THE CONCEPT OF GOD IN

MUS.T.AFĀ MAH...MŪD’S

WORKS

By

Muhammad Amin A. Samad

*

*

Dr. W. Haddad God and Man in Con-

Temporary Muslim

April 9, 1979 Thought (397-702D)

INSTITUTE OF ISLAMIC STUDIES

MCGILL UNIVERSITY

1

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION …………………………………… 2

1. THE EXISTENCE OF GOD …………………… 3

2. ALLAH AND HIS MOST BEAUTIFUL NAMES … 5

CONCLUSION……………………………………………… 10

ENDNOTES …………………………………………..… 11

BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………………………….. 14

2

INTRODUCTION

This paper is an attempt to study the concept of God as presented by

Mus.t.afā Mah.mūd in his following works: , , ُ

, , , and ُ . The paper is divided

into two parts: 1. The existence of God, and 2. Allah and His Most Beautiful Names.

Mus.t.afā Mah.mūd is prolific writer. He wrote more than forty-five

books: studies, short stories, plays, travels, and collections of articles. Like Wah.īd al-Dīn Khān, he is also a polemic writer and deals with defending

Islam from secular and atheistic influence. His tendency towards Sufism is

obvious in his writings, as we shall see in this paper.

3

1.THE EXISTENCE OF GOD

The author asserts that the absolute existence belongs to Allah alone.

Other than Allah is (non-existence). The existence of Allah’s creatures

from non-existence occurred through His blessing. He gives them “the

dress of existence “ to become the object of the manifestation of

His Names and attributes. Therefore, the author upholds the idea of

i.e., that God alone is ,(wah.dat al-wujūd, the oneness of Existence) ا

the real and absolute existence, which he asserts to be purely Islamic. This is because he considers the Hindu conception of oneness of Existence

called “pantheism” to be deviation from the truth, for he denies the

possibility of union between God and man. The author contends that man in the eternal truth is non-existent, for he only comes into being through

God’s blessing; he cannot unite with the absolute existent, God.1

Mus.t.afā Mah.mūd contends further that the relationship between

God and His creatures is like that between soul and body where there is

neither incarnation , union , connection , nor separation

between the two.2 God manifests Himself in His creation without

union or incarnation, like the appearance of one’s face in the mirror.3

Dealing with the question raised by those who do not believe in God, i.e., “If God exists, then who creates God?” the author’s answer can be

outlined as follows:

a. The question itself is wrong, because: 1) the Creator cannot be, at the same time, created; 2) God who created time and space is not subject to

them; 3) God who creates the law of causality is not subject

to it.

b. Emmanuel Kant (1724-1804 C. E.) himself admitted that reason cannot encompass the infinite truths. Reason in its nature is only capable of

perceiving (juz’iyyāt, particles), not the absolute existence

, the existence of God. Kant asserted further that it is through

conscience and not through reason that we perceive God, like the

occurrence of thirst indicates the existence of water.

4

c. Aristotle (348-322 B.C.) in his sequent digression of causes said that the chair is made of wood, wood is from the tree which, in turn, is from

a seed, and the seed is from the farmer, and so on, until this sequence

ends with a first mover which does not need a cause. This, according to Mah.mūd, is God.

4

There are many reasons that lead the atheists to reject the existence of God. One of them is the existence of evil. The atheists contend that

since this world is full of evil it cannot be created by a Creator who is

Wise, All Knowing, Merciful and Generous. In refuting this statement Mah.mūd gives us the following arguments:

1. Judging a play by watching only one act of it is misleading. A boy will

cry when his father takes him to the hospital for operation and will

consider it an evil deed. But when the boy grows up he will understand that behind this accidental evilness there is a permanent goodness, for

the sake of which forbearance is necessary. Man’s life is in the same

way. His life is still going on, and his death does not unveil the curtain, because the play goes on after his death where there are still other acts.

Therefore, a play cannot be judged by witnessing only one act of it, i.e.,

the presence of evil in this world.

2. Man’s personality, character, firmness and determination are

firmly related to his suffering. Without wrong-doing , hurting

and injustice there would be no forgiveness, mercy and justice.

3. A thing that seems to be a defect in a partial view is actually a blessing

and goodness in the whole sight. It is like what seems to be a dirty spot in a picture looked very closely, while in fact, it is a shadow without

which the picture will not appear beautiful Earthquakes, volcanoes and

other natural disasters, in spite of destroying thousands of people, have good function in keeping the balance between the disrupting and boiling

inner part of the earth and its stable hard peel. Earthquakes restore

mountains to their proper places after they have slowly moved. And mountains are like props protecting the peel of the earth from

exploding, due to the hard pressure of the inner part of the earth.

4. Evil is one aspect of the nature of freedom given to man by God. Freedom of will will have no significance if it is exclusively for doing

good. Man will become compelled to do good things only. Therefore,

doing evil is another aspect of man’s freedom of will.

5

5. Good and evil are two sides of one coin . Flood and

wars, for example, are evil on one side, but they mean life on the other. Wars divided people into families, clans, tribes, nations, and finally

bring them into one international table in the Security Council of the

United Nations. Through scientific research during the war people made discoveries and inventions: penicillin, blood transfusion, atomic energy,

rockets, jet engine, submarines, radar, etc.

6. Evil in its pure origin does not exist. There is only lack of goodness, then the lack that accompanies the limitations of man as well as of other

creatures. Otherwise, man will become free from defect, and in turn,

will become god, i.e., every man is created to become a god, and this is impossible.

5

2. ALLAH AND HIS MOST BEAUTIFUL NAMES

The author gives us his analysis on the word (Allāh). He asserts

that is a proper name of the Divine Essence that is wrapped with divine

secrets. It is the only name to which His Most Beautiful Names are

referred. We say, for example that (al-S.amad) is the name of Allah,

not vice-versa. is the only name which is used in the formula of the

shahādah (confession of the faith). We say: “There is no god but Allah” and it is not valid to say, for example, ‘there is no god but the Very Patient

.” We may share Him in His other names. We can say that a person

is (generous), (merciful), or (magnificent), but we cannot

say that he is Allāh.6

Mah.mūd goes further on with his mystical analysis about the word

. He asserts that this word has no opposite. It begins with letter (ا) that

is the first one of the alphabet. It is the “Adam is bent to become letter

, , , and ” of letters, because other letters take their

6

shapes from it, i.e., the straight so on. Letter is the symbol of one in

numbers. One is the beginning of all numbers.7

If we drop the and come to the second letter of the word اهلل we find the

letter . This letter indicates possession, i.e., (li) which means

“belong (s) to” After we have dropped the in the word اهلل the word

become (lillāh), which means “belong(s) to Allah.” There are many

Qur’ānic verses which mention هلل, among which are:

“Unto Allah belongeth (هلل) whatever in the heavens and the earth.”8

“Say: Unto whom belongeth whatever

is in the heavens and the earth? Say: Unto Allah (هلل) .” (Q. 6:12).

The author goes on and says that if the second letter on the word هلل is

also dropped the word becomes (lahu), which means “belong(s) to

Him.” There are also many Qur’anic verses that mention the word . One

of them is as follows: “And

blessed be He unto Whom belongeth () the sovereignty of the heavens and

the earth …” (Q. 43:85)

If the third letter is also dropped from the word اهلل what remains is

the letter hā’ which is pronounced hū. This letter is a symbolic

expression to the Absolute Divine Secret, i.e., God’s Essence. The

author maintains that those who remember God repeat the word

9 in their dhikr (incessant repetition of certain words or formula in

praise of God), when they say Yā hū, yā hū,… yā man lā ya‘lamu man hū

illā hū. These words are written in Arabic .

The author makes his conclusion stating that the name Allāh is perfect in

its construction. It is a name that denotes the intended meaning, namely,

God, either in its complete structure or in its separate one.10

Mah.mūd points out the significance of the word Allāh for the s.ūfīs

in their dhikr. He states that the dhākir (the person who remembers God

7

through dhikr) starts his dhikr with his tongue, then with his heart sincerely and confidently. Finally, the dhākir will reach the stage where

he is unconscious about himself or anything else but God. He will feel that

there is no real existence but God Himself. This state is what the s.ūfīs call

(ma‘rifah, gnosis, cognition). The author quotes the definition of

according to the Sufi Ibn ‘At.ā’ Allāh al-Sikandarī11

as follows: “Ma‘rifah

is viewing without knowledge , substance without

information ,vision without description , unveiling

without veil , feeling without dispute .”12

Therefore,

the author contends, it is not fire that burns, but Allah; it is not water that

quench the thirst, but Allah. If He will He can make fire cold and not

harmful like the fire into which the Prophet Abraham was thrown. The fire did not harm him. It was Prophet Abraham who said, as mentioned in the

Qur’ān, “And Who

feedeth me and watereth me. And when I sicken, then He healeth me.” (Q.

26:79-80).13

The author states that everything prostrates itself to Allah willingly

or unwillingly. The Qur’ān says:

“And unto Allah falleth prostrate whosoever in the

heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, as do their shadows in the

morning and the evening hours.” (Q. 13:15).”14

This is because, the author

contends, that everything is subject to the laws of nature created by God. Thus, both the heart of a believer and that of an unbeliever obey the

physical laws of God’s creation. Both of them throb according to this law.

Even the cells of the body are subject to this law.15

With regard to the first article of the essential Muslim creed, i.e., the

doctrinal formula “there is no god but Allah”, the author stress its

importance. It is so important that he deals with it in two of his works:

, (pp. 104-107) and (pp. 202-217). He mentions the merits of this

formula, as follows:

1. It was revealed to the Prophet. It was the first and the most important

news coming from heaven. It is the essence of the Qur’ān, Islam,

8

and every faith . He bases his view on two Qur’ānic verses and

one h.adīth as follows: . ..

“So know (O Muhammad) that there is no God save Allah, and ask

forgiveness for thy sin and for believing men and believing women…”

(Q. 47:19).

“He sendeth down the angels with the Spirit of His command

unto whom He will of His bondmen, (saying), Warn mankind that there

is no God save Me, so keep your duty unto Me.” (Q. 16:2). The Prophet said: “The best thing I have brought as well as prophets did before me,

is the formula: There is n o god but Allah.”16

2. It is the (the word expressing piety). It is the angels’ tasbīh.

(glorification of God). It is the (the word which leads to

salvation) for a dying person, and a formula that is mentioned ten times

a day during the five daily-prayers. The author supports his view with the following Qur’ānic verse and a h.adīth qudsī (a h.adīth in which God

Himself speaks, as opposed to h.adīth nabawī, an ordinary Prophetic

tradition); ...

“… then Allah sent down His peace

of reassurance upon His messenger and upon the believers and imposed on them the word of self-restraint, for they were worthy of it and meet

for it. And Allah is Aware of all things.” (Q. 48:26) “‘There is no god

but Allah’ is My protection . Whoever says it will enter My

protection, and whoever enters My protection will be safe from My

punishment.” 17

With regard to God’s Most Beautiful Names , which

also indicate His attributes, among the ninety-nine names18

mentioned in

the Qur’ān, some of them are applicable to man. A man can also be

generous, merciful, and so on, but cannot be Allah. This is because Allah is the name of God’s Essence, while other names are the names of His

divine attributes.19

However, the author contends that although man shares

some of God’s attributes, man’s attributes are limited, while those of God are unlimited. Man can be generous, but his generosity is limited to what

9

Allah has given him, while Allah’s generosity is unlimited to unlimited crenatures.

20

Among the attributes of God dealt with in Mah.mūd’s works are

(al-S.amad, the Impenetrable). He is absolute (withstand), while others

than He are (weak). Therefore, He is the only One Whom people

take refuge;21

(al-Salām, Peace), i.e., there is no war or conflict with

Him, because war occurs between two sides, while God is only One;22

(al-Lat.īf, the Subtle), He is absolutely subtle. Therefore, He

penetrates everything with His absolute presence. He says about Himself

in the Qur’an: “Vision

comprehendeth Him not, but He comprehendeth vision.” (Q. 6:104). He is

always with us in absolute nearness, like our pupil that we cannot see due

to its closeness to us. He is closer to us than our jugular vein (Q. 50:16);23

(al-Wāh.id, the one God); He alone Who helps us and harm us; it is

He Who puts poison in the scorpion and puts fragrance in the flower;24

(al-H...ayy al-Qayyūm, the Living, the Self-Subsisting); He does not

depend on anything for His life, while everything depends on Him;25

(al-Shakūr, the Very Grateful); He rewards good deeds with ten times of

merit;26

(al-S.abūr, the Very Patient); He is patient with His servants.

He gives them sustenance and life, while they deny Him;27

(al-

Malik, the King); He is the absolute king of every existence. He rules

everything with His laws, from an atom to a galaxy. Man is a small king; his soldiers are: his passion, anger, and desire; his people are: his tongue,

eyes and hands; he is a king as long as he is obeyed by them;28

(al-

Muta‘ālī, the Very High, the Exalted); He exalts His creatures; the

relationship between God and His creatures is neither (h.ulūl,

incarnation)) nor (ittih.ād, union), but rather (closeness) or

(farness). The farness occurs only on man’s side when he neglects Him

and keeps himself busy with something else. On the other hand, he is close

to Him when he keeps himself busy with Him;29

(al-‘Adl, the Just; the

occurrence of justice cannot be imagined except with and from God Himself, because He encompasses everything with His knowledge. Any

10

worldly disaster has goodness in it, because that disaster is a work of mercy and justice. Cursing with the occurrence of misfortune is a childish

attitude. The author says that there are many handicapped persons who are

endowed with special gift and ability. Moreover, some diseases create trace in the body of the infected one. The body secretes a kind of substance

to defend itself against a certain disease after it has been infected by it.30

11

CONCLUSION

The author throughout his books shows his firm belief in the

existence of God and the truth of Islam. His language is simple and clear.

He uses, to a great extent, poetic diction. However, his books lack reference. The only reference is the Qur’ān where the locations of every

verse referred to by him is mentioned. The h.adīths quoted by him have no

narrator, so that we do not know how strong they are in their validity.

Another shortcoming of the author is that he does not stick to the

topic he is dealing with. For example, he deals with the Most Beautiful

Names of God in his book where we expect to find the ninety-nine

names of God. But we find only a few of them, and then the author moves

slowly to the Sufi concept of knowing God and his (the sūfī’s) relationship

with Him. The same topic is dealt more in detail in his book .

However, these shortcomings are understandable and tolerated, since the

author’s works are intended to be read by laymen.

The author’s tendency towards Sufism in his works is obvious. He

gives us his esoteric interpretation and analysis about the word . He

states that the first letter, i.e., alif is the origin of all letters. This is because the letter alif is the only one written in a straight line. He does not tell us

that the origin of the word is which literally means “the god”, and

that the first two letters indicate the definite article “the”.

It is true that the author does not try to solve the problem of the material world, but rather the spiritual and metaphysical one. He is

concerned with trying to convince his readers that in spite of the existence

of injustice, disasters, and any kind of disorder on this planet of ours, there is God whose wisdom and knowledge encompass everything and are

beyond human apprehension. He urges his readers to return to God and to

worship Him instead of denying Him. However, he denounces the possibility of union with God claimed by some s.ūfīs. He contends that the

only relationship between man and God is closeness or farness. God is

always close to man, but it is man who keeps himself far away from God.

12

ENDNOTES

1Mus.t.afā Mah.mūd, , pp. 45-46. The

author relates that the Sufi al-Amīr al-H...asan b. Makhzūn al-Sanjārī who lived in the

beginning of the 7th

century A.H. advised people to beat hard any insane sūfī who

claimed to be God, and if the s.ūfī protested, that indicated the falsehood of his claim.

Ibid. p. 47. 2 Ibid., p. 53.

3 Ibid., p. 56. The Egyptian s.ūfī Ibn al-Fārid. (d. 632/1235) had already given

this example when he said in his ode entitled (the Poem of the Way),

couplet no. 660 and 661 as follows:

“And wouldst thou have thy soul unveil herself, contemplate what thou seest

without doubt in the burnished mirror, was it another that appeared in them?

Or bids thou behold thyself by means of them when the rays were refracted?”

See Mah.mūd Tawfīq (ed.) , p. 62,

line 10-11; R.A. Nicholson, Studies of Islamic Mysticism (Cambridge: The

University Press, 1921), p. 258. 4 Mus.t.afā Mah.mūd, ,

pp. 7-8. 5Idem. , pp. 110-14; see also idem, ,

pp. 20-23. 6Idem, اهلل , p. 39

7Ibid, p. 140.

8Qur’an, 31:26. The translation is rendered by M.M. Pickthall, The Meaning of

the Glorious Koran (New York and Scarborough: George Allen and Unwin Ltd.,

n.d.). Reference to Qur’ānic verses and translation relating to them in other places in

this paper are also his. See also Qur’an, 3:109, 129; 4:126, 131. 9Here the letter is turned by the author into the word that means “he” and

is referred by him to God. This word can be pronounced huwa as well as hū. The

author chooses the latter to support his view. 10

Mahmūd, , pp. 41-42. 11

Tāj al-Dīn Abū ’l-Fad.l Ah.mad ibn Muh.ammad b. ‘Abd al-Karīm Ibn ‘At.ā’

Allāh (d. 709/1309) was an Egyptian s.ūfī of the Shādhiliyyah order. He was one of

the adversaries of Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728/1328) of the H...anbalī school. See G.

Makdisi, “Ibn ‘Atā’ Allāh,” E.I.2

13

12

Mahmūd, , pp. 42-43. The author does not give us any reference to the

works of Ibn ‘Atā’ Allāh. This definition of ma‘rifah has not been found in Ibn ‘Atā’

Allāh’s al-H... ikam , his only available work at the Library of the Institute (of Islamic

Studies, McGill University). 13

Ibid., p. 43. The author contends that a true s.ūfī considers working as

obedience and a devotion to God; he is not lazy, he does not keep silent on the

occurrence of injustice. , p. 44. Sufism does not call for invalidation of reason and

the glorification of poverty, beggary, and wearing rag, because they are deviation

from Islam. Islam glorifies purity and exhorts people to work. The Prophet said in a

h.adīth: “If poverty were a man I would have killed him.” Ibid., p. 55. 14

Another Qur’ānic verse referred to by the author is:

“Seek they other than the religion of

Allah, when unto Him submitteth whosoever is in the heavens and the earth,

willingly, or unwillingly, and unto Him they will be returned.” (Q. 3:83). 15

Everything is subject to the laws of nature. Among these laws are: Law of

Surface Tension , Law of Rejection of Vacuum, , and

Law of Action and Reaction , see Mah.mūd,

الخامسة عةالطب , pp. 116-117.

16 Mah.mūd, , p. 204.

17Ibid., pp. 204-205 and 210.

18 L. Gardet mistakenly included Allah in the 99 names instead of (the

Giver). See “al-Asmā’ al-H...usnā,” E.I. 2. Should the name also be excluded,

then the name (the Lord of Majesty and Generosity) is considered two

names. 19

Mah.mūd, p. 125. See also Muh.ammad ‘Abduh,

, p. 7. According to the Ismā‘iliyyah, the

esoteric movement among the Shī‘ah which appeared in the second/eighth century,

actual affirmation of Allah’s attributes, like Existence, Knowing, and so on, leads to

tashbīh (anthropomorphization of Allah). This is because these attributes were share

by other existing things. Therefore, the Ismā‘ilīs which were also called the Bātinīs,

i.e., seekers of the inner or spiritual meaning of the nas.s. (divine texts), asserted that

Allah is neither existent nor non-existent, neither knowing nor ignorant, but rather

between the two. See Abū ’l-Fath. ‘Abd al-Karīm al-Shahrastānī, , (in

the margin of Ibn H...azm’s , 3 vols

, vol. 2, p. 29. According to Ibn H...azm (d. 456/1064) the Most

Beautiful Names of God are not His attributes, because neither God, nor the Prophet,

14

not even his companions had ever called them God’s attributes. The term “God’s

attributes” according to Ibn H...azm was the invention of the Mu‘tazilīs and the Rāfid.īs.

See Ibn H...azm’s , vol. 2, pp. 120-121 and 150. The s.ūfī H...asan Ibn Makzūn

considered the divine attributes to be applicable to the divine names, not the divine

essence. See Mah.mūd, , pp. 445-451.

20 Mah.mūd, , p. 30.

21 Ibid., p. 9. According to L. Gardet has five meanings: 1) the Master, He

Who reigns; 2) close to (the Forbearing) whom the acts of His adversaries

neither trouble nor move (negative attribute); 3) the Very High in Dignity; 4) He to

whom one prays and supplicates (attribute of relation); 5) in whom there is no

“hollow”, negation of all mixture and of all possible division into parts, see “al-

Asmā’ al-H...usnā,” p. 716. 22

Mah.mūd, p. 214. L. Gardet gives us three meanings of : 1)

possessor of flawless peace (negative attribute); 2) giver of peace and salvation at the

beginning of the creation and at the time of resurrection (active attribute); 3) will

pronounce the benediction of peace over his creature (attribute of speech), see “al-

Asmā’ al-H...usnā,”, p. 715. 23

Mah.mūd, , pp. 9-10. 24

Ibid, p. 19. L. Gardet gives the distinction between al-Ah.ad and al-Wāh.id. Al-

Ah.ad means “the One by Essence, absolute simplicity of the Essence, insuperability

and inimitability of the divine attributes.,” while al-Wāh.id means “the One God, there

is no other God.” See “al-Asmā’ al-H...usnā,”, p. 716. 25

Mah.mūd, , p. 11. 26

Ibid., p. 21. 27

Ibid. 28

Ibid., p. 22. 29

In rejecting the possibility of (incarnation) and (union) between

God and His creatures the author gives us two examples: a) Fire gives its quality (i.e.,

heat) to water if the water is put near the fire, but there is no between the two

elements; b) The image of the sun appears on the surface of a clear and clean brook

without the occurrence of of the sun on it. Ibid., pp. 34-35; see also above, p. 2. 30

For further details, see ibid., pp. 36-38.

15

BIBLIOGRAPHY

‘Abduh, Muh.ammad.

Gardet, L. “Allāh,” E.I.2 ________. “Al-Asmā’ al-H...usnā,” E.I.

Ibn H...azm, Abū Muh.amad ‘Ali.

Macdonald, D.B. “Allah” E.I.1

Mah.mūd, Mus.t.afā.;

________ .

_______

________.

________.

________.

Makdisi, G. “Ibn ‘At.ā’ Allāh,” E.I.2

Nicholson, R.A. Studies of Islamic Mysticism. Cambridge: The University

Press, 1921.

Pickthall, Mohammed Marmaduke. The Meaning of the Glorious Koran. New York and Scarborough: George Allen and Unwin, n.d.

Shahrastānī, Abū ’l-Fath. ‘Abd al-Karīm al-. In the margin

of Ibn H...azm,

Tawfīq, Mah.mūd (ed.)