Epigraph:

He is Allah, the Creator, the Maker, the Fashioner. His are the most beautiful names. All that is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Him, and He is the Mighty, the Wise. (Al Quran 59:24)

Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD, Chief Editor of the Muslim Times

The first interviewee in this video is a Muslim scholar, a professor in George Washington University, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, who has coauthored a commentary of the Quran. He beautifully describes the 99 attributes of Allah. The next interviewee around minute 6, is Professor Brian Leftow, from Oxford London, who gives a good presentation of the ontological argument for God’s existence. I am not arguing for the ontological argument, but, if you do believe in God, then it is a good way to understand His 99 attributes.

The title of this article is part of the last verse of Surah Hashr ( لَهُ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَىٰ ) of the holy Quran. It means that Allah is the Highest Good that we as humans can imagine in any quality. He is the Most Beautiful, Al Nur, the Most Truthful, Al Haq, the Most Just, Al Aadil, the Most Gracious, Al Rehman and the Most Merciful, Al Raheem. He is free of all errors and limitations and is not dependent on any thing, Al Samad, All Knowing, Al Khabeer, All Powerful, Al Qadir and the Creator of every known thing, Al Khaliq, Al Baree and Al Musawir. This is how the Muslims understand the God of Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Yusuf, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, may peace be on all of them.

The official Christian belief about Jesus is that he is a perfect man and fully Divine. The Muslims easily argue with them based on the above and other verses of the Quran that how could he be God, when he had all the human weaknesses of dependence on food, call of nature, weakness, tiredness and need for sleep, to name a few. Any Muslim understands this easily but the two billion Christians have a hard time grabbing this simple logic because of their indoctrination.

It would seem from what I wrote that the Muslims have better appreciation of the attributes of Allah.

But, not so fast.

We are equally vulnerable in areas of our weaknesses. The Muslim masses are easily fooled by their leaders at times that God will help even when they are being less than fully just, for one reason or the other. But, how is that possible, as He is the Perfect Being, the Just, Al Aadil, who according to the Quran, does not even cheat any one, even the worth of the cleavage of a date seed.

Likewise, the Muslims easily fall for the half truths and yet believe that they haven’t offended God of Islam. How could it be when Allah is the Perfect Truth, Al Haq?

Many continue to believe and espouse contradictory ideas to the naïve and uninitiated and yet hope for God’s exclusive favor. How could it be when God claims that He is All Knowing, Al Khabeer, and therefore free of contradiction?

Sometimes Muslim sects try to monopolize Allah for themselves. But how could it be when the very first Surah, Surah Fatihah states that He is the Provider and the Sustainer of all the worlds?

Last but not the least, many continue to espouse unscientific ideas and have the audacity to attribute those to the Quran as well, not realizing that He is the Creator of every known thing, Al Khaliq, Al Baree and Al Musawir. The universe is His work and the Quran is His word. The two cannot contradict each other because, “His are the Most Beautiful Names!” He cannot contradict Himself as He is the Most Honest, the Most Truthful and All Knowing.

Genuine science can never be opposed to true understanding of the Quran!

Aside: A comment on the video above:

Let me try to attempt to answer the question Robert Lawrence Kuhn expresses at the very end. Different people experience God based on who they are and what life they are living. To Kuhn it negates the possibility of God and to me this very fact confirms the reality of the Infinite God as the finite being experience Him differently given their own personal limitations.

It also reminds me of a Hadith Qudsi, which means a revealed Hadith; narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Allah says: ‘I am just as My slave thinks I am, (i.e. I am able to do for him what he thinks I can do for him) and I am with him if He remembers Me. If he remembers Me in himself, I too, remember him in Myself; and if he remembers Me in a group of people, I remember him in a group that is better than they; and if he comes one span nearer to Me, I go one cubit nearer to him; and if he comes one cubit nearer to Me, I go a distance of two outstretched arms nearer to him; and if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running.’ “

حَدَّثَنَا عُمَرُ بْنُ حَفْصٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي، حَدَّثَنَا الأَعْمَشُ، سَمِعْتُ أَبَا صَالِحٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ “‏ يَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِي بِي، وَأَنَا مَعَهُ إِذَا ذَكَرَنِي، فَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي نَفْسِهِ ذَكَرْتُهُ فِي نَفْسِي، وَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي مَلأٍ ذَكَرْتُهُ فِي مَلأٍ خَيْرٍ مِنْهُمْ، وَإِنْ تَقَرَّبَ إِلَىَّ بِشِبْرٍ تَقَرَّبْتُ إِلَيْهِ ذِرَاعًا، وَإِنْ تَقَرَّبَ إِلَىَّ ذِرَاعًا تَقَرَّبْتُ إِلَيْهِ بَاعًا، وَإِنْ أَتَانِي يَمْشِي أَتَيْتُهُ هَرْوَلَةً ‏”‏‏.‏

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