The Philosophy of Islam

Reflection on some of God’s names and qualities

محمد صادق في الخميس ٠٣ - أبريل - ٢٠٠٨ ١٢:٠٠ صباحاً

mah to all the worlds. 
 
In addition to aI-Rahman, aI-Rahim, God is also known as aI-Karim, the All Generous, al-Ghafur, the All-Forgiver, and aI-Latif, the All-Kind. He possesses also other Names and Qualities that indicate His Compassion towards His creation and human salvation, and in fact to existence. It is impossible for a Muslim to pray to God or even to think of God without awareness of this essential dimension of Compassion and Mercy, without, however, losing sight of the Divine Majesty, before which one must always remain in reverential awe. 
39:53 “Do not despair of God's Mercy.” 
23:109 "Have Mercy upon us for Thou art the best of those who show mercy.” 
Muslims should be strict with themselves, but generous and compassionate toward those around them. This begins with the family, where the Qur 'an in numerous verses emphasizes the importance of exercising ihsan, that is, spiritual virtue and goodness, which includes compassion and kindness toward one’s parent, spouse, children, and other family members. Compassion and generosity must, moreover, be in deeds as well as in words, and here the whole tradition of adab, or traditional courtesy, manners, and comportment, plays a central role in making compassion, generosity, and the self-discipline and nobility that are inseparable from them a concrete reality. 
Beyond the family, there is the general category of neighbour, which usually includes one's physical neighbours and those living nearby. Then beyond one's neighbourhood, there is society in which the same attitude of compassion and kindness must exist even beyond the boundary of one's religion. 
 
Love and Passion 
One of God's Names is al-Wadud, Love, and in the Qur'an there are numerous references to love, or hubb, as when it is said, 
5: 54 “God will bring a people whom He Loves and who love Him.” 
There is certitude for Muslims that God is all-loving, as all-compassionate and all-forgiving, as stated in the verses; 
11 :90 “Surely my Lord is All-merciful, Kind.” 
85:14 “He is the All-forgiving, the All-Loving.” 
Love runs through the vein of the universe and, like compassion, is inseparable from existence. There is no realm of existence where love does not manifest itself in some way. Furthermore there are many levels of love natural to human beings: romantic love, love of children and parents, love of beauty in art and nature, love of knowledge, and even love of power, wealth, and fame, which, however, since they are turned toward the world, pose a danger for the soul. In the Islamic perspective, all earthly love should be at God and not separated from the love of God, and any love which excludes God and turns us away from Him is an illusion that can lead to the ruin of the soul. 
The Islamic sages have in fact asserted the doctrine that only the love of God is real love and all other love is metaphorical love. But metaphorical love is also real on its own level and is in fact a Divine gift, if it is understood properly and used as a ladder to reach real love, which is the love for the source of all love, which is God. 
 
Peace and comfort 
There is no peace except in the spiritual retreat of God. When speaking of peace, one should never forget the famous Qur' anic verse; 
48:4 “He it is who made the Divine Peace (al-sa kina h) to descend in the hearts of believers.” 
The reality emphasized by Islam remains that the source of peace is God who is Himself Peace and without Whom there can be no peace on earth. There is no major religion that does not emphasize peace. All major religions preach peace, yet have to face occasions when war has become inevitable for one reason or another. 
And yet in the west Islam is often singled out as being warlike and the "religion of the sword" in contrast primarily to Christianity as the religion of peace. We will talk more about this point in separate chapter. 
 
Beauty 
Like compassion, love, and peace, beauty is seen as a Divine Quality in Islam, one of God’s Names being al-Jamil, the Beautiful. And this reality is reflected on the human plane as well by the fact that our soul loves what it perceives as beautiful and sees as beautiful what it loves. Beauty also has the power of radiation and shares therefore a basic characteristic with compassion and mercy. Beauty is also related to peace and has a remarkable pacifying power over the soul, a quality that is essential to Islamic spirituality, as reflected so clearly in Islamic art. Beauty is a dimension of reality itself, and throughout the ages Islamic philosophers have confirmed in their own terms the Platonic dictum “Beauty is the splendour of the truth.” Now, the Arabic word haqiqah means both “truth” and “reality” and the Divine Name Al-Haqq indicates the union of the two in God who is both the Truth in its absolute sense, and the Truth that makes us free. Since God is both Truth and Reality, He could not but be beautiful. 
 
Ihsan 
The highest form of beauty in this world is the beauty of the human soul, which is related to ihsan, a term that means at once beauty, goodness, and virtue. To possess Ihsan is to have the virtues of generosity and love and to live at peace in one’s Centre, where God resides. 
90:4 “Surely We created man in the best of stature.” 
The word “best” in this verse is “ahsan”, which comes from the same root as ihsan and also means “beauty”. The verse could also be translated as “in the most beautiful stature.” To gain and practice ihsan is to respond with the beauty of one’s soul to the Creator, Who is called the best or most beautiful of creators in the Qur’an (23:14) and to Whom belongs the most beautiful Names (7:180). To possess ihsan is to be open to the Divine Compassion and Mercy and to be compassionate towards others. It is to love God and His creation in Him. It is to live in peace in the Centre of one’s being in a state of harmony with the worlds within or without. Beauty that liberates us from the confinements of earthly existence. It is therefore to live in Divine Intimacy, where the vision of God’s Compassion, Love, Peace, and Beauty are most evident. 
 
Justice 
In the same way that Compassion and Love, peace and Beauty are Names of God, Justice is also a Divine Name. God is al-Adil, as well as al-Adl, al-Muqsit, and al-Hakam, meaning the Just as well as Justice Itself. Justice puts everything in its place. Justice is related to balance, to giving each thing its due (haqq), to having everything be in its place according its nature. The Qur’an asserts: 
6:115 “Perfect is the word of your Lord in truth and justice.” 
God has created all things according to justice and wants men and women, to whom He has given free will, to be just. In the Qur’anic perspective God is also the supreme judge. 
12:80 “He is the best of judges.” 
Of course, human judgment exists in this world, for Muslims, justice relied upon the judgment of God and His justice above all human agencies, the ultimate refuge resides in Divine Justice and God’s judgment of human actions. The ultimate judge is, however, God and the ultimate judgment, the events of the Day of Judgment, is the only judgment that finally matters. 
 
The Balance (al-Mizan) 
The Day of Judgment according to Islamic doctrine, a word must be said about a key Qur’anic symbol related to Justice and God’s ultimate judgment of us. That symbol is the balance (al-mizan), mentioned several times in the Qur’an and repeated in many contexts in various classical texts dealing with ethics and other subjects. As the Qur’an says; 
15:19 “And the earth We have spread out: set thereon mountains firm and immovable and produced therein all kinds of things in due balance.” 
The balance applies to every level of reality; physical, psychological, and spiritual. There is a balance of the elements within healthy bodies, and our psyche, if wholesome, is balanced. And for the spiritually accomplished Muslim there is a balance between the spirit, soul, and body and satisfaction of their respective demands. To give each thing its due (haqq) in accordance with its nature as created by God is to live in balance and realize the balance of things and hence to live in justice. Balance also involves human actions. The Qur’anic injunction; 
6:152 “Give full measure and full weight in justice.” 
This applies to selling things honestly in the bazaar as well as acting justly in every instance in life. Our actions in general are in fact “weighed” by God in a balance, and we shall be judged accordingly on the Day of Judgment: 
21:47 “We (god) shall set up the just balances for the Resurrection Day.” 
The balance as a visible symbol of justice as well as harmony is so significant that the Qur’an asserts: 
57:25 “God it is who has revealed the book with truth and balance.” 
To observe the balance in all things is to live in justice. The balance may be said to symbolize the Islamic idea of justice and the blindfolded figure to represent equality before God’s Law. Muslims are ever reminded to; 
55:9 “Establish weight with justice and fall not short in the balance.” 
judgment perfect, although His Mercy and Compassion are also boundless. 
7:180 “To God belongs the most beautiful names, call upon Him therewith, and disregard those who distort His names. 
For one day they will face the supreme balance before the judge whose justice is infinite and  They will pay for their sins.”

اجمالي القراءات 14403