The Islamic Concept of God is Inadequate

Muslims believe that their God (Arabic: Allah) is essentially the one and only true and all powerful, all knowing, sustainer, ordainer, judge and creator of the universe.[1] Muslims also believe that the Qur’an is the final book of divine guidance and direction—in conjunction with this normative claim Muslims are additionally obligated to presuppose that the Qur’an is the advanced self-actualisation of both the Old and New Testament.[2][3] The concern of this discussion will be approximately related to investigating the adequacy of this claim, i.e., Allah is the God of the Old and New Testament, and whether or not this claim is relevantly justifiable in contrast with that of Christian theology. Nevertheless, in the narrow sense, the main disputation of this debate will be concerned with that of evaluating whether or not Muslims have faith in in a satisfactory conception of God. Therefore, the main apprehension of this deliberation will be specifically synchronised with the theology of Allah as testified by Mohammed and whether or not the qualities of Allah, e.g., ethical excellence, are logically adequate and relatable to that of the Christian God. Islam and Christianity share many parallels. To style one, both Christians and Muslims approve and believe that God is the Highest Being Imaginable by virtue of His nature—if you could contemplate of a being greater than God, then, the former would inevitably be replaced by the latter. Thus, Christians and Muslims agree: God, by virtue of His nature, is inescapably the Highest Being Imaginable. This declaration is problematic for the Muslim, though. For once we begin to scrutinise God’s moral and loving character through the doctrinal scope of the Qur’an, we come to inevitably discover that Allah isn’t morally perfect. For example, [Qur’an 3:134] “Who give to charity during the good times, as well as the bad times. They are suppressors of anger, and pardoners of the people. God loves the charitable.” [Qur’an, 60:8] “God does not forbid you to be kind and equitable to those who have neither fought against your faith nor driven you out of your homes. In fact God loves the equitable.” [Qur’an 30:45] “He does not love the unbelievers” [Qur’an 22:38] “Surely Allah does not love anyone who is unfaithful, ungrateful.” What we can see here is that the God of Islam chooses to love those who are virtuous and love not those who are corrupt. From a Christian perspective, this interpretation of God’s love appears intrinsically inconsistent with both the teachings of who and what God is explained to be Bibically, while, from a philosophical perspective, this view of God’s love seems to be logically inconsistent with God’s ultra-mundane attributes.[4][5] Thomas Aquinas in his book, ‘Summa Theologiae,’ was very attentive to this topic. Thomas Aquinas concluded that, ‘God is perfect, lacking nothing. That is, God is distinguished from other beings on account of God’s complete actuality.’[6] In this case, it seems as if the Muslim has little to no legroom. The Muslim apologist must either act inconsistently by selectively dismissing these verses in the Qur’an by acknowledging or dropping that God is all-Loving to try and save himself from contradiction or the Muslim apologist must problematically acknowledge that God isn’t all-Loving while surrendering to the inescapable conclusion which follows, i.e., the Islamic God isn’t morally perfect—God's nature necessitates that He is perfect. Therefore, how can the Islamic God, whose nature necessitates moral perfection, be lovingly selective? The philosopher and theologian William Lane Craig has been documented arguing against the rationale of the Islamic concept of God, “So the Qur’an assures us of God’s love for the God-fearing and the good-doers; but He has no love for sinners and unbelievers. Thus, in the Islamic conception, God is not all-loving. His love is partial and has to be earned. The Muslim God only loves those who first love Him. [Emphasis Mine] His love thus rises no higher than the love which Jesus said even tax-collectors and unbelievers exhibit. Now don’t you think this is an inadequate conception of God? What would you think of a parent who said to his children, “If you measure up to my standards and do as I say, then I will love you”? Some of you have had parents like that, who didn’t love you unconditionally, and you know the emotional scars you bear as a result. As the greatest conceivable being, the most perfect being, the source of all goodness and love, God’s love must be unconditional and impartial. Therefore, the Islamic conception of God seems to me to be morally deficient. I therefore cannot rationally accept it.”[7] The argument I have created accomplishes that God is omnibenevolent and morally perfect by virtue of His nature—qualities of God’s nature that are required of His Being. This is not a position that I have capriciously defined; rather, this is a position that both Christians and Muslims have faith in necessarily by virtue of their theology. The Catholic Encyclopedia elucidates that the philosophical validation for such an assertion branches from God’s Aseity: ‘The non-contingent, independent and self-sustained mode of existence that theologians ascribe to God. For if He was not morally perfect, that is, if God was merely a great being but nevertheless of finite benevolence, then his existence would involve an element of contingency, because one could always conceive of a being of greater benevolence.’[8] Francis Edwards Peters has been recorded saying that, "The Qur'an insists, Muslims believe, and historians affirm that Mohammed and his followers worship the same God as the Jews. The Quran's Allah is the same Creator God who covenanted with Abraham".[9] The claim Francis Edwards Peters has made with respect to the Islamic God being equal to that of the Abrahamic God in the Old and New Testament in person isn't of interest to this debate; rather, the claim that the Abrahamic God is in essence one and the same as the Abrahamic God is under question—how can the Islamic God be the same as the Christian God in essence if the Islamic God isn't all-Loving? Thus, the Qur’anic theological and philosophical justification for such a claim is precisely what we will be discussing in this debate. Thus, my argument goes as follows, 1. Allah is God. 2. Allah is, therefore, the Greatest Conceivable Being. 3. If it could be shown that Allah is not the Greatest Conceivable Being, then, Allah would not be Greatest Conceivable Being and, therefore, God. 4. Allah is not morally perfect as He does not love the evil-doers. (logical contradiction) 5. Therefore, Allah isn’t the Greatest Conceivable Being. 6. Therefore, Allah is not God. For the God of Islam to be considered a serious contender within this pluralistic age, the God of Islam must be Perfect to be considered rationally worthy of worship. However, the God of Islam lacks one fundamental attribute Christians generally capatilise on. Namely, God’s all-Loving and ethically perfect nature. The goal of my opponent in this debate will be that of logically synthesising Allah’s unloving nature and characteristics. I have presented my first argument, therefore, anyone who chooses to accept my challenge will be required to refute and rationally bridge the presented inadequacy of the Islamic concept of God. Good luck! Bibliography: [1] Gerhard Böwering, ‘God and his Attributes’, Encyclopedia of the Qur'an; John L. Esposito, Islam: ‘The Straight Path’, Oxford University Press, 1998, p.22 [2] Living Religions: An Encyclopaedia of the World’s Faiths, Mary Pat Fisher, 1997, page 338, I.B. Tauris Publishers. [3] Qur'an 17:106 [4] John 3:16 [5] Deut 7:7-13 [6] ‘Kreeft‘, pp. 86-87 [7] William Lane Craig debates Shabir Ally. “Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?” McGill University, Quebec, Canada, February 2009. [8] “The infinity of God”. Catholic Encyclopaedia. Newadvent.org. Retrieved 2008-05-02.[9] Francis Edwards Peters.