It is imperative to attain knowledge about Allah Ta’ala’s Being and His Attributes, so that we do not utter words of Kufr due to our ignorance and so that we may be able to differentiate between the truthful and those that insult Allah Ta’ala. Hereunder are a few of the proper Islamic beliefs that every Muslim must have.
Existence, Power, Hearing, Seeing, Speech (Kalaam), Knowledge and Will (Iraadah) are all His Self Attributes, but He does not depend on ears, eyes and tongue to hear, see or speak, since these are all physical forms and Allah is free from any physical form. He hears the faintest of sounds and sees the most minute (smallest) of things, even that which cannot be seen under the lenses of a microscope. His seeing and hearing, is not only confined to this, but He is all Seeing and All Hearing. We thus say that Allah sees absolutely and hears absolutely.
Like all His other Attributes, His Kalaam (Word/Speech) is also “Qadeem” (uncreated). It is not a creation. The Holy Qur’an is Allah Ta’ala’s Kalaam. Any person who says the Qur’an to be a creation has become a Kaafir, according to Hazrat Imam-e-Azam Abu Hanifa (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh) and all the other great Imams. Actually, the kufr (infidelity) of such a person is proven from the Sahaabah e Kiraam (Ridwanullahi Ta’ala Alaihim Ajma’een).
His Kalaam is free from sound. The Qur’an Shareef that we recite with our tongue and which we read from written form is the uncreated Kalaam of Allah without any sound. Our reading, writing and our voices are “Haadis” (creation). In other words, our recitation is creation and that which we have recited is Qadeem (uncreated). Our writing is created and that which we have written is uncreated. Our listening is creation and that which we have heard is uncreated. Our memorizing is creation and that which we have memorized is uncreated.
Almighty Allah’s Knowledge encircles everything. In other words He knew of everything always, He still knows of everything and always knows everything forever. Things may change, but His Knowledge does not change. He is aware of the fears and whispering of the hearts. There is no limit to His knowledge.
He knows everything apparent and hidden. “Ilm-e-Zaati” (Self knowledge) is His unique attribute. Any person who tries to prove Ilm-e-Zaati for anyone besides Allah is an unbeliever. Ilm-e-Zaati means Allah’s Self knowledge, which is unattained and uncreated.
He is the Creator of everything, be it beings or actions. Everything that has been created has been created by Allah.
In reality, it is Allah who sends down sustenance. The Angels etc. are only means and channels of delivering the sustenance etc.
Almighty Allah is free from shape, size, space, direction, time and all that which is Haadis (created).
To see Almighty Allah in ones worldly life is only unique to our Beloved Master Muhammad Mustafa (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) and in the hereafter it is not only possible, but a reality for every Sunni Muslim. As for the issue of seeing spiritually or in a dream, then this was bestowed upon various Ambiya-e-Kiraam (Alaihimus Salaam) and also certain Awliya Allah. Hazrat Imam Abu Hanifa (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh) made Deedar (saw Allah Ta’ala in his dream) one hundred times.
When seeing Allah, it is without exhilaration, in other words one who sees will not be able to describe what he saw. When a person usually sees anything or anyone then he sees from either far or near, above or below, from the left or right or from front or behind, but the Deedar of Allah is free from all these. It is usually asked how and why this will happen. The answer to this is that there is no place for such a question in this issue. When we see then we will be able to answer this question. The crux of all this is that if the mind (intellect) reaches it (engulfs it) then it is not Allah, for the mind can not reach (engulf) Allah. It is also “Muhaal” (absolutely impossible), that the eyes will encircle Allah when seeing Him.
Allah does what and as He Wills, for there is none with control over Him, and there is none that can stop Him from doing that which He Wills. He neither doses off nor does He sleep. He is the one who sees the entire creation and never tires. He is the Sustainer. He is more Merciful than one’s father or mother. His Mercy is the hope of broken hearts. He creates the form of a child in the mother’s womb as He Wills. He is the one who is Most Forgiving. He is the one who accepts repentance. He is the one who shows His wrath. His hold is the most powerful. None can be freed from His hold without His Will. If He wills, then He can cause something little to become vast and something vast to become little. He makes big whom He Wills and makes small whom He Wills. He may give respect to a one who is disgraced and cause disgrace to one who is respected. He guides whom He Wills on the right path and removes whom He Wills from the right path. He grants closeness to whom He Wills and allows whom He Wills to become cursed. He gives to whom He Wills and seizes from whom He Wills.
Whatever He does or will do is Just (Almighty Allah is Supreme and Just). He is free from tyranny. He is the Most Exalted and the Magnificent. He encircles everything and there is nothing that can encircle him. To give benefit and loss is in His Power. He answers the call of the oppressed and brings the oppressors to justice. Nothing occurs without His Will, but He is pleased when one does good and He is displeased when one does bad. It is his Mercy that He does not command us to do that which is out of our means. It is not compulsory upon Allah to reward, punish, show happiness or do what is best for a person. He does as He Wills and commands whatever He Wills. It is His grace that He has promised Paradise (Jannat) to the believers and through His Justice, Hell (Jahannam) to the infidels, and His promises do not change. He has promised that with the exception of kufr (disbelief), He may forgive all major and minor sins, as He Wills.
His Works are full of wisdom, whether we know of them or not. He does not need a reason to do anything. A reason is that which causes benefit to the one commanding any action (and Allah is free from this). His doings do not depend on justification or excuse to do anything which He Wills. Through His Wisdom, He has made one thing the means for another. He has created eyes for seeing, ears to hear, fire to burn and water to quench thirst. If He Wills, then the eyes may hear, the ears may see, water may burn and fire may quench thirst. If He does not Will, then in the day, a thousand eyes may not see a mountain, there may be a million fires and one straw may not even be tarnished.
What a powerful fire was that in which the kaafirs threw Hazrat Ibrahim (Alaihis Salaam) into. None could even go close to it and he was catapulted into the fire. When he came into contact with the fire, Almighty Allah commanded, “O Fire! Become cool and peaceful upon Ibrahim.” On hearing this command of Almighty Allah, all the fires on earth became cool, each thinking that the command was for it. The great scholars have stated that the fire became so cold, that if the word ‘peaceful’ had not been used, then it would have become so cold, that it could have caused harm. This is the Qudrat of Almighty Allah.
May Allah Ta’ala grant us the Taufeeq to attain the proper Islamic beliefs pertaining to His Attributes and His Being so that we may differentiate between truth and falsehood, Ameen.
[Compiled from Bahaar-e-Shariat by Sadrush Shariah Hazrat Allama Mufti Amjad Ali Aazmi Rahmatullah Alaih]