ALLAH, THE LORD OF THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH
THE CREATOR, SUSTAINER, ABOVE GIVING BIRTH
ALLAH IS AS HE DESCRIBES HIMSELF WITH NO ADDITIONS
BEYOND WHICH WE DO NOT PONDER NOR PUT CONDITIONS
HE IS ALLAH, THE MOST HIGH WHO DOES NOT SLEEP
NOR DOES HIS CREATION TAKE PART IN HIS MAJESTY
IT IS ALLAH ALONE WHO IS WORTHY OF WORSHIP
A STATEMENT OF TRUTH REVEALED TO THE MUSHRIKS
“ALLAH, THE LORD OF THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH. THE CREATOR, SUSTAINER, ABOVE GIVING BIRTH”
The Arabic word ‘Allah’ denotes the meaning of exclusiveness and uniqueness. In its linguistic sense, it means The One and Only deity (al-ilah). ‘Allah’ is also one of the perfect and infinite Names that our beloved Lord has chosen to name Himself with. The greatest name of the Lord of the heavens and the earth is Allah and it is the grand name to which all His other Names and Attributes are attributed to. As He, subhanahu wa ta’ala, says in the Qur’an:
He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity (worthy of worship), Knower of the unseen and the witnessed. He is the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful [Surah Hashr V. 22]
He is Allah, the One who sent down the Qur’an, to make clear a fundamental concept in Islam known as tawheed, which literally means “making something one”. When we use this word in reference to Allah it means making Allah one, unique, and exclusive in three things:
- His Lordship (Ruboobiyyah)
- His rights to be worshipped (Uloohiyyah)
- His Names and Attributes (Asma was-Sifat)
So grand is this principle that Allah revealed His words to our beloved Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasalam, created the heavens and the earth, the sun and the moon, life and death, provided fruits and cattle, for no other reason but to make clear His oneness, uniqueness, and exclusiveness amongst all the worlds.
Continuing on with the explanation of the poem, we begin to touch upon the first branch of tawheed by mentioning that Allah is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. He says in the Qur’an:
All the praises and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of the ‘Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists) [Surah Fatiha V.2]
This quality which belongs to Allah, that of Lordship (Ruboobiyyah), is something we find throughout the Qur’an. We are witness to it as soon as we read the first page, in which Allah refers to Himself as the Rabb of the ‘Alamin.
The word rabb has a multitude of meanings: master, owner, controller, nourisher, and provider . Islamically, rabb
has three precise definitions, which makes clear the concept of tawheed ar-ruboobiyyah:
- To know and believe that Allah is the True and Complete Owner of the Dominion
- To know and believe that Allah is the One worthy of fully being obeyed
- To know and believe that only Allah creates, sustains, and owns the entire creation. He alone is the Master, Controller, and Nourisher
Allah is the only deity that is the rabb of everything because it is only He who has the ability to create, sustain, and nourish all of creation. He is the Creator and Owner, the one who rectifies mankind and nurtures them from His blessings by sending His Messengers and revealing His Books. He is the Self-Sufficient (as-Samad), to whom all creation turns to in need. Shaykh ibn Naasir as-Sa’dee rahimuhallah says in his explanation of this beautiful name of Allah:
[He is] The One who is turned to for all needs. For all those who are in the heavens and Earth are in the uttermost need of Him. They ask Him for all of their needs and they turn to him for their purposes. This is because He is complete in is His attributes, [He is] Al ‘Aleem (The Most Knowledgeable) who is complete in His knowledge. Al Haleem (The Most Forbearing) who is complete in forbearance, Ar Raheem (The Most Merciful who is complete in His Mercy] which encompasses all things. And [He] is likewise in the rest of His attributes.
This name of Allah proves His Majesty over His creation as He is independent of them while they are completely and utterly dependent upon Him.
It is from His completeness that He does not have sons or daughters, as the pagans claimed, because of his complete self-sufficiency. Ascribing Allah with sons and daughters would diminish His quality of oneness, uniqueness, and exclusiveness in Lordship, which would not befit the One who is Perfect and Self-Sufficient. Beyond that, Allah makes clear He is far above having sons and daughters in the Qur’an:
And it is not appropriate for the Most Merciful that He should take a son [Surah Maryam V.92]
Stay tuned part 2…