Multi-Media Edition

2008 Mawlawi Jahangir Mahmud

jahangir@wol.net.pk www.ser.com.pk

We shall study three basic themes of the Quranic verses

Himself

Relationship with His Creation

Relationship with His Messengers

Allah in Himself
Person

Signs

Attributes

Powers

Allah in Himself (Person)

Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the Glass as it were a brilliant star: lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the East nor of the West, whose Oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it: Light upon Light! Allah doth set forth Parables for men: and Allah doth know all things.

The Holy Quran describes and elaborates details about the person of Allah. Usually certain symbolic expressions and parables have been used for this purpose. For example, Surah An Nur describes Allah as a 'light',

(Nur : 35) Sura Ikhlas

Allah is He, than whom there is no other god the sovereign, the Holy One, the Source of Peace (and Perfection). the Guardian of Faith, the Preserver of Safety, the Exalted in Might, the Irresistible, the Supreme: Glory to Allah! (High is He) above the partners they attribute to Him. (23) He is Allah the Creator, the Evolver, the Bestower of Forms (or Colours). To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names: whatever is in the heavens and on earth, declare His Praises and Glory: and He is the exalted in Might, the Wise. (Surah Al Hashr)

The Holy Quran describes and elaborates details about the nature and attributes of Allah using parables & analogies Attributes of Allah

Allah in Himself (Attributes)

Allah in Himself (Powers)

Another oft repeated theme is that of Allah's Unmatchable power, Verily, when He intends a thing, His command is "Be" and it is! (36:82) Sura Al Anaam

Allah in Himself (Signs)

Among His signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. Adore not the sun and the moon, but adore Allah, who created them, if it is Him you wish to serve Surah Fussilat/Sajda

LETS BEGIN THE QURANIC PASSAGES

ALLAH IN HIMSELF

Ayat Al Kursi (2:255)

In the name of Allah, most Gracious, Most Merciful. Allah! There is no God but He, the Living, the Self-subsisting. Neither slumber nor sleep can seize Him. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth. Who will intercede with Him except by His Leave? He knows what is in front of them and what is behind them, While they encompass nothing of His Knowledge, except what He wills. His Throne extends over the heavens and the earth, And He is never weary of preserving them. And He is the Sublime, the Supreme.

Allah! There is no God but He, the Living, the Self-subsisting Neither slumber nor sleep can seize Him To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth Who will intercede with Him except by His Leave? He knows what is in front of them and what is behind them, While they encompass nothing of His Knowledge, except what He wills. His Throne extends over the heavens and the earth, And He is never weary of preserving them. And He is the Sublime, the Supreme.

The Main Theme(s)

(i)

The Presentation of the Theme

(ii)

Teachings Lessons Beliefs Theme

How does the Quran explain it What examples etc it uses How similar themes are mentioned in the HQ Example from the Quran

The Main Theme(s)

This passage describes the concept of Tawhid with respect to Allah's matchless attributes. Tawhid means absolute oneness of Allah both in entity and attributes Since He is the Creator and Lord of the whole universe, nothing is beyond the domain of Allah None can escape His knowledge, it is absolute Thus He is perfectly unique and matchless This makes Him immensely supreme and exalted.

The Presentation of the Theme

The passage focuses on Allah's attributes that no one can share These include His being above all human needs and weaknesses He is Ever living He does not depend on anyone for survival but is the ultimate source of survival for all His knowledge, like His power, is unbounded He is absolutely autonomous in all His decrees The whole universe symbolizes His authority Quran repeatedly acknowledges this For example: Blessed be He in whose hands is dominion; and He has power over all things (67:1) The passage mentions Tawhid in terms of His attributes as against Surah Ikhlas that mentions uniqueness of Allah.

Surah Al Anaam 6: 101 to 103

101. To Him is due the primal origin of the heavens and the earth: how can He have a son when He has no consort? 102. He created all things, and He has full knowledge of all things. That is Allah, your Lord! There is no god but He, the Creator of all things: then worship Him: and He has power to dispose of all affairs. 103. No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all visions: He is above all comprehension, yet is acquainted with all things.

101. To Him is due the primal origin of the heavens and the earth: how can He have a son when He has no consort? 102. He created all things, and He has full knowledge of all things. That is Allah, your Lord! There is no god but He, the Creator of all things: then worship Him: and He has power to dispose of all affairs. 103. No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all visions: He is above all comprehension, yet is acquainted with all things.

The Main Theme(s)

(i)

The Presentation of the Theme

(ii)

Teachings Lessons Beliefs Theme

How does the Quran explain it What examples etc it uses How similar themes are mentioned ELSEWHERE in the Holy Quran Example from the Quran or the Ahadith

The Main Theme(s)

These three verses describe the belief of Tawhid with powerful arguments by Allah They negate any association of partners with Allah in any form They mention His power to originate, create and decide all affairs and His ultimate power and knowledge All these aspects support and prove His being the Great And justify our inability to bring His person or nature, into the limited confines of our imagination or intellect.

The Presentation of the Theme

The doctrine of Tawhid is based on Allah's power of creating His domain out of nothing and by His single command, Be (36:82) Exercise of this power explains Allah's immense power and unlimited knowledge Demands us to demonstrate our belief by bowing down before Him in all submission and worship like the other creations: And the stars and the trees both bow in adoration (Surah 55). This further negates any form of shirk (associating partners with Allah), specially associating any relatives with Him. Surah Ikhlas more emphatically and explicitly refutes the corrupted idea of assuming descendants of Allah Such degree of uniqueness of Allah renders our imagination just helpless to comprehend His entity.

Surah Fussilat/Sajda;41. 37- 39

37. Among His signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. Adore not the sun and the moon, but adore Allah, who created them, if it is Him you wish to serve. 38. But if people are arrogant, in the presence of your Lord are those who celebrate His praises by night and by day. And they never grow tired. 39. And among His signs is this: you see the earth barren and desolate, but when We send down rain to it, it is stirred to life and yields increase. Truly, He who gives life to the earth can surely give life to those who are dead, for He has power over all things

37. Among His signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. Adore not the sun and the moon, but adore Allah, who created them, if it is Him you wish to serve. 38. But if people are arrogant, in the presence of your Lord are those who celebrate His praises by night and by day. And they never grow tired. 39. And among His signs is this: you see the earth barren and desolate, but when We send down rain to it, it is stirred to life and yields increase. Truly, He who gives life to the earth can surely give life to those who are dead, for He has power over all things

The Main Theme(s)

(i)

The Presentation of the Theme

(ii)

Teachings Lessons Beliefs Theme

How does the Quran explain it What examples etc it uses How similar themes are mentioned ELSEWHERE in the Holy Quran Example from the Quran or the Ahadith

The Main Theme(s)

Various objects and phenomena in nature are reflection of Allah's power and means of identifying Him All heavenly bodies and the earth with its potential of productivity are creations of the Almighty Who is the Creator of all Therefore, we should express our relationship with our Creator and Lord by first identifying the relationship between the Creator and the creation and then expressing this identity by worshipping Him alone He Himself never runs short of those of His servants who remain busy in praising and serving Him.

The Presentation of the Theme.

All sources of life and activity in the universe are under Allah's control and bear witness to His creative power The Sun, the Moon and the cycle of day and night simply display the ultimate controlling power of Allah (36:39-40) as well as signify His glory (10:6) Fertility of land with its dependence on rain sent by Allah symbolises His great power to give life to the dead on the Day of Judgment The Quran further supports this by saying: and again He will give you life (30:40) An appreciation of this makes it binding on us to worship Him alone Who Himself never runs short of the angels who remain busy in His praise all the times.

Surah As Shura 42: 4 & 5

4. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth: and He is most High, most Great. 5. The heavens are almost rent asunder from above them, and the angels celebrate the praises of their Lord, and pray for forgiveness for beings on earth: Behold! Verily Allah is He, the oft-Forgiving, the most Merciful.

4. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth: and He is most High, most Great. 5. The heavens are almost rent asunder from above them, and the angels celebrate the praises of their Lord, and pray for forgiveness for beings on earth: Behold! Verily Allah is He, the oft-Forgiving, the most Merciful.

The Main Theme(s)

(i)

The Presentation of the Theme

(ii)

Teachings Lessons Beliefs Theme

How does the Quran explain it What examples etc it uses How similar themes are mentioned ELSEWHERE in the Holy Quran Example from the Quran or the Ahadith

The Main Theme(s)

These verses discuss Allah's overlordship and supremacy over the entire universe Just like His unlimited powers, there is no dearth of those who praise and glorify Him There are countless angels, Allah's most obedient creatures, who are busy all the time in sanctifying their Lord and begging His mercy for the whole mankind They seek His compassion because they know that Allah is the symbol of mercy and forgiveness and that this attribute of Allah excels all His other attributes.

The Presentation of the Theme.

Allah is the sole and unassisted owner of the whole universe and this aspect of Allah makes Him absolutely supreme and dignified Such an elevated status demands of His creatures to bow down before Him and keep themselves busy in His praise by a variety of means Angels in this regard surpass all other creatures of Allah since they have been divinely programmed to keep acknowledging Allah's power, goodness and great awe However, knowing that Allah is all mercy and forgiveness they also supplicate before Him for granting pardon and favour to humans Surah al-Qadr (97) mentions this activity of angels in the Night of Power Similarly Surah al-Nahl (16:49-50) and Surah al-Ghafir (40:7) also narrate the same about the angels For example 40:7 says: Those who sustain the Throne and those around it sing glory and praise to their Lord.

Surah Al-Ikhlas 112: 1-4

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2.

3.
4.

In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful. Say: He is Allah, the One; Allah, the Absolute (the Eternal). He does not beget nor is He begotten, And there is none like Him.

The Main Theme(s)

(i)

The Presentation of the Theme

(ii)

Teachings Lessons Beliefs Theme

How does the Quran explain it What examples etc it uses How similar themes are mentioned in the HQ Example from the Quran or the Ahadith

Main Theme(s)

The Surah summarises the doctrine of Tawhid or absolute oneness of Allah Tawhid means that Allah is absolutely one in entity as well as in attributes It further tells that Allah is not only One, He is also unique The Surah speaks of the unique status of Allah which is beyond the scope of human imagination This Surah serves as an antidote to every form and possibility of shirk (associating partners with Allah).

The Presentation of the Theme

The Surah highlights the distinctive and incomparable nature of Allah It focuses on Allah's matchless entity and His being above the limitations of time and space He is the First and the Last (57:3) This means that Allah has been in existence since eternity It also mentions that it does not behove Allah to have any kind of family tree or progeny and thus negates all the corrupted beliefs about Him that were held by the misguided communities All this makes Him an entity that is simply beyond human comprehension Quran says: No vision can grasp Him but He grasps all visions (6:103)

Some of the Books authored by Maulvi Jahangir Mahmud

2008 Mawlawi Jahangir Mahmud www.ser.com.pk jahangir@wol.net.pk