God in Islam
God in Islam (, contraction of "al-’Ilāh", lit. "the God") is the eternal being who originated the creation, preserves all things and then will repeat it. In Islam, God is conceived as absolutely one, unique, and perfect, free from all faults, deﬁciencies, and defects, and further held to be omnipotent, omniscient, and completely infinite in all of his attributes, who has no partner or equal, being the sole creator of everything in existence. Islam emphasizes that God is strictly singular, all-merciful and all-compassionate, whose mercy embraces everything; who neither slumbers nor sleeps, nor is obnoxious to  decay nor death. According to Islamic theology, God has no physical body or gender (neither male nor female), although he is always referred to with masculine grammatical articles only, and there is absolutely nothing like him in any way whatsoever. Therefore, Islam rejects the doctrine of the incarnation and the notion of a personal god as anthropomorphic, because it is seen as demeaning to the transcendence of God. The Quran prescribes the fundamental transcendental criterion in the following verse: "(He is) the Creator of the heavens and the earth. He has made for you from yourselves, mates, and among the  cattle, mates; He multiplies you thereby. There is nothing whatever like unto Him, and He is the One that hears and sees (all things)" (). Therefore, Islam strictly and categorically rejects all forms of anthropomorphism and anthropopathism of the concept of God. The Islamic concept of God emphasizes that he is absolutely pure and free from association with other beings, which means attributing the powers and qualities of God to his creation, and vice versa. In Islam, God is never portrayed in any image. The Quran specifically forbade ascribing partners to share his singular sovereignty, as he is considered to be  the absolute one without a second, indivisible, and incomparable being, who is similar to nothing and nothing is comparable to him. Thus God is absolutely transcendent, unique and utterly other than anything in or of the world as to be beyond all forms of human thought and expression. The briefest and the most comprehensive description of God in Islam is found in Surat al-Ikhlas. According to mainstream Muslim theologians, God is described as "" (Eternal, timeless, and infinite, which literally means: "ancient"), having no first, without beginning or end; absolute, not limited by time or place or circumstance, nor is  subject to any decree so as to be determined by any precise limits or set times, but is the First and the Last. He is not a formed body, nor a substance circumscribed with limits or determined by measure; neither does he resemble bodies as they are capable of being measured or divided. Neither do substances exist in him; neither is he an accident, nor do accidents exist in him. Neither is he like to anything that exists, nor is anything like to him; nor is he determinate in quantity, nor comprehended by bounds, nor circumscribed by differences of situation , nor contained in the heavens, and transcends spatial and temporal bounds, and remains beyond the bounds of human comprehension and perceptions. Etymology. "Allāh" is the Arabic word referring to God in Abrahamic religions. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The Arabic word "Allāh" is thought to be derived by contraction from "al-ʾilāh", which means "the God", (i.e., the "only" God) and is related to "El" and "Elah", the Hebrew and Aramaic words for God. It is distinguished from "" (), the Arabic word meaning "deity", which could refer to any of the gods worshipped in pre -Islamic Arabia or to any other deity. Allah is God’s most unique Name, grandly referred to as "Lafẓ al-Jalālah" (The Word of Majesty). It occurs in the Qur’an 2,697 times in 85 of its 114 suras. Other names. God is described and referred to in the Quran and "hadith" by 99 names that reflect his attributes. The Quran refers to the attributes of God as "most beautiful names". According to Gerhard Böwering, Some Muslims may use different names as much as Allah, for instance "God" in English. Whether or not "Allah" can be considered as the personal name  of God became disputed in contemporary scholarship. Attributes. Oneness. Islam's most fundamental concept is a strict monotheism called "tawhid", affirming that God is one and Tanzih ("wāḥid"). The basic creed of Islam, the Shahada (recited under oath to enter the religion), involves "()", or "I testify there is no deity other than God." Muslims reject the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and divinity of Jesus, comparing it to polytheism. Jesus is instead believed to be a prophet. Tawhid constitutes the foremost article of the Muslim profession. The deification or worship of anyone or anything other than God (shirk) is the  greatest sin in Islam. The entirety of the Islamic teaching rests on the principle of Tawhid. According to Vincent J. Cornell, the Quran also provides a monist image of God by describing the reality as a unified whole, with God being a single concept that would describe or ascribe all existing things: "He is the First and the Last, the Evident and the Immanent: and He has full knowledge of all things." Argument of antagonism. There is an argument for Divine unity that has long been favored by Muslim theologians (mutakallimūn) known as the (or Burhan al-Tamanu'). It can  be translated as the "proof from hypothetical mutual prevention" or the "argument from hypothetical mutual hindrance". The argument is designed to refute the suggestion that there could be two or more gods in existence. The proof states that if there were two gods, the world would not be created, because they would prevent each other from acting. But since an orderly, harmonious world exists, its creator must be one. This proof has its basis in Qur'anic verses, such as the following: As is evident in these verses, the fact that polytheism is not compatible with the creation of the universe  and its order is proved. Consequently, the existence of the universe and the excellence of its order is the reflection and the proof of existence of God and his oneness, and that there can be only one transcendent will. However, if there had been multiple deities, each deity would have tried to overpower other deities; and thus there would have been conflicts, disputes, and clashes between them. If there were such gods, they would desire and attempt to be lord of the universe themselves or, at least, to have a part in the creation and administration of things. The order  and operation of the universe also contradicts this; because if there had been multiples deities, in order for one deities to impose its authority, a restriction which limits the authorities of other deities should been made. For example, if there were two gods, the first one is god which created the Sun, and the second one is god which created the Moon. In order to create a consistency within the law of physics in the universe, the movements of both the Sun and the Moon must be restricted in such a fashion that the movements of both the Sun and  Moon do not inflict any harm toward human beings living of the Earth. This implies that the acts of both gods concerning how they control their own creations must be suppressed. On the other hand, being restricted is an attribute which is not befitting to any deity. Thus, each god would have tried to take fully dominance upon its own creations. This could have resulted in inconsistency within the law of physics in the universe, possibly harming human beings on Earth. Nonetheless, as can be clearly understood from the Qur'an chapter 21 verse 22, and chapter 41 verse 37, since  Allah is the only God who created the Sun, the Moon, and other heavenly bodies, all of them behave consistently, and bring many benefits to human beings. The second example is explained as follows. If there were two gods, the first one is god which creates, and the second is god which destroy. When the first god imposes its authority, which is to create, the second god must be suppressed so that it does not operate. Otherwise, the first god cannot successfully operate, because its creation will be soon get destroyed by the second god. Being suppressed or being  limited is not a befitting attribute to a deity. Thus, if there had been multiple deities, each deity would have tried to overpower other deities. Therefore, in reality there is only one deity, and that is Allah. Furthermore, this explanation was emphasized in the Qur'anic verse (7:158). It was explicitly stated that there is no other deities besides Allah. Allah is the owner of the heavens and the earth. Allah is the God who creates, and Allah is the God who destroys. Uniqueness. Islam emphasises the absolute uniqueness and singularity of God in his essence, attributes, qualities, and acts. As  stated in Surat al-Ikhlas: God is Ahad (the unique one of absolute oneness, who is indivisible in nature, and there can be no other like him); God is al-Samad (the ultimate source of all existence, the uncaused cause who created all things out of nothing, who is eternal, absolute, immutable, perfect, complete, essential, independent, and self-sufficient; who needs nothing while all of creation is in absolute need of him; the one eternally and constantly required and sought, depended upon by all existence and to whom all matters will ultimately return); he begets not, nor is he begotten  (He is Unborn and Uncreated, has no parents, wife or offspring); and comparable/equal to him, there is none. God's absolute transcendence over his creation, as well as his unlimited individuality were asserted and emphasized with support from appropriate quotations from the Qur'an as follows: The Qur'anic verse (19:65), "Do you know of any that can be named with His Name?" emphasizes that as Allah is Unique, His name is shared by none other. Such as that described in the previous three verses (16:57-59). For the disbelievers in the Hereafter, there is an evil description, or in other  words, the most evil attribute (i.e., the most vile), which is their ignorance and ingratitude, and their burying alive of newborn girls, despite the fact that they are needed for the purposes of marriage and not allowing women to even inherit property, and their ascribing female gender to angels and claiming that the angels are the daughters of God while so preferring sons for themselves (this is also mentioned in the verses 37:149-155); whereas to God belong the highest attribute, namely, that there is no deity except him, immensely exalted beyond and above all comparison and likeness. The Qur'anic  verse (42:11) emphasizes that there is no similarity whatsoever between the creator and his creation in essence, in attributes or in actions, and therefore, God is beyond all human concepts of him. So he has no mates and nothing is like him, nor does he beget, nor is he begotten. Nothing – neither matter, nor space, nor time – can restrict or contain him. And this is why his Attributes – his hearing, seeing, knowledge, will, power, creating, and so on – are also beyond anything we can conceive. The same sentiment is expressed in the Qur'anic verse (6:103) which states: "Vision perceives/comprehends  Him not, and He perceives/comprehends (evaluates) all vision." In some interpretations, this verse also asserts that the senses and intellects cannot fully comprehend God. Likewise, the Qur'an also says: The Hanafi jurist and theologian, al-Tahawi (d. 321/933), wrote in his treatise on theology, commonly known as "al-'Aqida al-Tahawiyya": Al-Tahawi also stated that: The six directions are: above, below, right, left, front and back. The above statement of al-Tahawi refutes the anthropomorphist's dogmas that imagine Allah has a physical body and human form, and being occupied in a place, direction or trajectory. Creator. According  to the teachings of Islam, God is the creator of the worlds and all the creatures therein. He has created everything in the worlds in accordance with a definite plan and for a particular purpose. There is no shortcoming or defect of any sort in any of his creations. The Qur'an confirms this in the following verses: The Qur'an also says in verse (25:2): "and He has created everything and designed it in a perfect measure (and ordained its destiny in a precise manner)." And in another verse (25:59) it is emphasized: "It is He who created the heavens and  the earth, and all that is between them." The Qur'an states that God is the "Rabb al-'Alamin". When referring to God, the Arabic term "Rabb" is usually translated as "Lord", and can include all of the following meanings: "owner, master, ruler, controller, creator, upbringer, trainer, sustainer, nourisher, cherisher, provider, protector, guardian and caretaker." The same term, "Rabb", is used in a limited sense for humans as in the "head" of the family, "master" of the house, or "owner" of the land or cattle. The Arabic word "al-'Alamin" can be translated as the "Worlds" or "Universes". There are many worlds, astronomical  and physical worlds, worlds of thought, spiritual worlds, everything in existence including angels, jinn, devils, humans, animals, plants, and so on. The "Worlds" may also be taken to refer to different domains or kingdoms within this earthly world, or other worlds beyond this earth. Thus, the Qur'anic expression "Rabb al-'Alamin" really means the "Creator of the Worlds", the "Ruler of the Universes", the "Creator and Sustainer of all the peoples and Universes". God's creation of human acts. According to Sunni Theology ("Kalam"), God is the creator of human actions and man is the acquisitor. They affirms that God is  the creator of all actions. However, he has given man power and desire so that he himself may choose whether to do a certain action or not. God creates in man the power to act and also gives him an ability to make a free choice between the two alternatives — right and wrong. When he does choose to do it, God creates that act. As it is revealed in the Qur'an: This means that it is God Who creates us and enables us to do things. He has given us will and power so that we are able to will  something and do it. However, it is he who creates and gives external existence to what we do. Our performing an action does not mean that action must come about. Were it not for his creation, we could do nothing. We are doers or agents, while God is the creator. If we had no ability to do something and God did not create our actions, then our having free will would be meaningless and we would have no responsibility for our deeds. Mercy. The most commonly used names in the primary sources are "Al-Rahman", meaning "Most Compassionate" and "Al -Rahim", meaning "Most Merciful". The former compasses the whole creation, therefore applying to God's mercy in that it gives every necessary condition to make life possible. The latter applies to God's mercy in that it gives favor for good deeds. Thus "Al-Rahman" includes both the believers and the unbelievers, but "Al-Rahim" only the believers. God is said to love forgiving, with a hadith stating God would replace a sinless people with one who sinned but still asked repentance. His mercy takes many forms as he says in the Quran "and My Mercy embraces all things." [7:156 ] This is shown in "Sahih Muslim" narrated from Abu Hurairah, who said the Prophet said: