you poor soul!

O You who loves to hear the sobs of regret
O You who holds the Cure to disease an illness
all eyes have gone to sleep, but these poor eyes stay awake
crying at Your Door in the middle of night, in darkness
those sins, I committed them, I admit
yet I know You with conviction, full of Greatness
give mercy, that is Your Prerogative, don’t look at my failings
indeed Your Generosity and Forgiveness, are boundless.

Al-Uluhiyyah (RT 11/1/09)

Risalah Tauhid 11th January 2009

Al-Uluhiyyah refers to qualities of God, where He is self-sufficient and all creatures depend on Him. The expression “La ilaha illallah” also refers this quality.

In respect to al-Uluhiyyah, the twenty sifaat divide into two categories:

إِسْتِغْنَاءُ عَنْ كُلِّ مَا سِوَاهُ

1. He is in no need of others (istighnaa’); and

إِفْتِقَارٌ إِلَيْهِ كُلِّ مَا سِوَاهُ

2. Everything else is in need of Him (iftiqar-ilaih).

11 sifaat are of 1st category (istighnaa’), namely Wujud, Qidam, Baqa, Mukhalafatuhu lil Hawadith, Qiyamuhu Binafsih, Sama’, Basor, Kalam, Kaunuhu Saami’an, Kaunuh Baasiron, and Kaunuhu Mutakalliman. They define self-sufficiency of God.

Said Ustaz Zakaria:

• When saying “La ilaha illallah” continuously, make sure you pronounce it right: “La ilaha illallahu La ilaha illallahu …”
• Sufis look for “madad” when reciting “La ilaha illallah”.
• Some lame excuses people give when we invite them to learn the 20 sifaat (Tauhid):
  They would say: This subject not high-level enough. We should tell them: Go climb a durian tree!
  They would say: This subject not hot enough. We should tell them: Turn off the fan!
  They would say: This subject not fiery enough. We should tell them: Then go fight with the brothers in Gaza!
• 11 + 9 = 20 sifaat of Allah. (20 in Malay slang: sekodi)

Wallahu a'lam

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Ta’luq of Kalam; Conclusions (RT 4/1/09)

Risalah Tauhid 4th January 2009

God's Kalam (speech) has ta'luq over all must, impossible, and possible subjects.
Considering the words of God are eternal and everlasting, we apply the 3 subjects as follows:

God's speech that of "must" (wajib) nature:

أَنَا اللهُ لاَ إِلٰهَ إِلاَّ أَنَا

God's speech that of "impossible" (mustahil) nature, reiterating what the Christians falsely claim:

إِنَّ اللهَ ثَالِثُ ثَلاَثَةُ

God's speech that of "possible" (jaiz) nature:

وَاللهُ خَلَقَكُم وَمَا تَعمَلُونَ

Conclusion on Sifats and Their Ta'luq

Ta'luq is pertinence in regard of entity. If we place God as an entity, and every creation as another entity then we can classify ta'luq into 2:

1. Sifats that have ta'luq on both God and creations: Knowledge ('ilm) and Speech (kalam).
2. Sifats that have ta'luq on creations only: Power (qudrah) and Will (iradah).

From another angle we classify ta'luq of all the 20 sifats into 4:

1. Sifats that never has ta'luq whatsoever: all sifats nafsiyyah, salbiyyah, ma'nawiyyah, and sifat Hayah. These sifats are sufficient within themselves.
2. Sifats that has ta'luq on the possible: Power (qudrah) and Will (iradah).
3. Sifats having ta'luq over everything that ever exists: Hearing (sama') and Vision (basor).
4. Sifats having ta'luq over the wajib, mustahil and ja'iz subjects: Knowledge ('ilm) and Speech (kalam).

Said Ustaz Zakaria:

• I've personally heard a so-called "modern ustaz" saying this: "God has the will and power to create a second god". This is absurd and outside of our aqidah. Will and Power do not have pertinence over God's own self.
• The most important function of your intelligence ('aql) is to ponder the sifats of God.

Wallahu a'lam

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Ta’luq of Sama’ and Basor (RT 30/11/08)

Risalah Tauhid 30th Nov 2008

Both Sama’ (Hearing) and Basor (Vision) are applicable only to existent subjects. Those that could exist/ take place but never did, would not be within ta’luq of Sama’ nor Basor since ta’luq of ‘ilm (knowledge) had already precluded them.

Example: God’s Sama’ and Basor never applies to supposition of Abu Lahab becoming a person of faith (mu’min). God indeed could have turned Abu Lahab’s heart to Islam, but His ‘ilm already precluded this possibility.

The two sifats has no ta’luq over ‘impossible’ subjects either because the impossible are not real. Ta’luq for Sama’ and Basor is defined in three phases:

• God hears and sees in eternity on any possible subject even before it is created.
• God hears and sees in eternity of Himself and his own sifats.
• God hears and sees possible subject after it came into existence.

Said Ustaz Zakaria:

• God’s being in itself is a ‘must’. Its existence is undeniable.
• God already hears an infant crying before it is even born.
• Tanjizi Qadim – phase of ta’luq applicable to the ‘must’.
• If you learn tasawwuf, have sincere intention that you doing it to cleanse your heart or to correct your faith. NEVER learn tasawwuf as means to ‘telescope’ wrongdoings of those around you.
• The correct aim in life is to be faithful to Allah and to ponder about Him. Nowadays we live to feed our stomach and to get rich. That is why life has become difficult.
• Modern education (even in higher Islamic institutions) do not teach us about God and how to know Him. This kind of education gives no benefit.
• At home, take a second look at things in the kitab you just learned. Sometimes God does not dispense immediate guidance (hidayah) while sitting in front of your shaykh.
• The mu’tazilah – by definition – are those who break away from teaching halaqahs. They formulate own opinion, they do not follow established position of ulama.

Wallahu a'lam

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Ta’luq of ‘Ilm (RT 23/11/08)

Risalah Tauhid 23rd Nov 2008

As opposed to qudrah and iradah - that has ta’luq on possible subjects only - God’s knowledge (‘ilm) transcends all must, possible, and impossible subjects. God’s ‘ilm should not be described in 3 phases like we did with ta’luq of iradah, because His knowledge comes in full.

God is aware of every particular subject such as its looks and its characteristics. God already knows how a subject will take shape – even before that subject is even created.

• God is aware of the ‘must be’. He knows His own self and sifats.
• God is aware of the ‘impossible’. He knows about something that He would never put into existence.
• God is aware of the ‘possible’ even if a subject is yet to be created. He is aware of every single thing in existence, and He is aware of the subjects that have ceased to exist.

Know that ta’luq of qudrah follows ta’luq of iradah, which in turn follows ta’luq of ‘ilm.

Said Ustaz Zakaria:
How do we apply the sequence of ta’luq (ta’luq of qudrah comes after that of iradah, after that of ‘ilm)?

Answer: God empowers Himself to create a subject after He wills it. This will comes after He has knowledge about that subject.

Wallahu a'lam

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Qudrah and Tabarruk

Ustaz Zakaria shared some more stories during last Risalah Tauhid lesson:

Yesterday I was in Kelantan to visit an acquaintance building a masjid. All has been completed except the floor. Trying to see if I could raise more fund to finish it. A person there showed me 3 small stones, all bearing natural marking representing the Arabic character “Lam-Alif”. Such stones don’t have power, but they may bring tabarruk to the owner:

• They (the enemy) shall NOT see you.
• They shall NOT argue against you.
• They shall NOT scheme against you.

This brings a story how after shaving his noble head, Nabi (saw) gave a strand of his hair to each sahabah as tabarruk. Once Khalid al-Walid (ra) remembered a shirt he had dropped in a battlefield contained Nabi’s hair.

He returned to battlefield and fought back just to get that very shirt and the hair in its pocket. This story related in a kitab by Kiyai Sirajuddin bin Abbas (rh), an Indonesian ‘alim who studied under Shaykh Wan Ahmad Fatani (rh).

Regarding effort and do’a:

A few years Cikgu ‘Abdul Rahman, Committee Member (CM) #1, CM #2, and myself started voluntary project to construct a masjid in Kampung Bahagia, Kemboja. Finding it difficult to raise RM200k, eventually CM#1 dropped out, and CM#2 later did the same. Cikgu ‘Abdul Rahman said no way he would back out, him being married to a local woman.

Nothing short of miracle, a generous man lather phoned up and pledged RM50k, and he promised to give more bit by bit. We eventually completed the masjid, and we currently on our 5th project!

Wallahu a'lam

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Ta’luq of Iradah(RT 28/9 - 2/11/08)

Risalah Tauhid 28th Sept – 2nd Nov 2008

Like qudrah, God’s will (iradah) also holds pertinence only on ‘possible’ subjects.

Say God is about to create Zayd into being. His will with Zayd’s destiny happens in 3 phases:

1. God determines how long Zayd will live, how he will sustain himself and his family etc.
2. God affirms the destiny he has in store for Zayd.
3. God fulfills Zayd’s destiny on the day Zayd is created.

There is a general misconcept that once God has made up his iradah on us, then our life will be beyond our control. We thus become fatalists and refuse to improve our destiny.

Know that in ta’luq matters - for qudrah and iradah - God has written our destiny in Loh Mahfuz, yet there is chance that He will later change them. All these based on our own effort, supplication, and tawakkal. Never sit back and passively accept bad luck. Practice faith correctly, you can still work to increase your wealth, health, and good behavior – as long as you are content with God’s will should things turn out badly.

Remember that ta’luq for both qudrah and iradah are valid only on ‘possible’ subjects. It never transgress the boundaries of haqiqi (ultimate).
(In other lessons, Ustaz Zakaria had said: Qudrah is not applicable to those that negate God’s supreme characteristics. It is impossible that God has the power to create a second God – this would contradict the principle of oneness - wahdaniah.)

Said Ustaz Zakaria:

• Iradah is the cause to turn a concept into being. While Qudrah empowers it. Iradah is takhsis and qudrah is ta’sir. When we say “the pot is boiling” we actually mean “the content of the pot is boiling”.
• There is qada and qadr, but Allah Himself asks us to make effort to change our qadr from bad to good. There are 2 types of qada and qadr written on the Loh Mahfuz:
  Mu’alat – destiny that still is subject to change
  Mubram – destiny that is unchangeable.
• Before you open your store in the morning, don’t forget to recite surah al-Waqi’ah. However, it is Allah’s iradah that you make a good sale or not. Surah al-Waqi’ah does not control your destiny.
• Mistakes of muslims today:
  - They think religious lessons are exclusively for those interested.
  - They pursue fard kifayah too much while neglecting the all-important fard ‘ain.

Wallahu a'lam
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Ta’luq of Qudrah (RT 6/9/08)

Risalah Tauhid 6th September 2008

Qudrah holds ta’luq on everything mumkin (possible), while never holds ta’luq on subjects of haqiqi (ultimate).

Consider a mumkin – Zayd - about to come into existence. Imam Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (rh) broke down this ta’luq into 2 phases:

1. God’s power to determine Zayd’s existence.
2. God’s power to realize Zayd.

Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Ash’ari was of opinion there has to be a 3rd phase:

3. God’s power to prolong Zayd’s existence or non-existence.

From here we can convince ourselves that a man is always governed by the power of God before he is created, during his lifetime, in his grave, and even in the heaven or the hellfire. With this in mind, it is hoped everyone be induced to correct his or her ways so that one acts according to one’s faith. That is iman.

Said Ustaz Zakaria:

• Men live in eternity after being raised from the grave. This eternity is of type ‘arodi (temporary) while God’s eternity is of type haqiqi (ultimate).
• You have to be Islamic in both faith and practice.

Wallahu a'lam

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Sifats Ma’nawiyyah, Ta'luq (RT 31/8/08)

Risalah Tauhid 31st August 2008

Sifats Ma’nawiyyah
Ma’nawiyyah as a word derives from ‘ma’ani’. It shows the state of God respective to Sifats Ma’ani. Example: God has power (qudrah) therefore the state of Allah at all times is all-powerful (Arabic: kaunuhu qadiran).

• Qudrah -> Kaunuhu Qadiran
• Iradah -> Kaunuhu Muridan
• ‘Ilm -> Kaunuhu ‘Aaliman
• Hayah -> Kaunuhu Hayyan
• Sama’ -> Kaunuhu Sami’an
• Basor -> Kaunuhu Basiran
• Kalam -> Kaunuhu Mutakalliman

As opposed to Sifats Ma’ani, Sifats Ma’nawiyyah are perceptible only to our intelligence.

Sifats and Ta’luq

All of sifats ma’ani except ‘hayah’ not only stand on their own, but has ta’luq over other subjects. In other words, those sifats have ‘degrees of pertinence’.

For example, God stands on His own with qudrah (power). But with qudrah also God exerts control over everything else. With it God has the power to make everything else into existence.

Inherent with this concept, God’s will (iradah) has ta’luq over every creation. If He wills that a certain subject to be, then it should come into being. In contrast if He wills that the subject not to be, then it would be impossible to be.

Wallahu a'lam

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Sifats Ma’ani (RT 24/8/08)

Risalah Tauhid 24th August 2008

Sifats Ma’ani
Ma’ani comes from the word ma’na. In English, it stands for ‘meaning’ or ‘purpose’. Hearing is a purpose or meaning that comes out from the ear.

There are 7 sifats under this category: qudrah; iradah; ‘ilm; hayah; sama’; basor; kalam.
Each of the sifats is independently attributed to the being of Allah. They represent God’s power, will, knowledge, hearing, sight, and speech. They are ‘maujud fi zihin’ and ‘maujud fi kharij’ – perceptible to our intelligence, and perceptible to our senses.

Wallahu a'lam

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Sifats Salbiyyah (RT 10/8/08)

Risalah Tauhid 10th August 2008

Sifats Salbiyyah
These are sifats or attributes that renounce what God is not. They establish superiority of God over everything else.

1. Qidam (Uncreated) – denies the concept that God is new or created.
2. Baqa (Everlasting) – denies concept that God will cease to exist.
3. Mukhalafatu-lil-hawadith (Dissimilar to Anything New) – denies that God resembles any creation.
4. Qiyamuhu-bi-Nafsih (Stands on His own) – denies that God ever rely on anything else or in need of a partner.
5. Wahdaniah (Oneness) – denies that God is composed of many separate entities.

In classical Arabic, these attributes are not “maujud fi zihin”, and not “maujud fi khaarij”. In plain English, roughly means the attributes are not “comprehensible to our intelligence” and not “noticeable to the 5 senses”.


Sifats Salbiyyah are also called Sifats ‘Adamiyyah (traits that God is free of).

Said Ustaz Zakaria:

• Oneness of God in each of His being, attribute, and action.
  

Wallahu a’lam.

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Categories within 20 Sifats (RT 3/8/08)

Risalah Tauhid 3rd August 2008

Categorizing the 20 Sifats

The wajib attributes for God (Sifat 20) can be grouped together into 4:

Sifats Nafsiyyah – regarding God’s attributes in being. Also known as Sifats Tsabutiyyah (affirming God’s attributes).
Sifats Salbiyyah – regarding God’s distinct attributes. Also called Sifats ‘Adamiyyah (attributes that God is free of).
Sifats Ma’ani – regarding God’s attributes in capacity. Also called Sifats Wujudiyyah (what ability God has).
Sifats Ma’nawiyyah – as a follow-up to Sifats Ma’ani. Also called Sifats Haaliyyah (regarding the state or condition of God).

Sifats Nafsiyyah
Here we discuss attributes of Allah in being (zat), or attributes of Him regarding his existence. The only attribute under this category is Sifat Wujud. We simply state that God exists in being, not merely a name or results of imagination. He exists not due to “cause and effect” of some other event.
He exists even though we cannot see Him. In classical Arabic, God’s existence is “maujud fi zihin”, but not “maujud fi khaarij”. These translate roughly to: God’s existence is “comprehensible to our intelligence” but not “noticeable to the 5 senses”.

Said Ustaz Zakaria:

• God exists in being, not just a result of metaphor, analogy, resemblance, or divine actions.


• It will not make sense if we deny God’s existence (Sifat Nafsiyyah) but we accept God’s other attributes. Can we accept this:? “There’s a man in my neighborhood, he does not exist, but he’s 5 foot tall and dark-gray-skinned”.


• We establish first that God exists, then we relate how He is like.
  

Wallahu a’lam.

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Proof God Hears, Sees, Speaks ; Sifats Mustahil; Harus (RT 27/7/08)

Risalah Tauhid 27th July 2008

Proof God Hears, Sees, Speaks

Note: Sami'=Hear; Basar=See; Kalam=Speech

If God lacked any three of these attributes, then He could be deaf, blind, or mute. It is unfit that God was impaired; He then would be in need of a helper. Only creatures become impaired, a Creator never does.

Scriptural proofs for these attributes are the Quranic ayaat:

إِنِّي مَعَكُمَا أَسْمَعْ وَأَرَى

Indeed I am together with you two (O Musa and Harun), I hear and I see.
(Ta-Ha :46)

وَاللَّهُ بَصِيرٌبِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ

And Allah is all-seeing with whatever you do (al-Hujurat:18)

وَكَلَّمَ اللَّهُ مُوسَى تَكْلِيمَاً

Allah has spoken to Musa a complete speech.

Proof of God’s Sifats #14-20

These sifats, which in Arabic preceded with “Kaunuhu…” should be proven by the same arguments as for sifats ma’ani.

14. Kaunuhu Qadiran
God is powerful. While previously discussed "Al-Qudrah" described God's power, "Kaunuhu Qadiran" elaborates that the state of God is all-powerful. Proof is here and here.

15. Kaunuhu Muridan
God wishes. His wish and will have been described in "Al-Iradah". Proof is here and here.

16. Kaunuhu 'Aliman
God knows. His knowledge has been described in "Al-'Ilm". Proof is here and here.

17. Kaunuhu Hayyan
God is alive. Definition of his life has been described in "Al-Hayat". Proof is here and here.

18. Kaunuhu Sami'an
God hears and listens. His hearing has been described in "As-Sami'". Scroll up for proof.

19. Kaunuhu Basiran
God sees and looks. His vision has been described in "Al-Basor". Scroll up for proof.

20. Kaunuhu Mutakalliman
God speaks. His speech has been described in "Al-Kalam". Scroll up for proof.

Proof that God is Free from Sifats Mustahil
Sifats Mustahil for God are the opposites of the Sifats Wajib we mentioned since the beginning. There are innumerable Sifats Wajib, but all we need to know in detail number only 20. By supplying proofs for a Sifat Wajib, we implicitly refute the opposite Sifat Mustahil.

Proof that God Has Sifat Harus (Possible)
Existence of some object or essence (other that God itself) is always a possibility. And it is God’s prerogative to make that object into being or not.
Allah has said in the Quran:

وَاللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمْ وَمَا تَعْمَلُونَ

Allah the Most High made you and your actions into being.

Ustaz Zakaria said:

• Among the signs that your knowledge has blessings from Allah – your works for the sake of Islam is made successful.
• Never make fun or clown around with knowledge, or with people of knowledge. It is our responsibilty to preserve the blessings they carried.
• Allah’s speech is unlike ours. He speaks without voice, His sentence is without beginning or ending.
• Whatever our actions and outcome, the fact is that Allah made them.
• Ulamas of old always paired together sifats wajib and mustahil when writing books on Tauhid. They drew the line for us so we know which point not to cross.
  

Wallahu a'lam

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More on Power, Will, Knowledge, Alive (RT 13/7/08)

Risalah Tauhid 13th July 2008

Continuing with Dalils for Sifats #7 (Power), #8 (Will) #9 (Knowledge) #10 (Alive)

We wrote last week:

If God lacked any one of the above attributes, then we (creations) wouldn’t be here. But the fact is we are here, so God must be powerful, does things as He likes, has knowledge to create and manage things, and is alive.

Continuing today:

If God had no will, then there would be no power because power is an outcome of will. If God was not powerful, then there would be no creations.

It does not make sense to wish over something without having knowledge. If you “want to create” something, then you must have a knowledge on “how to create” it. If God had no knowledge, then He would not have will, in turn made Him powerless.

And to top it all, God must be alive, since without life, He would not have knowledge, will, or power. Without all those attributes, there would be no world and no creations.

The scriptural proofs:

That God has power (qudrah) is the ayah:

نَحنُ قَدَّرنَا بَينَكُمُ الْمَوتَ
(الواقعة 60)

I alone decide who dies (and who lives) among you.

The dalil that says God has will (iradah) is the Quranic ayah:

إِنَّمَا أَمرُهُ إِذَا أَرَادَ شَيأً أَن يَقُولَ لَهُ كُن فَيَقُونَ

Indeed the works of Allah, whenever He wishes for something, all He has to do is
say “Be!” so it will be.

And the dalil that God has knowledge (‘ilm) is the ayah:

عَالِمِ الْغَيبِ وَالشَّهَا دَةِ
(الزمر اية 46)

Allah knows all the unseen and the seen.

And the dalil that God has life (hayah) is the ayah:

وَتَوَكَّل عَلَى الْحَيَّ الَّذِي لاَ يَمُوتُ

And surrender your destiny to God who is alive and never dies.

Ustaz Zakaria said:

• We learn Tauhid (Usuluddin) to get to know God. But we learn tasawwuf and practice tariqah to know Him further, until we can “taste” and “experience” His being.
• Ingredients to get to know God: (1) True knowledge (2) Sane mind.
• You “wish” for something only after you “know” it.
• When somebody dies, it is a predestination of Allah, not due to coincidence.

Wallahu a'lam

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Proof God's Power,Will,Knowledge,Life (RT 6/7/08)

Risalah Tauhid 6 July 2008

Dalils for Sifats #7 (Power), #8 (Will) #9 (Knowledge) #10 (Alive)

If God lacked any one of the above attributes, then we (creations) wouldn’t be here. But the fact is we are here, so God must be powerful, does things as He likes, has the knowledge to create and manage things, and is alive.

Said Ustaz Zakaria:

• We can apply the concept of God’s power to creations (possible things) only. He is powerful to create anything that could ever be created.
• We cannot apply concept of God’s power to ‘must be’ things. Example: It is not right to say "God is powerful, so it must be able to create another ‘God’ or to recreate Himself". This statement is false since God ‘must be’ uncreated.
• We cannot apply the concept to impossible things either. Example: We cannot say "God can do anything, even make Himself cease to exist". This is false, God ccould never be inexistent.
• God's knowledge has no limit. He knows every single thing.
  

Wallahu a’lam.

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Proof There is Only One God (RT 29/6/08)

Risalah Tauhid 29 June 2008

6th Dalil – Proof Oneness of God (Wahdaniah)

If God was not singular, then the world would not come into existence. If there were more than one God, each must have been weaker and would complement the powers of the other. How could they create and maintain this world if they have weakness?

A further proof is the word from al-Qur’an:

وَلَو كَانَ فِيهِمَا آلِهَةٌ إِلاَّاللَّه لَفَسَدَتَا
(ألاءنبياء اية 22)

If there was God in the heavens and earth other than Allah, surely they (heavens
and earth) would be obliterated.

(al-Anbia’ -22).

We can further break down this issue into 4 rebuttals:

1. If really more than one God worked together to create this world, how would they handle the tiniest of nucleus, which is undividable? It is like forcing 2 or more pens marking a small dot on a piece of paper.


2. If one God made an object in half, then another God picked up where the first one left off, who would be responsible for the total object?


3. If one God made it nighttime, and the other decided it should be daytime, things would go helter skelter.


4. If many Gods collaborated to create something, at least one should give way to the more competent God. The one giving way was undeniably weak. But since all of them were Gods, they share that “weak” attribute. It is simply impossible that God is weak.

Said Ustaz Zakaria:

• Men’s purpose in life is to be faithful to God.
• Plant’s and animal’s purpose in life is to benefit mankind.
• God made intelligence for us as a mean to be faithful to Him. Intelligence is not a mean by which we make a living. Contemplate this: a chicken has no intelligence, yet its stomach is full every morning; man with intelligence has no guarantee he has something to eat that day.
• A person whose heart is alive always see Allah in his daily activities. All we need is knowledge on dalil.
• Hadith: “A person who has understanding in his religion is a person who Allah has blessed with virtue.”

Wallahu a'lam

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Proof God is Unlike Any Creation (RT 22/6/08)

Risalah Tauhid 22 June 2008

4th Dalil – Proof That God Unlike Anything Created

If God resembled anything created, then God is also created. Imagine an entity (A) that is similar to another (B) from one aspect - x. It would just be possible that A is also similar to B from another aspect (y).
Thus we conclude that God is clear from resembling any of entity created.
The Dalil Naqli is the following ayat from al-Qur’an:

لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ

Nothing is similar to Him.

5th Dalil – Proof That God Stands by Himself

We bring forward 2 cases:

1. To disprove that God is in need of space or host to stand on His own.
If God needed a space or a host, then He is just an attribute (sifat) without being. This is impossible since we have already established that God exists in being. He is an entity that has Sifats Ma’ani: He lives, He is powerful, He wills, He has knowledge, He hears, He sees, and He talks.

2. To disprove that God is in need of a helper or creator.
If He needed something else to cause Him into being, then He is new or created. This is false, and we have discussed it with proofs of Uncreated (Qidam) and Everlasting (Baqa’).

God stands by Himself and “absolutely” self-sufficient. He is in no need of space to establish Himself, and He does not need something else to come into existence.

Some of God’s creations are also self-sufficient, but they are “relatively” self-sufficient since they need a Creator.

Dalil Naqli that God stands by Himself is the ayat from al-Qur’an:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَغَنِيٌّ عَنِ الْعَا لَمِينَ
(عنكبوت اية 6)

Truly Allah is free from need of the worlds.

(al-Ankabut -6)

Said Ustaz Zakaria:

• We put our hope in Allah to help us, but we always give best effort and work to achieve what we need. This we call ‘tajrid’ or ‘raja’’.
• Past ulama made a habit of reciting Surah al-Waqi’ah morning and afternoon. In the fields, they worked no harder than common folks, but they would later reap better harvests. Some could get any kind of fruit they wished, even those out of season.

Wallahu a'lam

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Proof God is Everlasting (RT 8/6/08)

Risalah Tauhid 8 June 2008

Continuing with Proof that God is Uncreated (Qidam)

If God had been created, then the creator must have been created also - by another creator. This predicament is called Tasalsul or ‘chained’ – Hassan created Hussin, who created Muhsin, who created Khalid, who created Jamal, who created Fulan and so on. It is unacceptable that an object is created by another object, which itself is a product of some infinite creator.

Since we have proven that Dur and Tasalsul are a fallacy, here we conclude that God is indeed uncreated.

3rd Dalil – Proof That God is Everlasting (Baqa’)

God has to be everlasting. If we deny that, we might as well deny that God is uncreated.

If God could ever die off, that brings a notion of "existence time frame". Outside this timeframe, God did not exist. At an arbitrary point of time, God may or may not exist.

Ask yourself, at the very moment God ceased to exist, who took the responsibility to create and renew everything else? And who took that same responsibility afterwards? Did God recreate Himself so that He can create and renew things? This brings back notion of Dur and Tasalsul – which has been rejected.

Dalil naqli is the ayat al-Qur’an:

كُلُّ مَن عَلَيهَ فَان وَ يَبقَى وَجهُ رَبِّكَ ذُوالجَلاَلِ وَ الاءِكرَامِ
(الرحمن اية 26-27)

Everything on the face of the earth will perish, while your God (O Muhammad)
will be everlasting in His full glory and splendor.

(Surah Ar-Rahman ayat 26-27)

Wallahu a'lam

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Proof God is Uncreated (RT 18/5/08)

Risalah Tauhid 18 May 2008

2nd Dalil - Proof that God is Eternal

Truly God is eternal (uncreated). Rejecting this concept would have implied God is ‘new’ and ‘created’ by some other force.

If God had been created by another ‘force’, then who created that force? And we already know God creates everything else. Now we are in catch-22, which does not make sense. This situation is called ‘Durr’, and it is impossible (mustahil).

In another perspective, if God had been created by a more superior ‘force’ (name it Force #1), then it is just possible that there is Force #2 who created Force #1, and Force #3 who created Force #2. The chain goes on, which makes argument pointless. This situation is called ‘Tasalsul’, and is also rejected.

Dalil Naqli to establish that God is uncreated is the ayat from al-Quran:

He is (the God) who is the First with no beginning, and the Last with no ending.

Ustaz Zakaria added:

• Pure talk does not make Islam any stronger. We become strong by educating ourselves.
• Hj. Daud Bukit Abal (rh) also had a deep knowledge in ‘ilm Tauhid even though more famous for specialty in Tasawwuf.
• Reflecting about God constitutes remembrance of Allah in a subtle way (zikr khaufi).

Wallahu a'lam

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Proof that God exists ( RT 11/5/08)

Risalah Tauhid 11 May 2008

The world is formed of jirim and 'arod. From there we can establish that the world is created and it is new. Therefore, God exists because the world is new. Everything new has a creator.
'Jirim' refers to a physical being that occupies space, while ' 'arod' is a being that is liable to change. A jirim is like an atom, that can stick together to form a much bigger entity. Entities change form due to growth, climate, external force etc.

Thus for Dalil 'Aqli, we have established that God exists due to 3 evidence:

1. That the world is new
2. That jirim is new
3. That 'arod is new

As for Dalil Naqli, there are many ayats in al-Quran that argue for existence of Allah.
An example is what we understand from Surah az-Dzariaat ayat 23:

By God who created the heavens and earth, it is the truth (that He exists), just
like (the truth that) you can speak.

Said Ustaz Zakaria:

• A tree is both jirim and 'arod, because it is a composition of atoms and grows with age.
• It is the ruh (soul) not the jasad (body) that absorbs the Islamic lessons.
• Knowledge is a provision we take for the long journey. After death, knowledge is the one safeguarding from the trials in our grave.

Wallahu a'lam

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