Modernization of Islam. Narsha Bulgakbaev
creatures depends on Allah Ta’ala, one must also understand that Allah Ta’ala always exists. Time is His creation. Thus, His existence was «before» time. It does not limit Him and does not affect Him. If it ends, His obligation will continue unchanged. It precedes the next attribute. Infinity (Baka) – This attribute relates to the points above. There can be no time without Allah Ta’ala either before creation, during creation, or after. Similitude of creation (Muhalafatu lil-hawadis) – Everything except Allah Ta’ala came into being because of His dependence. Except for Allah Almighty, everything has a defect. The Holy and Great God is free from any defect. Thus, He is not like anything, nor is He like anything that can be imagined. In other words, it is not what you imagine it to be. Self-sufficient (Qiyam bi nafsihi) – Allah Ta’ala is not dependent on a creator, abode, time or anything else for His existence. This means that He exists by Himself (As-Somad). Uniqueness (Wahdania) – Three different meanings are required here regarding the nature and attributes of Allah Ta’ala. He is one without another, one without likeness, and also one indivisible.
Allah Ta’ala’s attributes, like His nature, are eternal and perfect. Allah Almighty has described Himself with them and they serve as an important way to develop a relationship with our Creator. Temporary and imperfect, our limited minds cannot grasp their full meaning, but they allow us to communicate with God, and when we understand them, we find love and connection. There are two ways to describe a thing: the features it has (positive attributes) and the features it doesn’t have (negative attributes). Created things may have similar attributes in a limited sense, that is, they can be described in the same terms used to describe Allah Ta’ala, but the meaning given to them is insufficient compared to what is attributed to Allah. For example, a person can be described as merciful (rahma), but this is in stark contrast to the character of Allah Ta’ala. This concept is described by Allah Ta’ala in the clearest verse about His nature: «There is nothing like Him.» (Surah Shura, verse 11). Finally, unlike other attributes such as contentment (ar-rida) and its opposite, displeasure (al-ghadab), opposites of positive attributes are impossible for Allah. Next, we will consider eight attributes: Life (Hayat) – He is alive, death is impossible for him. Allah Almighty says about himself in the Holy Qur’an: «Trust in the Immortal Living One, glorify and praise Him. It is enough for him to know the sins of his people,» he said. (Surah Furqan, verse 58). Power (Kudra) – He is the possessor of unlimited power. His almighty power is visible from the greatness of the Universe to the intricacies of the cell. The opposite is weakness, and it is impossible for Him. «Allah created every living thing from (a drop of) water. Among them (living creatures) are those that crawl on their bellies (like snakes), those that walk on two legs (like humans), and those that walk on four legs (like most animals). God creates what He wills. Indeed, Allah is capable of all things (He is Almighty). (Surah Noor, verse 45). Knowledge («Ilm) – He knows everything – what was, what is, what will be and what will not be. He knows everything down to the last detail. The creatures are proof of His infinite and perfect Knowledge. The opposite of knowledge is ignorance [not knowing] and it is impossible for Him in every way. «He holds the keys to something hidden. Only He knows about it. He knows everything that is on the land and in the sea (about all living and nonliving creatures). He knows every leaf that falls from the tree. All the grains, fresh and dry things in the darkness of the earth – all this is (written) in the Open Book (Lauh al-Mahfuz). (Surah Angam, verse 59). Will (Irada) – He willed (ma kana wa ma ya kun) what was and will be from eternity. He has what he wants and what he doesn’t want. There is no one who can oppose His will and there is no one who can delay His command. His will is absolute and he cannot be forced to do anything. God says: «He does what He wills.» (Surah Buruj, verse 16). The textual evidence for the above four qualities is given in the Holy Qur’an and Hadith. The rational argument is that if any one of these four attributes were negated, then there would be no possible thing, since that which is dependent cannot itself exist without being dependent. In other words, without Power, there would be weakness. A weak person does not create something. It was impossible to determine what kind of creature would inevitably appear. Without knowledge, possible things cannot exist, because in order to imagine something, knowledge of it is necessary. Without life, none of these qualities would exist. In other words: The existence of possible things proves that Allah Ta’ala must be alive. This proves that he must have the Knowledge of creation, the will to define it, and the power [ability] to bring it into being. Hearing (Sam’) – He hears all sounds without relying on any organs, sound waves, propagating particles and the like. Sight (Basar) – He sees all forms and colors without relying on organs, light waves and the like. «Indeed, Allah is the Hearer and the Seer.» (Surah Ghafir, verse 20). speech (kalam) – as he hears and sees, his speech does not depend on any organ, sound wave, letter, interpretation. It is through this quality that it leads to conversion. The Qur’an is the word of God, because it is the message of God. «When Moses came to the place that We had appointed (Mount Sinai), his rabbi spoke to him (in a language unlike the speech of men). (Surat al-A’raf, verse 143). Creation (taqwim) is the creation of something out of nothing. He creates all things by his will, knowledge and power. «He is the creator of the heavens and the earth. When he made up his mind, «Be!» it remains only to say. Then it will happen.» (Surat al-Baqarah, verse 117). The textual evidence of these four characteristics is found in the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah. A reasonable argument is that if Allah Ta’ala did not possess these qualities, then He should have the opposite qualities: muteness, deafness, and blindness. All of these are faults that are impossible for Allah Ta’ala because He needs someone else to get rid of them or help Him. Being needy is Self-denial, and Self-denial is impossible with Allah Ta’ala. First of all, understanding the attributes of Allah Ta’ala is the way to know Him. Every lover tries to learn something about the object of his love. How strong is this desire when the person we love is perfect in every way? Second, the understanding of attributes affects personality adjustment. A man strives to cling to the perfections of his beloved as little as he can. thirdly, invoking Allah through nature and character brings a person closer to Him. Allah Ta’ala describes the characteristics of the inhabitants of Jahannam (hell) in Surah «Araf» and says: «Their hearts do not understand, their eyes do not see, and their ears do not hear. (In terms of lack of thinking, unwillingness to look with intent to learn, and unwillingness to listen while thinking) they are like animals – but more lost (because they have left that which brings them eternal benefit and turned to that which causes them eternal pain) They are heedless (unaware of their benefit)» (Surah Araf, verse 180). He says to the believers as a cure for the diseases of mankind: «Allah has beautiful names. So turn to Him and turn to them!» (Surah Araf, verse 180). Allah Ta’ala named himself with these beautiful names. Such is the beauty of Allah Ta’ala – none can describe Him except Him. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings of God be upon him) said in his prayer: «I cannot praise you properly, as if you were praising yourself.» (Muslim and others). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) further explained that Allah Almighty has 99 names and whoever knows them will enter Paradise (Al-Bukhari and others).
The Arabic word «kitab» comes from the word «kitaba», which means «to write». «Inscription» means «page with inscription.» And the «Holy Books» are the books and pages containing the words of Allah, revealed to the messengers of Allah. These books were revealed either in written form (like the Torah) or in the form of revelation written after revelation. In Islam, belief in the books of God is considered a condition of faith. A person who does not believe in books is considered an unbeliever. Allah says in the book: «Whoever does not believe in God, his angels, his books, his messengers and the last day is in great error!» (Surah Nisa, verse 136). In Islam, holy books are called: Pages revealed by God to Abraham and Moses. The Book of the Torah is the greatest book of the generation of Israel, revealed to the prophet Moses. The Book of Psalms is a book revealed to the Prophet David. The Bible is the book revealed to Jesus, the son of Mary. Some scholars believe that the Bible differs from the Torah only in certain places in which the sons of Israel argued. The Holy Quran is the last book of Allah revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. According to Islamic belief, books