The Attributes Of The Name Allâh
Allâh manifests Himself to His creation through His Divine Names and Attributes, and they are many. There are those of His Names that make Him known as the Knower, the Powerful, the Hearing, the Seeing, the Living, the Responder and the Thankful. There are the Names of description like the First, the Last, the Manifest, the Hidden, and there are Names that make known His Works, such as the Creator, the Provider, the Shaper. There are Names of Incomparability and His Omnipotence. His Attributes are of different ranks (Marâtib). The following paragraphs are an attempt to explain some of His most beautiful Names and Attributes.
Four Basic Attributes Of Allâh
All types of perfect and true praise belong to Allâh alone, the Creator and Nourisher to perfection (Rabb) of all the worlds, the Most Gracious (Rahmân), the Ever Merciful (Rahîm), Master (Mâlik) of the Day of Requital. (1:1-4, 2:163)
The Holy Qur'ân begins with the name of Allâh and the name Allâh appears in the very beginning of the opening chapter (al-Fâtihah) of the Holy Qur’ân. This is followed by Rabb; no other attribute of Allâh is mentioned so frequently. Next to Rabb are the attributes Rahmân and Rahîm and finally Mâlik. The name Allâh is found in the Holy Book some 2697 times, the name Rabb occurs 978 times, the name Rahmân and Rahîm 376 times.
Rabb al âlamîn - Creator, Sustainer, Nourisher
Rabb al âlamîn is the first attribute of Allâh. He is not Abb (Father), rather Rabb of the nations, creations, worlds and all kinds of created beings and things and their classes collectively (- al âlamîn as the Holy Qur'ân says). According to Lisân al-‘Arab, Tâj al-Urûs and Mufradât-i-Râghib, the three most authentic lexicons, the Arabic word Rabb has many connotations, as Master, Chief, Determiner, Provider, Sustainer, Rewarder, Perfecter, Ruler, Creator, Maintainer, Reposer of Properties in things of nature, Developer, Framer of Rules and Laws of the Growth of Things, Regulizer, Foster of things in such a manner as to make them attain one condition after another until they reach their goal of perfection and completion, Arranger of different stages through which they have to pass on their way to completion, Author of all existence Who has sole title to it with no one having any share in it. Thus the word Rabb signifies dozens of processes which a thing passes through in the course of creation and evolution before it reaches its final development. These meanings have not been forced on this word Rabb. All standard lexicons of the Arabic language speak of all of them when they give the meaning of the root Raba. In English the word Rabb is generally translated as Lord, but this word can not at all convey the real significance of the original Arabic word Rabb. The process of creation embodied in the word Rabb covers, of course, with the exception of the Creator Himself, every existing thing whether in the realm of spirit or in the realm of bodies, whether of earthly creation or other celestial objects.
As Rabb al âlamîn He has provided all the material means for the physical requirements of all kinds for all creatures collectively and without discrimination, as food, grains, air, water, light and so many other things:
Would you really disbelieve in Him (- the Rabb) Who created the earth in two aeons? And do you set up compeers with Him? This is the Lord (- the Rabb) of the worlds. He placed therein (- in the earth) firm mountains rising above (its surface) and showered it with His blessings and placed in it various provisions according to a set measure, (provisions to which) all those who require them have equal rights, (and all this He created) in four aeons. (41:9-10)
All creation bears His signature. He is the Rabb of the world of elements and command, since elements preceded from command and compounds are fashioned: Then He directed Himself towards the space. Behold! It was (like) a mass of gas. And He ( - The Lord, Rabb) said to it (- the space) and to the earth, ‘Come both of you (in obedience to Me) willingly or unwillingly.’ They said, ‘We obey you with all our will.’ (41:11)
He commands not only the formation of compounds from elements, but also commands the reversal of process, commanding the formation of elements from compounds.
Do those who disbelieve not see that the heavens and the earth were (once) one mass all closed up, then We rent them apart. And it is from water that We created all life. Will they not believe? And We have made firm mountains on the earth so that they may be a source of benefit and provision for the people and lest it should quake with them. And We made on it wide pathways that people may find right guidance to reach the goal. And We have made the heaven a roof, well protected, still they turn away paying no heed to its (heavenly) signs. And it is He Who created the night and the day, the sun and the moon. They are all gliding along smoothly in (their respective) orbits. (21:30-33)
Thus the word Rabb al âlamîn conveys not only the idea of creation but also that of regulating, completing and accomplishing, that is of the evolution of things from the crudest state to that of the highest perfection: The word Rabb al âlamîn also signifies the fostering of a thing in such a manner as to make it attain one condition after another until it reaches its goal of perfection and completion. Hence the Rabb is not only the Author of all existence, Who has not only given to the whole creation its means of nourishment (41:9-10), but has also beforehand ordained for each a sphere of capacity and within that sphere provided the means by which it continues to attain gradually its goal of perfection:
We create a human being from an extract of clay; then We reduce him to a drop of sperm (and place him) in a safe depository; then We form the sperm into a clot; then We develop the clot into a lump of flesh; then We fashion bones out of this lump of flesh, then We clothe the bones with flesh, thereafter We evolve him into another being. Therefore blessed be Allâh the Best of Creators. Then as you have passed (these seven stages of physical and spiritual stages) you are heading towards death. Then (after death) you will certainly be raised up to life (for another never ending progress) on the Day of Resurrection (23:12-16).
The Holy Qur'ân in the above verses is drawing our attention to the principle of evolution at work in the creation of all non-living and living things in their sphere. It establishes the working of a grand scheme under the ever vigilant eye of Rabb al âlamîn through hundreds and thousands of years in some cases, in order to bring things to their final perfection.
The progressive development of things makes creation all the more marvellous and Allâh becomes all the more deserving of praise and worship. This evolution is prevalent not only in the physical world but also in the spiritual world, and as well as in Revelations (Wahî and Ilhâm) from God. As things grow, develop and change, they do not do so by themselves, they are all undergoing progressive development by stages, so is the case with the spiritual development. All spiritual life is subjective to Allah’s Lordship and He is constantly providing means through revelation (Wahî, Ilhâm) for the spiritual advancement of mankind. This is because Allâh has created human beings for unlimited progress, and beyond every stage of their evolution there is another in a never-ending process as we read:
It is He Who has evolved you from one living entity, then (He has provided for you) a permanent abode (starting after death to the final everlasting abode of paradise) and a temporary lodging (from birth to the grave). Verily We have explained (Our) signs in detail for a people who would understand. (6:98)
Some people deny His Providence and say that whatever they receive is the consequence of their actions. The believers in Tanâsukh or incarnation and some of the followers of the Hindu religion think, that if some of them had not sinned in a particular fashion and not been born as cows and buffaloes in a previous incarnation there would have been no milk. They also allege that whatever we receive in this life is the fruit of action of some people in their previous incarnation. Such image-worshippers believe their idols to be Divine personification. These people have lost the track, and the very opening verses of the Holy Qur'ân reject such concepts and tell us that all types of perfect and true praise belongs to Allâh alone, the Lord of all the worlds.
The announcement that Allâh is Rabb al âlamîn also clearly opposes those who seek to confine the Providence and grace of God to their own country and people, believing that other communities or peoples of other lands or ages were not created by God or that after creating them, God rejected them or forgot them. They may also believe that all Prophets and Messengers were raised from among the children of Israel and that Allâh was so angry with other peoples that He did not take the least pity on them even when He found them in error or in a state of unawareness, or that Divine revelation and Divine speech always remained restricted within the frontiers of India or Israel. These people do not accept Allâh as Rabb, the Lord of Universal Providence. When He is the Lord of Universal Providence and not only the Lord of Israel or the Lord of Bharat and Arya Varta, why should He attach Himself permanently to a particular people and a particular age? That is partiality and favoritism. The Holy Qur’ân denounces such notions and expounds in diverse ways that Allâh has made provisions for the material welfare of the people of all different lands and He has made provisions for the spiritual sustenance of every people:
There has been no people without a Warner and a Prophet (35:24)
This is so that no people may have cause to complain that Allâh was gracious only towards some nation and not towards another, or that particular people were given a book so that they may be guided therewith and others were not, or that He manifested Himself through His words and revelations and signs in a certain age but remained hidden and silent in another age. That is why the Holy Qur'ân says:
(We have sent this revelation) lest you should say, ‘The Book has only been revealed to two communities (- the Jews and the Christians) before us, and (as for us) we remained unaware of what those (Books) read.’ Or lest you should say, ‘Had the Book been revealed to us we would surely have been better guided than they. (6:156-157)
By extending His Providence universally He disposed all such objections and exercised such universal benevolence that no people or age was denied the beneficence of His material and spiritual grace. As Rabb al âlamîn He is the source of all grace and every capacity proceeds from Him, and every thing that exists is sustained by Him. He is the support of every creature. His grace comprehends all people and all epochs.
And indeed We have already sent (Our) Messengers before you. There are some of them whom We have mentioned to you and of them there are some whom We have not mentioned to you. (40:78)
This creates a sense of respect and honour for all the prophets that have appeared among the various nations of the world and by accepting that all as having been sent by Allâh paves the way for the unity among the nations and peace through religion. These words also tell us that Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and all such faiths are but different aspects of one and the same religion, which in their original purity conveyed the same message of the Unity of God. Their religion was the submission to the will of One God and to make peace with their Creator and creation:
And We sent no Messenger before you but We revealed to him, (saying), ‘The truth is that there is no other, cannot be and will never be One worthy of worship but I, therefore worship Me (alone).’ (21:25)
Therefore we should believe in all those prophets, as this is the foundation of a universal brotherhood. This lays down the sound basis of peace and harmony among the religions of the world. Thus the source of all Divine Scriptures, Bible, Vedas or other similarly claimed Holy Books is the same. Divine revelations or Allah’s communion with human beings, men and women, is a necessary factor in the evolution of humanity. This Divine gift is bestowed upon all the nations of the world. He raised His Prophets not only in the Land of Palestine but in all continents. It was from India that Rishîs, Prophets and saints like Buddha, Rama, Krishna and Guru Nanak were chosen and where the Holy Scriptures, the Vedas were revealed in Sanskrit several thousand years ago.
Allâh being Rabb al âlamîn abolishes all individual and racial distinctions and tells that the noblest among us in the sight of Allâh is he who guards against evil, and who is most righteous (2:177); and thus opens a door of dialogue among the religions of the world, and establishes a vast brotherhood between all races, tribes and nations. No body is to be deprived of any right on the score of race, language, colour or sex, and no one of us is a believer in Allâh until he not only recognizes the truth of all the previous Prophets but also believes in the Divine origin of their teachings (2:4; 2:136; 3:84). We can understand differences of opinion arising from differences of temperament. They may lead to the existence of several schools of thought, but they cannot affect the real and basic faith, so far as the cardinal principles are concerned in their pure integrity. That is why we are told:
Surely, those who (profess to) believe (in Islam), and those who follow the Jewish faith, the Christians and the Sabians, whosoever (of these truly) believes in Allâh and the Last Day and acts righteously shall have their reward with their Lord, and shall have nothing to fear, nor shall they grieve. (2:62)
TO BE COUNTINU
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