes. The perfect monotheism of Islam is far detached from these incomplete and primitive depictions of God.
Ibrahim's discussion with the unnamed ruler of his nation (later Quran commentaries identify him with Namrud/Nimrod) was precisely about this notion of God's omnipresence in the created world. What transpires from the portion of the debate quoted in the Quran is that the point of contention was not God's existence, rather His presence in man's life. The ruler gave examples implying that God is not concerned with all worldly matters, is mostly absent from man's life. Ibrahim refuted that point by reminding him of God's constant command of the natural laws upon which all life depends. He did so after the king's heedlessness to the first argument; God is the origin of the mechanism of life and death which all organisms are subject to. The ruler used ridicule to maintain his position, in the manner that the arrogant possessors of power often do. Instead of considering the deeper meaning of Ibrahim's argument, he alluded to the giving of life and death in an indirect manner; as a worldly king, he also had the power to inflict death and give or allow life. This exposed his spiritual heedlessness. Ibrahim then dumbfounded him with an argument he could not, even with his spiritual shallowness and corrupt belief in God, dismiss as he had previously done.
As has been made clear by now, God establishing Himself on the throne evokes dominion, and in the comprehensive language of the Quran conveys that Allah governs the whole of His creation, including the throne itself. He has kept all the powers by Himself, and whatever is taking place in each and every part of the universe is happening with His command and permission
30:25"And one of His signs is that the heaven and the earth subsist by His command".
Allah at no point becomes unconcerned with His creation, especially not man for whom he took the responsibility of making arrangements for his guidance, protection and fulfilment of his needs. This is done by providing means by which both aspects of the human being can thrive; the spiritual, through the innate perception of higher truths 23:78,46:26,67:23,76:2 as well as sending divine guidance 2:38-9,7:35-6,20:123 and the physical through the continuous maintenance of the universe and its laws 35:41. There is a reason why the Quran, in its surgical precision, describes Allah with His attribute of infinite mercy, when it mentions His establishment over the throne that encompasses all of creation
20:5"The Beneficent One/al Rahman, Who is established on the Throne".
No word enshrines the concept of constant care of every aspect of the functioning of the universe, more that the superlative Qayyum which reoccurs in the Quran, and no verse comprehensively explains it like ayat al kursi does 2:255. As denoted with "musiun" 51:47 which carries the meaning of expanding, the universe is not a finished work, but in continuous expansion, with new manifestations of God's creation
87:2"Who creates, then makes complete".
If creation in the universe is an ongoing phenomenon then how could one deem it far fetched and difficult to re-create the universe along with the humans after their destruction? These verses most often come in the context of providing proof for the resurrection. God has not just created this universe and left it alone after giving it the initial push. The same underlying notion is in 64:1. He isnt just the first cause after which He has no role in the affair. He is ruling over it and sustaining it at every moment
35:13,7:54"Who created the heavens and the earth in six periods of time, and He is established on the Throne; He throws the veil of night over the day, which it pursues incessantly; and (He created) the sun and the moon and the stars, made subservient by His command; surely His is the creation and the command; blessed is Allah, the Lord of the worlds".
Day and night are not following each other by themselves but by the Command of Allah Who could change the present system totally. But it is by His love and mercy that the system is maintained so as to allow life to thrive. God's love and mercy for His creation is a recurrent theme in the Quran and the idea of divine "detachment" from human destiny is in complete opposition to that concept. The combined statements that Allah is simultaneously above the throne as well as close to all things in existence, strikes the perfect balance between all encompassing transcendence and careful implication on an individual level.
This negates the atheist world-view, our universe is not a closed, continuous and self-perpetuating material universe. Every part of every process is brought about by Allah, whether creation of rain, the development of seeds, rotation of planets, from the cosmic to the cellular, man doesnt stand alone. Material causality is thus treated as a delusion 40:62 while constant divine creation is a reality 87:1-3.
40:7"Those who bear the throne and those around it celebrate the praise of their Lord and believe in Him and ask protection for those who believe.."
39:75"And you shall see the angels going round about the throne glorifying the praise of their Lord; and judgment shall be given between them with justice.."
69:16-7"And the heavens shall be rent asunder, for that Day it shall be frail and shall collapse. And the angels shall be on the sides thereof; and above them eight shall bear on that day your Lord's throne"
These verses speaking of the entities bearing the Throne and being near it on the Day of Judgement, do not say that God is or will be seated on this "Throne". As stated earlier, Allah is in no need of the throne for support, rather it is the throne that is constantly sustained by its Creator. Beyond its symbolism, the reality and function of the throne is something known to God only.
In contrast, we read in the HB
1Kings22:19"I saw the Lord seated on His throne, and all the host of heaven were standing by Him on His right and on His left"
or also in Isa6:1,37:16,Ezek1,2,3 all picturing God carried by angelic creatures, seated on His throne. He is also pictured as accompanied by innumerable chariots and angels during certain "important" movements Ps68:18. Even the statement of ibn Abbas describing the kursi as Allah's footstool does not come close to the biblical depiction, neither does he state that Allah is seated on the throne
"The Kursi is the place where the Qadamain (feet) of Allah rest and the Arsh, no one knows its extent except Allah".
It is to be noted here that the statement is not attributed to the prophet.
The picture painted in the Quran carefully preserves divine transcendence all the while taking human imagination as close as possible to the divine essence. When subjects look at their king, the closest thing to him is his throne. Yet here at no point is Allah seated on His throne. Instead, powerful and compassionate angels are bearing it, in complete submission to the will of the mighty King. Seeing those majestic entities submitted in this manner is awe inspiring, and the fact that the King Himself does not need to appear to create such an effect, increases the feeling of amazement.
Humans, like every creation, are a manifestation of God's attributes. They in turn are encouraged to try and emulate some of those attributes as best as possible, such as generosity, mercy and forgiveness. So they are in a sense in "God's image". Similarly, Man has the ability to create, like the Creator of all things does, but in reality he is only reshaping what God previously created. He can judge, be good, show mercy but not and never in an equal manner to God
2:115"so whichever way you turn, there is the Face of Allah".
So clearly one can see God's face in all of creation, because all things reflect His attributes to some degree. Humans, and more particularly their face, reflects God's image just as the rest of creation does
“Do not say ‘May Allaah deform your face’, for the son of Adam was created in the image of the Most Merciful".
The similitude does not pertain to physical resemblance but in the way the divine attributes manifests. The face contains the foremost elements that allow perception, reflexion and action. The Eyes for instance allow the brain to perceive and process the surrounding signs, shaping our thoughts that are then expressed with speech. Only God however is able to manifest these shared attributes, like the aforementioned sight and speech, to infinite perfection. The manner, the "how" in which this is done is unfathomable to our minds
42:11"nothing like a likeness of Him".
Just as the human face reflects God's image, the prophet said
“The first group to enter Paradise will be in the image of the moon”.
The intent is obviously that they will manifest some of the moon's attributes like radiance and glorious appearance, as the Quran describes them beaming with light. They will however retain their specific human form, which is completely different than that of the moon. The prophet even described the righteous as being the embodiment of Allah
"Allah Almighty said: My servant continues to grow closer to me with extra good works until I love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks".
The senses and limbs remain that of a human being but due to his righteousness and the ensuing divine guidance, each perception, expression and action is done with a level of spiritual awareness so high that it reflects God's attributes and will.
Similar principles are stated in the Hebrew Bible by the prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah Jer10:6,Isa40:18. Being in God's image simply means in the HB to reflect God's attributes in some way. The HB states that when man "became like one of us" he had gained knowledge of good and evil (after eating from the tree). This means that humans being "like God" or in His image is about knowledge, which the Quran explicitly states was mercifully ingrained in man from the beginning, not hidden from him in a forbidden tree. As the "serpent" says in Genesis
"For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil".
During his communion with his Creator, Moses who sought to comfort his faith, humbly asking his Sustainer to
7:143"make me see so I can look at You"
to which God answered
"you will never/LAN see Me..".
LAN is a forceful negation unrestricted by time. Moses knew that humans cannot see God, as is clear from the wording in his request. Moses asked God to make him able to see God fully manifested. He thought that God would accede to his supplication and remove that barrier momentarily. Moses' demand was not because of his lack of faith but out of curiosity as to God's appearance. God followed by demonstrating why this is an impossibility. The physical realm from which humans cannot be extracted from, in its entirety, cannot bear God's presence without a barrier.
Interestingly, Jesus himself whom some have unfortunately idolized, reflected that reality when he stated that none has ever seen God Jn1:18,5:37. It is a well established Biblical belief that none can see God and live Gen32:30,Ex33:20.
The mountain, which is the most massive and stable entity found in nature was used to demonstrate the point to Moses
"but look at the mountain, if it should remain stable in its place, then you will see Me. And when his Lord revealed Himself to the mountain, He made it crumble and Musa fell down unconscious".
A similar incident re-occurred later in the times of the prophet Elijah, as reported in 1kings19:11. The Hebrew bible in Judges5:5 speaks of the mountains literally melting from God's presence and Isaiah states that should God manifest Himself
Isa63:19"mountains would have dripped from before You".
Moses could not see Allah but did see the mountain being destroyed. This caused him to faint, and as he woke back up he began glorifying God and stating his deep belief in Him.
Contrary to Moses' humble request, the Israelites' demand to see God stemmed out of disbelief. We are here speaking of the elders of the community who had accompanied Moses for his first meeting with God. They began taunting Musa that they will not believe in him unless they see God face to face. They made that demand after receiving many miraculous favours, including their liberation from bondage 2:55,7:155. But Allah, as He explained and demonstrated to Moses, does not speak directly to any mortal 42:51. He only addresses them from behind a veil meaning the only thing that would transpire to the receiver would be the essence of what Allah wishes to convey. That intent is transmitted through inspiration/wahy 42:1 or by sending an angelic messenger in a familiar shape 11:69,17:95,22:75 to convey to a nation or a particular person a certain message. Musa was spoken to from behind a barrier 4:164,7:143,19:50-53,20:9-48,27:7-12,28:29-35 and the Israelites at Mt Sinai too 2:63,7:171. God spoke directly to other people in that same veiled manner too 2:253-254. The manner by which God makes the listener understand the intended message, without compromising His non corporeality is a process beyond our understanding 17:85. Just like a toddler does not understand how an individual speaking through a phone is separate from it. A believer accepts the limits of his perception of the unseen.
After describing the most vivid manner in which divine communication occurred between Himself and Moses, God proceeds with a statement most often used throughout the Quran in order to elevate Himself above any imperfection, which includes material representation and limitations 27:7-9. It is particularly relevant in the context of God's communication with Moses at the burning bush, as there was a risk that the medium of revelation, the fire through which Allah spoke, could be taken as divine in essence. A fine point to note is the manner in which the Quran describes God's calling Moses
20:11"a voice called out to him".
The passive form is used to keep ambiguous the manner, source, form of the address.
This demand of the Israelites to see God was not meant to obtain inner satisfaction, did not spring from a believing heart zealous to know the hidden realities, but came from a disbelieving heart and reflected their denial and scepticism. They werent content with having Moses being their intermediary with God, they needed special proof. Despite all they had seen and made to experience, they requested something that is not only an affront to God's glory, but also revealing of an ungrateful heart. Nothing was good enough to make them believe that the Almighty spoke and communicated to Moses. The prophets of all ages were confronted to such demands of having direct communication with God and seeing Him, including the nation of the prophet Muhammad 2:118,25:21,74:52. The Quran relates how even prior to that incident, during their exodus and while Moses was still in their midst, they requested to have a god made for them just as the idol worshipping nations 7:138. Their primitive mindset and years of bondage under a polytheistic people had such a strong grip on them, despite their monotheistic legacy, that they were not spiritually satisfied by the worship of an all encompassing, intangible Being. They needed the realm of the unseen to be brought to the seen to have their hearts appeased
7:140"Shall I find you a god other than Allah, while He has graced you above the nations?"
Moses' subtle answer was that nothing he could fashion with his hands would be a representation of the true God. But they can still find their God and worship Him through His attributes which they saw manifest in the strongest of ways until now.
This eagerness, described in their own books, to literally see God reflects in the crude and primitive anthropomorphic expressions that abound in the Hebrew writings. At times it would ironically appear that what we have in front of us is man creating God in his own image, likeness and form rather than the other way around Gen1:26. God for example would speak face to face with Moses Ex33:11,Numbers12:6-8. But knowing the difficulty and incompatibility of promoting monotheism while at the same time having a God incarnate, Jewish scribes have injected the text with many explicit passages in light of which one can interpret the ambiguous ones so as to safeguard the notion of pure monotheism. So although Moses spoke to God face to face, in reality no one can see God's Face Ex33:20, not even Moses who had to be covered and stand away until God passed so he could have a glimpse of God's "back" Ex33:22-23. "panim el panim", which literally means 'face-to-face' becomes an idiom to convey the exclusive closeness and intimate relation Moses had with God with whom he communicated directly, not through dreams, visions or through an angel as He did with all other Israelite prophets. With those explicit axioms in mind, one can begin understanding why God had to appear to the Israelites through a dark cloud Ex19:9. The purpose was to strengthen the Israelites' trust in Moses by overawing them with this experience
Ex20:20"in order that His awe shall be upon your faces, so that you shall not sin".
The Torah reports the traumatic experience
Ex19:16"thunder claps and lightning flashes, and a thick cloud was upon the mountain, and a very powerful blast of a shofar, and the entire nation that was in the camp shuddered".
The phenomenon of God manifesting Himself in this world clearly is in a non-incarnate sense, rather through actions and at most, dramatic occurrences. This dreadful "representation" of God began to instruct the terrified Israelites. But they could not bare seeing and hearing God. Had they be seeing a human incarnation of God, they wouldnt have had any problem. Instead they begged Moses to be their sole intermediary with God, fearing that if the manifestation continued, they would die Ex20:15-21,Deut4:12-13,5:1-5,23-27. The fear of death for seeing God was apparently deeply instilled into the hearts of the pious Israelites, who knew by experience what had befallen their forefathers who had even so much as asked for it. Gideon thought he would die simply for having seen an angelic messenger in human form Judges6:22-3. Same for Samson's father Judges13:21-22.
Moses thus drew nearer to the dark smoke where he alone continued receiving revelation Ex20:21. For the first communion with God to receive the tablets, Moses
"Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel"
were summoned to worship God at a distance, with only Moses allowed to draw nearer to God's presence Ex24:1-2. Those that accompanied him however disobeyed and "saw God" who nevertheless
"did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites".
This "seeing" of God is no different than the Israelites' seeing God earlier. They saw a type of manifestation that doesnt even hint to human incarnation, much less to Jesus, as some zealous trinitarians deceptively imply. So when Moses had a glimpse of God's back, the Hebrew word for "back" can also be rendered as "what comes after". Ex16:6-7 has Moses and Aaron telling the children of Israel they will see God's glory. Yet we know that the Torah constantly tells us they did not see a form. Ex14:31 says the Israelites saw
"the great hand, which the Lord had used upon the Egyptians, and the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in Moses, His servant".
This again points to the metaphorical usage of these words when applied to God.
Other Biblical anthropomorphisms are the references to YHWH's eyes, face, nose, mouth, lips, tongue, breath, loins, heart, etc Jer16:17,Ps18:8,Isa30:27-33,Ezek1:27,1Kings9:3,2Kings10. YHWH also regrets, grieves, forgets, is jealous, has knowledge and physical limitations and needs resting Jonah3:10,Gen2:2,6:6,35:10,46:2,Ex20:5,Hosea8:4,Judges1:19.
Even the idea of a "loving" God is but an anthropomorphic depiction. Love is a human emotion, like hate or fear, denoting change and mutability. As can be seen, anthropomorphism is pervasive in the HB, side by side with transcendental monotheism but due to the lack of systematic elaboration and complete safeguard against possible misconceptions, one has to sift through many statements before deriving a concept of a transcendental God. These crude and naive descriptions of the attributes, qualities, emotions and portrayals of God, may confuse a reader approaching the text with a certain paradigm in mind, namely the Christian one. Hence leaving him with the superficial impression of the God of the Hebrew Bible as being like a human being but of a higher rank or gigantic proportions.
Christianity’s dogma of incarnation, a theology resulting from centuries of later reflections, is the climax of anthropomorphism. The NT is far removed from the Hebraic universe and closer to the Hellenestic world view. It isnt theocentric but christocentric.
Islam emphasizes God’s transcendence, protecting it from any shades of corporealism. Countless verses substantiate this principle, without resorting to textual contortions or external help to safeguard this paradigm. The Quran makes it clear, God is unknown in His essence, but is known through His signs, attributes, qualities and actions.
All religious scriptures, as is clear by now, have 2 kinds of verses; explicit and others open to interpretation. The second ones allow a range of understandings, obviously because they relate information about a realm of which we still have no experience. These ranges of meanings however may not contradict the explicit verses. These verses that are open to interpretation reveal what we should understand and set the limit of our knowledge. We are able to understand them to the extent we need to understand them, and this increases our faith but if we go beyond this and start to seek their full reality, then this will only lead us astray
2:1,9:124-125"And whenever a chapter is revealed, there are some of them who say: Which of you has it strengthened in faith? Then as for those who believe, it strengthens them in faith and they rejoice. And as for those in whose hearts is a disease, it adds uncleanness to their uncleanness and they die while they are unbelievers".For these reasons, the Quran repeatedly says, one should not be hasty upon approaching it 75:16, should ponder and meditate on its verse before forming any adverse opinion against its ayat. This is what a religion based on solid explicit tenets is supposed to do, we do not seek ambiguous verses and try to derive isolated meanings upon which to build an entire belief system. Whenever confronted to those kind of verses, we consider the context, the words used and cross reference them with other similar verses. More importantly, whatever the conclusion we come up with, the interpretation may never contradict the explicit, firm, decisive verses.
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