THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD

It is obvious that this world is a creation, as well as everything in it. We all know that we were born, and that we will die. When faced with these facts it is natural to ask what we are living for. God created us, and ordered us to worship Him. We obey God by following His orders, which He revealed to His Prophet and Messenger Muhammad (May Allah increase his honor) . From him we know that God created Heaven and Hell. We know that there will be a final Day of Judgment. For those who believed properly in God and His Prophets, depending on whether God forgives their sins or not, if they committed sins, they will either be punished for their sins and then raised to Heaven, or they will go directly to Heaven. But those who refused to believe properly in God and His Prophets will be punished eternally in Hell.

God has certain attributes which every person should know in order to have the proper belief in God. To believe, say, or do anything which denies, disrespects, or makes fun of these attributes means that one is not truly believing in God. Since God exists and He created this world, it logically follows that God has no fault nor weakness, and His attributes are without flaw. The following are the attributes of God that every person should know in order to have the proper belief in God. It must be understood that God’s attributes are not God nor are they other than Him.

There can be no doubt that God exists. To prove that there is only one Creator, it is useful to consider the pronunciation of the letter “B”. Were man a creator, he would be able to pronounce the letter “B” with his lips open. This is something he cannot do.

God is the only Creator. God created everything both good and evil. God created the specific characteristics of each and every creation. For example, God created man with two eyes placed in the head, with two ears on either side. Some creatures have eyes on the top of the head, and some to the side. Some creatures hear an audible range or see an electromagnetic spectrum which man cannot hear nor see...this is by God's will. If someone does something good, this is by God’s will. If someone does something bad this too is by God’s will. God is not pleased by the bad things man does. God gave mankind a mind to think with so man should do what is beneficial for him in the next life. When man does something bad which God forbid him to do, he is being disobedient to God. That God created bad is not bad, but to be pleased by the bad is bad. All things have a beginning, and thus all creations have only one Creator.

God is one. God has no partner nor counterpart. This can be understood logically. If someone says that God has a partner or counterpart, that person is falling into a logical contradiction, because if one partner wanted one thing, and the other wanted the opposite thing, it is impossible for both things to happen simultaneously. Only one thing can happen. It is obvious that the one who wants something and it does not happen is weak, and it is impossible for God to be weak. So there is only one Creator. Since God has no counterpart, it is impossible for Him to have a wife or a son, and it is impossible for the Devil to have control over God for the same reason.

God does not resemble any of His creations. This is very logical. If God resembled any of His creations, He would be susceptible to the same things that the creations are susceptible to, and if God were susceptible to the same things that the creations are, He would be weak, and this is impossible. For example, man dies, this is a weakness. Man has limits. Man cannot always do what he wants to do, so God is not like man. God is not light, God created light. Light can be stopped by putting a dense, opaque object in front of its source. God is not air, air has volume and needs space. Both light and air are contained, or at least occupy space. Space is a creation, and God needs no space. He existed before and after He created space. God does not change so He still exists without a space.

God does not have a color, color depends on wave length and the amount of absorption of light. God is not a spirit, spirit is found in Angels, man, jinn and animals, and God doesn’t resemble any of them, as was already proven. In short, God does not resemble anything man sees in this world, nor anything he can imagine. So God is the Creator of whatever you can see or imagine, and He does not resemble His creations.

God has no beginning and God has no end. God does not have a beginning, because to have a beginning would mean He needed a Creator, but the Creator does not need anything. It is impossible for God to be a creation, because to be created means to have no existence before being created, and this is a weakness. Weakness cannot be attributed to God. Furthermore, God does not have an end, because to have an end would mean He was a creation. To die is a weakness, it is impossible for God to die, and so He has no end. Just as God does not have a beginning He does not have an end.

God does not need anything. It is impossible for any man to be God, because every man needs food, clothing, drink, sleep and has a beginning. God created all these things, so God does not need any of them. So it is impossible for 'Aysa (Jesus) to be God, because 'Aysa (Jesus) ate, drank and slept. It is important to mention here that God does not need a place. He existed before He created place and he still exists without a place after He created the place. God is not on Earth nor in Heaven.

God is not dead. One of God’s attributes is life. God is the Creator, and he who is dead cannot create. God’s life is not like man’s. Man is alive with spiril, body, flesh and blood, but we know that God doesn’t resemble any of His creations, so God is alive without soul, body, flesh or blood.

One of God’s attributes is knowledge. God knows everything. God's knowledge does not have a beginning or an end. He knows what happened, what is happening, and what will happen. God predestined what happened, what is happening, and what will happen.

Another attribute of God is will. This attribute, like all of God's attributes, does not change. God knows everything that happens, He willed all that happens. Nothing happens unless God willed for it to happen. In short, what God willed will be, and what God did not will won’t be. Both good and bad happen according to God’s will.

God has the attribute of power. God’s power is related to all possible things, even those which do not exist at the present time.

God has the attributes of hearing, sight, and Kalam. God’s hearing and sight are not like those of man. Man’s hearing depends on an organ, an ear, and a transfer of sound through air. On the other hand, man’s sight depends on the amount of light. Organs are not attributed to God. The Arabic word kalam is usually an equivalent for the English word speech. God’s Kalam does not resemble our speech. Ours depends on organs, sounds and language.

God's attributes are not limited to the ones mentioned here, but these are the attributes of God that every person should know in order to have the proper belief in God. These are attributes that all Prophets and Messengers over the centuries taught mankind, so that man could believe properly in the Creator.

By believing properly in the Creator and Muhammad, His Prophet and Messenger, (may Allah increase his honor) and if one dies Muslim, he will be saved from eternal suffering in Hell. It is not sufficient however, for the non-Muslim just to believe. One must believe and say, “I firmly believe that there exists only one Creator, His name is Allah, and Muhammad is His Prophet and Messenger,” with the intent in one’s heart to become Muslim, and leave all things which are contradictory to this belief.