In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful, in this session and possibly in two or three meetings in coming day, we try to sort out the Quranic verses regarding monotheism and to translate them for you in order that you yourselves are able to understand what monotheism or unity of God means according to the Quran and what commitment and deeds pursue the belief in monotheism in your life.
Surely you have not forgotten what we said in our previous meetings concerning your conscious belief in all religious principles; this means that we must really understand them and have sufficient knowledge about them, that is, we should not follow those principles blindly so that our faith in them will guide our commitments and actions in our lives. Certainly our faith will bring about commitments in our individual behavior, in our social practice and, generally speaking, we may say faith has a great role to play in human life and in human history. We must understand monotheism with full awareness and then try to find out what obligations and commitments this faith puts on the shoulders of the faithful. Is belief in monotheism a mere concept to believe in without any responsibilities and devoid of any commitments? Is it only the knowing of some truth which does not accompany any duties, obligations and commitments? Well, we refer to the Quran itself to find out the answers to these questions.
Therefore, today we will recite some verses regarding monotheism and explain them from one view-point and tomorrow other verses will be read and explained from a different angle. Of course, I do not claim that, through a two-day discussion of monotheism with the help of Quranic verses in this respect, I will be able to discuss and explain all dimensions of monotheism which in fact is as great as a shoreless ocean; no, certainly others who may have more time than me and are more observant and with a clearer insight could do a better job. I try to explain monotheism in the short time available and within the capacity of such a gathering.
Another point I like to mention is that explaining monotheism may seem a hard discussion; it may sound like discussing a heavy, academic topic rather than a sermon by a preacher. But I prefer the former way because I ask myself: why should all lectures and sermons by us be easy, common and usual subjects? Or, because we are in the month of Ramadan and facing a fasting audience, why should we always talk about sweet, emotional or entertaining subjects? In short, I believe that we ought to become familiar with higher and deeper concepts and try to digest them even empty stomachs!
Thus I ask you, sisters and brothers, who are present at this meeting, to think deeply about what you hear whether our discussion seems to you to be difficult or light. You could do some studies about our discussions and talk about them with your friends; let us do away with the so-called difficult topics and try to understand them as much as we could.
The next point is that I do not expect you to agree one-hundred percent with all I say and opine, no, what I say should be some food for thought. Scrutinize what you hear and think about them deeply and carefully through your own mental power and common sense; and follow the meaning of the famous verses in the Quran: “…thus give good news to my devout servants who hearken the words and follow the best in it…”.
Anyway, we shall analyze monotheism from two view-points; yet there may be other view-points which we shall explain during our discussion. Well, the first question concerns ‘monotheism in the weltanschauung of Islam’. What is monotheism in the world-view of Islam? The second question that I have written down for you already, is ‘monotheism in the ideology of Islam’; I use the word ‘ideology’ for those who are not familiar with concepts of ‘world-view and weltanschauung’. Monotheism is included both in the world-view of Islam and its life-giving ideology.
In addition, monotheism shows itself in all Islamic injunctions, legal matters and other non-fundamental aspects in our religion; so if you even come across a verdict or injunction in which there is no monotheism or some sort of weak monotheism, you must immediately know that it is not Islamic, for monotheism is like a soul in the corpus of Islamic injunctions and it is like a pure, clean blood that runs through all of the corpus called Islamic; you cannot find a law or injunction in Islam which has no sign or colour of monotheism or the unity of God Almighty.
Well, now we go back to the question of monotheism in the world-view of Islam. What does the Islamic world-view mean? Let me explain: when any of you, as a human being, think about the world and the universe, you may have certain images in your mind, and imagine far-fetched ideas about them; or when you think about the existence of man, the concept of universe and the relation between man and the shore-less space, stars and galaxies and the meta-physical world, you may come to certain conclusions for yourselves, this could be called your own world-view. All schools of thought do have a special world-view.
These kinds of interpreting the world and metaphysical world are called ‘world-views’; it simply means how you look at the whole world and what conclusions you draw from your observation. Possessing a world-view does not, as some ordinary people think, mean ‘far-sighted, well-travelled or most experienced’, no it is not used in such senses.
Briefly speaking, we may define world-view as: the impression or interpretation man has about the world and his surrounding universe; in this definition, you may, instead of man, insert a school of thought, an ideology, a cult or a religion or a social institution; they all have their own weltanschauungs or world-views. So does Islam. And now I try to briefly explain the world-view of Islam as far as the question of monotheism is concerned. Islam believes that everything in this vast universe and on our own earth, from the smallest creatures and things to the greatest stars and galaxies, animate or inanimate, and humans who possess the power of wisdom, insight and intelligence, they all are the created beings dependent on a supreme power or source. Islam believes that beyond what we see and what we don’t see, beyond all our experimental sciences have achieved so far, and beyond all tangible or non-tangible phenomena, there is a reality much higher, more supreme, greater and more noble which has created all and everything by its most powerful hand; and we give a name to it: God or Allah.
Thus we claim that the world of existence has no independence of its own, it has not created itself, and it has not boiled up from inside itself, but that it is the creation of a most powerful source. As our knowledge and scientific discoveries advance, we find out, more than before, that all those millions of galaxies, all those yet unknown worlds and all those small particles within an atom, did not come about by themselves; they are not accidental and they are not purposeless. We look at the existing world through such insight.
What I said so far explains the world-view of Islam on the question of God’s unity or monotheism. It centres on Allah who has created all there is and is much higher than anything we imagine. This God possesses all good attributes intrinsically, that is, He is Alive, He is the All-knower, the Omnipotent, He has His own intention and determination; His life does not originate from others and His knowledge has not been acquired.
The reign of all universe or cosmos is in His hand. What weight do the parts and particles of the worlds or the people in them have in comparison with Him? Are His created beings like children who separate from their mothers? No, not at all, all created things and beings are in need of Him every single moment, they need Him every moment to exist and stay alive, they are in need of His Will and Power, they are all His servants and His creatures. He has created everything according to certain, exact disciplines, according to certain exact laws and according to certain orders and plans. Today science is discovering some of these laws but this does not relate to our discussion today. Also, as I said, I am only explaining the world-view of Islam and, in this discussion; I am not debating the pros and cons of the existence of God. Of course if you’re interested in the proofs and reasons for the existence of God, there are many books and researches about it which you could obtain and read. One of these books is edited by a foreign learned man; I think the name is John Clover under the title of ‘Proving God’s Existence’; it has been translated into Persian by some qualified translators. The book consists of 40 articles written by scientists in different fields; they all try to prove the necessity of God’s existence mainly on the basis of the tangible intelligent order and discipline in the cosmos.
Well, let me go back to our Islamic world-view. In this world-view, we believe that the universe has a Creator, a builder and, as some say, it has a great, pure and fine spirit, and that all created beings are under the dominance of this Creator. This means that when a Muslim thinks about the universe from his Islamic view-point, he does not see it as an independent entity but sees it as dependent on a higher power. In our future discussions we shall find out how this world-view affects our individual and social lives.
In this respect I have selected a verse from the Sura the Cow (Aya 255). We recite it, translate it and say a few words about each sentence in this verse: “Allah, there is no other god but he…”. We cannot find an exact equivalent for Allah. Who is Allah? Who is God Almighty? Perhaps ‘a Deity to be worshipped’ is a better translation for ‘there is no god but He’. Allah is the God we worship, we revere, we are His humble servants, we entrust our lives into His hand. But there are people whose god is their own whims, passions and carnal desires; those who allow a despot to run their lives are following the Satan; those who follow superstitions and empty traditions are the servants of these deviations, and any worldly factor or force that dominates and unconditionally rule over them, could be considered as their god.
‘There is no god but He’, does this mean that there are no gods in this world? There are thousands of idols and icons in this world that are worshipped by some people; there were some 360 clayey and wooden idols in the House of Kaba before the advent of Islam and there were plenty more of dolls and idols that are loved and worshipped in this world. There were some rulers and despots who were as gods in the eyes of some people. So when it is said ‘there is no god but He’, it means that they are not God, they are not real or lawful; this means that if you worship anything or anybody but God the One, you are committing sins, you are acting against reality and truth; except Allah, none is worth being an object of your adoration or worships.
Then we read in this verse “…the Ever-Living…”. Yes, all others are dead or in the process of dying, the inanimate things are obviously so but animate and intelligent beings are the same, they were not alive before and they won’t be alive after a while, the lives of these living creatures are always being threatened by many factors such as a small stroke in their hearts; anyway they die after some years. So what sort of living is that? The Ever-Living, the truly and genuinely alive is He, the lives of all created beings are as gifts by Him and blessings from Him, and Him we call God. The next attribute in the verse is ‘al-qaiyum’ meaning the Bearer of all beings, the Self-Subsisting and Supporter of all. He is there for ever, all depend on Him for their lives, if He does not will, none will be left alive in the cosmos.
Then we read: “…not a moment of rest (slumber) may seize Him…”. What is the exact meaning of this sentence? It means: not for the slightest moment will He be negligent, inconsiderate or inattentive in His Supreme Being. All other earthly idols are in sleep of negligence, carelessness and ignorance concerning themselves, the people under their yoke and the world they live in temporarily; all their knowledge and consciousness is false.
In Sura Abraham we read: “Have you not thought of those who repay God’s grace with unappreciation, and drive their people with them into the House of Ruination, known as Gehenna? They will surely reach it and it’s a wretched station!” These verses of the Quran were recited by Musa Bin Jafar to the Khalif Haroun-al-Rasheed; he told Haroun: ‘you seem to be one of those people!’ yes, those who did not appreciate God’s bounties to them and led themselves, their kith and kin and their followers with Hell and what a horrendous place is Hell; and Haroun was sunk in ungratefulness, negligence and ignorance.
The one who is never neglectful is God Almighty, the true ruler of all the worlds. The Quran says that He never slumbers or rests or sleeps. Why was it necessary to mention such obvious points? Well, in our further discussion of monotheism, we’ll find out that every little point in this respect is the negation of the deity of others vis-à-vis God. All such points refer to the defects and shortcomings of all other beings except God. All the points found in the definition of monotheism are those that every Unitarian believer ought to follow in life. We shall say a little more about this in future discussions.
The Quranic verse goes on: “…whatever is there in the heavens, and on the earth to Him belongs; who dares to intercede before Him except by His own permission?…”. We know of no other power who could talk and mediate and plead before God except ‘intercession’, but this is realized only after God’s leave and permission. The prophets, the imams, the truest believers and martyrs may intercede by God’s permission. So we see that even such distinguished believers cannot be separate powers from God to have powers of their own, no, they are servants who have been blessed by God and may obtain God’s permission to intercede.
And then we have “…He has absolute knowledge of everything that seem as before or after to humans; they cannot comprehend a thing of His knowledge except that which He please …”. This means that God encompasses everything including the lives of humanity and that human knowledge of God is limited unless He otherwise decide.
As you see, through what we recited so far, we have only two classifications in the world: God Almighty and His created beings, there is no third class. From the smallest atoms to intelligent humans, they all are servants of God. In this view-point, that is, the servitude to God, there is no difference or privilege between two beings in the world or in the heavens, even our holy Prophet is equal to other men in this respect, they are all encompassed by God. The greatest believers possess no power vis-à-vis God; their greatness lies in the fact that their bodies and souls are absolutely submissive to the Almighty. In our daily prayers, we say ‘I witness that Muhammad is His servant and His messenger’. As you see the word ‘servant’ precedes ‘messenger’, that is, our attention is first drawn to his being the servant of God.
Let’s read the rest of the verse: “…His Throne extends over the heavens and over the earth and holding them up never burdens Him…”. And “…for He is the most High, the All-Supreme.” That means that He is superior and more glorious than whatever you may think.
Well, what do we understand from the delicate points in this verse? You and I may comprehend some of them and there could be many other fine points that you and I don’t understand. The sentence ‘there are no gods but He’, may convey many important points to people like, say, Imam Zein-al-Abedeen or to other great believers in the Unity of God. Apart from some social and ideological points you may learn from this verse, what else do we comprehend from the whole verse? I believe what we learn is a general insight into the Oneness of God.
Briefly speaking, monotheism means that throughout the sphere of existence there is only one power and that is God; there is one source of life, knowledge and energy and it is God’s and that all phenomena and everything in the cosmos of existence are obedient to God, are dominated by God and serve His sublime purpose including believers and non-believers; they are submissive to Him.
Certainly understanding this world-view and knowing the ideology of Islam bears many consequences in Islam’s practical schemes for the society as a whole. Let me give you a simple example to avoid philosophizing: when we know that all human are equal in the sight of God and in obedience to Him, then it would be quite wrong and cruel to see a slave bowing down in front of an emperor, say the Roman Emperor Valerian, who executed and tortured Christians and made them kneel down in prostration at his feet. Why should it be so? Are the Valerians of the world not bound by the power of God? Or is the slave an inferior person in God’s creation? Here I must add that this some emperor was captured in a war against a Persian king and made to kneel down in front of him! And some historians wrote that he caused the wrath of God to fall upon him for his previous cruel actions.
Now if we lacked this Islamic world-view, the emperors, the wealthy, the land-owners and the ruling cliques could claim that they were superior, privileged people who enjoyed special rights not granted to others, that they were created to rule and command and others were created to obey them in subjugation and that they were servants of some gods who had given them the power, the wealth or the land, but the slaves and other citizens were servants of a god who was weak and unable to help his followers. This resembles what many Jews claimed that their god, Jehovah, loved the Sons of Israel more than other tribes and nations! Another example is the case of idol-worshippers and polytheists of India who divide people into 4 classes believing that each of these people have a separate god and are created to be in some lower or higher categories!
The pure, monotheistic weltanschauung of Islam, however, declares that all and everything existing including the human race come about from one source and one origin and that they are all created by God Almighty, God the One and that all and everything in the sphere of existence are under His domination and power and so, in the Islamic ideology, you have no right to step on others, you have no right to kneel down at the feet of others because such behaviour is against the Truth and against the Unity of God; there is no difference, in God’s creation, between the one mounted on a horse and the person walking on his feet.
Now let’s read this part of the verse again: “…His Throne extends over heavens and over the earth, and holding them up never burdens Him…who dares intercede before Him except by His own permission?…”. Who then has any power before Him? Yes, some reverent believers may intercede but only by His leave. He never allows the oppressors, the corrupt and the disbelievers to intercede. But those eminent believers who fought on His path in the world and underwent pains, tortures and executions such as the prophets, imams, the virtuous and martyrs could receive permission for intercession. Those are the people who fulfilled their godly duties and obligations, tried hard to get nearer the ultimate goal step by step and became spiritually stronger in the process. None was like our holy Prophet in servitude to God during his life-time, and none were like Imam Ali (AS) and Imam Zein-al-Abedeen in servitude to God during their lifetimes. And from this verse we do comprehend that whoever wishes to be nearer to Him, must be more persistent in serving and worshipping Him.
The next verses we read in this discussion are from the Sura Mary concerning God having a son: “They also say that Al-Rahmaan has a begotten son! Now you have certainly come up with the worst abomination! Thereat the heavens could have been asunder cloven and Earth to pieces broken and mountains crumbled down, at their report that Al-Rahmaan has got a son! By no means shall it be befitting the Most Beneficent that He should beget a son!” This claim, in various ways and forms, have been made by infidels, polytheists, Christians and Jews as well as the polytheists of Arabia, each with different excuses and explanations! Some others claimed that God had daughters only; some others said that God has both sons and daughters and some claimed that He has an infinite number of children!
Well, no matter what the substance of these claims were, what they all have in common is that among all created beings, there are others whose relationship with God is not like all other creatures, and that he or she has a much higher status of being a Lord-begotten person and a crown-prince to God as King.
Some Jews claimed that Ozair, the prophet, was the son of God which meant the Ozair was not included in the category of all created beings; he had a special position as God’s apple of the eye! Christians too claimed the same about Jesus Christ and the polytheists of Arabia claimed that their three idols, Laat, Manaat and Ozza were daughters of God. The Greeks and Romans who worshipped numerous gods also fall into this category. Such claims were so abominable in the sight of God Almighty that He talked about them in such wrathful terms as “…the heavens could have been asunder cloven… (at the allegation that) God has got a son!”
The tone of the Quran in this respect shows that we are dealing with a most important, vital subject. Well, God Almighty is not sentimental or tender-hearted as men to be annoyed or feel bad about an allegation, a swearing or some accusation against Him. In fact God is informing us that such beliefs greatly harm His divine purpose for the people and their communities. Whatever is negated in the Quran shows that those beliefs result in corruption and vice and are harmful to the human societies; we’ll talk in more detail about those vices in our coming discussions of monotheism because all such polytheistic beliefs carry the evil notion that, apart from God Almighty, you could be servants of others. The verse further says: “…by no means it shall be befitting the Most Beneficent that He should beget a son! There is none in the heavens and on the earth, but shall be present before Al-Rahmaan as a servant; He has indeed encompassed them, and made the strictest calculation of them.” This means they all are servants of God and God even knows their exact numbers.
What i explained today was a brief account about monotheism as one of the fundamental principles in the weltanschauung of Islam. Tomorrow i shall, God willing, talk about monotheism as one of the fundamental principles of Islamic ideology. After knowing about these fundaments, I shall answer the question: what does this world-view tell us about our lives, our plans in life and the path we shall tread on, we shall explain what monotheism actually offers us in these respects.
