In the name of Allah, The Gracious The Merciful...

 

“ALLAH” IS FOR THE WHOLE OF MANKIND, SAYS THE QURAN

Have you yourselves read the Book and fully understood its contents? Have you been instructed in the Book to forbid mankind from calling the one and only God as ALLAH? Are you responsible if the ignorant ones make a mockery of God?

Student of The Qur’an 

The ongoing controversy among the Malaysian population as to whether Christians in the country can use the word Allah in their Malay language Bible has prompted me to write this article in the hope that the dispute, which has the potential of threatening the peaceful coexistence of peace loving Malaysians, would be eliminated.

I am not a religious scholar but a concerned citizen who looks forward to living in harmony in this well-endowed multi-racial, multi-religious country of ours.

Since the objection for the Christian community to use the word Allah comes from the Muslims, let us use the Muslim holy book, THE QUR’AN, as the basis for our search to find the answer to this problem.

It is not disputed by Muslims throughout the world that The Quran is the word of God (the one and only God known as ALLAH in the Arabic language) and that it is a Message for the whole of mankind revealed through Muhammad, Allah’s messenger and the seal of the prophets (peace be upon him).  

“This (Message) is no less than a reminder to mankind.” Ch. 81 Verse 27“Those to whom We have given the Book recognise it just as they recognise their own sons. But, some of them knowingly conceal the truth. The Truth is from thy Lord; so be not at all in doubt.” Ch. 2 Verse 146-147

25 names of messengers are mentioned in The Quran (right from Adam to Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, peace be upon them all). All these prophets and messengers brought the same Message from God to mankind, but the messengers were rejected.

When God made an agreement with those who were given the Book [saying]:
“You shall explain it to mankind and not conceal it,” they (the people) tossed it away behind their backs and sold it for a paltry price. How wretched was what they bought [instead]! Ch.3 Verse 187

In the Quran, we find the word “ilah” which refers to any god other than the One God, which the ignorant people have taken as an object of worship. The One and Only God in the Qur’an is known as ALLAH (the prefix “AL” (the) combined with “ILAH” (god) to define the sole divine entity as THE GOD).

“Do not set up any other god besides God lest you incur disgrace and be forsaken.” Ch.17 Verse 22

“He who invokes another god along with God, - a deity of whose divinity he has no proof, - will be brought to account by his Lord. Certainly, those who deny the truth shall never prosper.” Ch. 23 verse 117

Allah, the One God is also known in the Quran through His numerous attributes, some among which are as follows:“He is God: there is no god other than Him, the Controller, the Holy One, Source of Peace, Granter of Security, Guardian over all, the Almighty, the Compeller, the Truly Great; God is far above anything they consider to be His partner.” Ch. 59 Verse 23

We are asked to call Allah by any of His beautiful names:Say: “Call upon Allah, or call upon Ar-Rahman (the Merciful One): by whatever name you call upon Him, (it is well): for to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names.” Ch. 17 verse 110

Muhammad, the messenger was told by God to tell the believers: “And dispute not with the people of the Book (the Jews and the Christians) unless in the best manner, save with those of them who do wrong;” and say: “we believe in that which hath been sent down unto us and that which hath been sent down unto you: our god and your god is One (who is called ALLAH); and to Him we are submissive.” Ch. 29 verse 46

And the believers are told to do it with wisdom:“Call them to the path of your Lord with wisdom and words of good advice; and reason with them in the best way possible. Your Lord surely knows who strays from His path, and He knows those who are guided the right way.” Ch. 16 verse 125

The messenger would not have forced the people to believe him after hearing this commandment from God:Say, “This is the truth from your Lord. Let him who will, believe in it, and him who will, deny it…” Ch.18 verse 29

Now, the controversy arises as a result of the doctrine of Trinity held by the Christians, whereby God is referred to as The Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost, which will not be accepted by the Believers of the Qur’an as the truth.

The people of the Book (Jews and Christians) have been reminded by Allah about this through His messenger Muhammad in Chapter 4 verse 171 of the Qur’an:“O people of the Book, do not be fanatical in your faith, and say nothing but the truth about God (ALLAH). The Messiah who is Jesus, son of Mary, was only an apostle of God, and a command of His which He sent to Mary, as a mercy from Him. So, believe in God (ALLAH) and His apostles, and do not call Him ‘Trinity’. Abstain from this for your own good; for God (ALLAH) is only ONE GOD, and far from His glory is it to beget a son. All that is in the heavens and the earth belongs to Him; and sufficient is God (ALLAH) for all help.”

The above verse clearly indicates that during the prophet’s time the Christians were already believing in the concept of trinity; and Allah, through the prophet wanted to remind them not to believe in such a doctrine and to abstain from it for their own good. Thus, we as Muslims today, should also emulate the prophet in clarifying to the Christians the true concept of one God or Monotheism. This should be the paramount duty or focus of the Muslims rather than bickering over the usage of the term “God” or “Allah.”

Allah says:“Obey God and obey the Messenger. If you turn away, then he is responsible for what he is charged with and you are responsible for what you are charged with. If you obey him, you will be rightly guided. The Messenger is responsible only for delivering the message clearly.” Ch.24 verse 54

The messenger was only instructed to reveal God’s Message to the people and to make them aware of the worship of the One God (Allah), the God of both the believers and the disbelievers. He was merely responsible for delivering the Message (as had been done by other messengers before him) and not for their actions or their disobedience after hearing the Message. If Allah had commanded His messenger to call people to the One God, Allah, who are we, the so-called Muslims of today, to forbid mankind from calling their god Allah, since Allah is God for all the people!

If a community insists on calling its god Allah, but continues to practise idol worship, which is an unforgivable sin in the sight of Allah, that community would be answerable only to God and not to any other authority.

“God does not forgive the sin of considering others equal to Him, but He may choose to forgive other sins. Whoever believes in other gods besides Him has indulged in a great sin.” Ch. 4 verse 48

The duty of a rightly guided Muslim would be to explain clearly the concept of Monotheism to those who may not be aware, and not to convert or dispute with or deny them the opportunity of recognising the true God and calling Him Allah.

“Unto every community have We appointed [different] ways of worship, which they ought to observe. Hence, [O believer,] do not let those [who follow ways other than yours] draw you into disputes on this score, but summon [them all] unto your Sustainer: for, behold, you are indeed on the right way.” Ch. 22 verse 67 – 69

The Quran also tells us that although the people who heard the Message of God defied the messengers, nevertheless, they conceded and acknowledged that their god was Allah when questioned about their Creator.

Say, “To whom do the earth and all therein belong?” Tell me, if you have any knowledge.

They will say, “To Allah!”

Say: “Yet will you not receive admonition?”

Say, “Who is the Lord of the seven heavens, and of the Glorious Throne?”

They will say, “(All this belongs) to Allah.”

Say, “Would you still not fear Allah?” Ch. 23 verse 84 – 87

Say (unto them, O Muhammad): “Who provides for you from the sky and the earth, or

Who owns hearing and sight; and Who brings forth the living from the dead and brings

forth the dead from the living; and Who directs the course?”

They will say: “Allah.”

Then say: “Will ye not then keep your duty (unto Him)?”

Such is Allah, your true Lord. What is there, besides the truth, but error? How then can you turn away? Ch. 10 verse 31 - 32

After having provided all of our basic needs and equipping us with what is required for our survival on this beautiful earth, what Allah expects from us is justice among mankind and responsible behaviour towards each other, for which everyone shall be accountable.

“For, verily, those who have attained to faith [in this divine writ], as well as those who follow the Jewish faith, and the Sabians, and the Christians - all who believe in Allah and the Last Day and do righteous deeds - no fear need they have, and neither shall they grieve.” Ch. 5 verse 69

So, brothers and sisters, who proudly call yourselves Muslims, let me ask if you have done your job of supporting your prophet by revealing the Message of Allah to your fellow mankind, who may have not yet read Allah’s last revealed Book, THE QUR’AN? 

Have you yourselves read the Book and fully understood its contents? Have you been instructed in the Book to forbid mankind from calling the one and only God as ALLAH? Are you responsible if the ignorant ones make a mockery of God?

Is not Allah the All-seer, the All-hearer, the All-knowing, the All-mighty, the All-wise? Allah is not weak. He is the All-powerful, but He is also the All-forgiving and the All-compassionate.

And how are we taught in the Quran to recognise Allah?

Say: “He is Allah, the One and Only, Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He does not give birth, nor was He born, and there is nothing like Him.” Ch. 112 verses 1 – 4

“All praise is due to Allah Who has never begotten a son and Who has no partner in His kingdom; nor does anyone aid Him because of any weakness of His. Proclaim His Greatness.” Ch. 17 verse 111

Brothers and sisters, let us all hasten to do righteous works and strive towards establishing TRUTH AND JUSTICE on this earth, instead of focusing our attention on petty issues and arguments which bring about split and discord among mankind. The world is already full of turmoil; let us not exacerbate the situation further by using faith as the basis for highlighting irrelevant issues for personal and political gains.

May ALLAH guide us all to the straight path and may we spread PEACE and LOVE on earth, which is the very essence of Islam!

Salaam (Peace),Student of The Qur’an