CONCEPT OF GOD IN ISLAM:

Islam is a Semitic religion, which has more than 1.2 billion adherents all over the world. Islam means “submission to the will of Allah”. Muslims accept the Qur’an, as the word of God revealed to Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him). Islam states that Allah sent messengers and prophets throughout the ages with the message of the Unity of God, and accountability in the Hereafter. Islam thus makes it an article of faith to believe in the earlier prophets, starting with Adam, and including Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, John, Jesus and many others (may peace be on them all).


The Most Concise Definition of God:

The most concise definition of God in Islam is given in four verses of

Surah Ikhlas which is Chapter 112 of the Holy Qur’an:

1. “Say: He is Allah, The one and Only.

2. “Allah, the Eternal, Absolute.

3. “He begets not, nor is He begotten.

4. “And there is none like unto Him.”

[Holy Qur’an 112:1-4] The word ‘Assamad’ is difficult to translate. It means ‘absolute existence’, which can be attributed only to Allah, all other existence being temporal or conditional. It also means that Allah is not dependent on any person or thing but all persons and things are dependent on Him.

Surah Ikhlas - the touchstone of theology:

Surah Ikhlas (Chapter 112) of the Holy Qur’an, is the touchstone of theology. ‘Theo’ in Greek means God and logy means study. Thus Theology means study of God and to Muslims this four lines definition of Almighty God serves as the touchstone of the study of God. Any candidate to divinity must be subject to this ‘acid test’. Since the attributes of Allah given in this chapter are unique, false gods and pretenders to divinity can be easily dismissed using these verses.

What does Islam say about ‘god-men’?

India is often called the land of ‘god-men’. This is due to the abundance of so called spiritual masters in India. Many of these ‘babas’ and ‘saints’ have a large following in many countries. Islam abhors deification of any human being.

To understand the Islamic stand towards such pretenders to divinity let us analyze one such ‘god-man’, Osho Rajneesh. Rajneesh was one among the multitude of ‘spiritual teachers’ produced by India. In May 1981 he went to U.S.A. and established a town called ‘Rajneeshpuram’. He later fell foul of the West and was finally arrested and asked to leave the country. He came back to India and started a commune in Pune which is now known as the ‘Osho’ commune. He died in 1990. The followers of Osho Rajneesh believe that he is Almighty God. A visitor to the ‘Osho commune’ in Pune will find the following epitaph on his tombstone:


“Osho – never, born never died; only visited the planet earth between 11th December 1931 to 19th January 1990”.

They forget to mention that he was not given visa for 21 different countries of the world. The followers of Rajneesh see no problem in their ‘god’ visiting the earth and requiring a visa to enter a country!

Let us put this candidate to divinity, Bhagwan Rajneesh, to the test of Surah Ikhlas, the touchstone of theology:

i) The first criterion is ”Say, He is Allah, one and only”. Is Rajneesh one and only? No! There are many people like Rajneesh who claim divinity. Some disciples of Rajneesh may still hold that Rajneesh is one and only.

ii) The second criterion is, ‘Allah is absolute and eternal’. Rajneesh was surely not absolute and eternal since he died in 1990. We know from his biography that he was suffering from diabetes, Asthma, and chronic backache. He alleged that the U.S.A. Government gave him slow poison in Jail. Imagine Almighty God being poisoned! Rajneesh was neither absolute nor eternal.

iii) The third criterion is ‘He begets not, nor is He begotten’. We know that Rajneesh was born in Jabalpur in India and had a mother as well as a father who later became his disciples.

In May 1981 he went to U.S.A. and establised a town called 'Rajneeshpuram'. He later fell foul of the West and was finally arrested and asked to leave the country. He came back to India and started a commune in Pune which is now known as the 'Osho' commune. He died in 1990. the followers of Osho Rajneesh believe that he is Almighty God. A visitor to the 'Osho commune' in Pune will find the following epitah on his tombstone:"Osho – never, born never died; only visited the planet earth between 11th December 1931 to 19th january 1990".

They forget to mention that he was not granted visa for 21 countries of the world. Can aperson imagine a 'God' visiting the earth and requiring a visa to enter a country! The Arcbishop of Greece said that if Rajneesh had not been deported, they would have burnt his house and those of his discipiles.


The fourth test, which is the most stringent, is “There is none like unto Him”. The moment you can imagine ‘God’ or compare ‘God’ to anything then he (the candidate to divinity) is not God. It is not possible to conjure up a mental picture of the One True God. We know that Rajneesh was a human being with a white flowing beard. He had 2 eyes 2 ears, 1 nose, 1 mouthPhotographs and posters of Rajneesh are available in plenty. The moment you can imagine what god is, he is not God.

Many are tempted to make anthropomorphic comparisons who was given the title of Mr. Universe, the strongest man in the worl. What is the concluding remark to this section of "acid test"? This said testcannot be passed by anyone except the true God.

By what name do we call God?

The Muslims prefer calling Allah, instead of the English word ‘God’. The Arabic word, ‘Allah’, is pure and unique, unlike the English word ‘God’, which can be played around with.

If you add ‘s’ to the word God, it becomes ‘Gods’, that is the plural of God. Allah is one and singular, there is no plural of Allah. If you add ‘dess’ to the word God, it becomes ‘Goddess’ that is a female God. There is nothing like male Allah or female Allah. Allah has no gender. If you pre-fix tin before the word God, it becomes tin-God i.e., fake God. Allah is a unique word, which does not conjure up any mental picture nor can it be played around with. Therefore the Muslims prefer saying 'Allah', but sometimes while speaking to the non-Muslims we may have to use the inappropriate word God for Allah. Since the intended audience of this book is general in nature, consisting of both Muslims as well as non-Muslims, I have used the word God instead of Allah in several places in this article.

God does not becomes a human being:

Some people argue that God can do everything, then why cannot He take human form? If God wishes He can become a human being. But then He no longer remains God because the qualities of God and human beings in many respects are completely incompatible. The following paragraphs will show the absurdity of the idea of God becoming a human being.

God is immortal and human beings are mortal. You cannot have a God-man i.e. an immortal being, and at the same time and in the same entity. It is meaningless. God does not have a beginning while human beings have a beginning. You cannot have a person, not having a

beginning and at the same time having a beginning. Human being have an end You cannot have a being, which has no end and an end at the same time. It is meaningless.


God Almighty does not require to eat whereas human beings require nourishment to sustain life.

“And He it is that Feeds but is not fed.”

[Holy Qur’an 6 :14]

God does not require rest or sleep while human beings cannot go indefinitely without rest.

But He – the Living, The Self-subsisting, Eternal. 296 No slumber can seize Him Nor sleep. His are all things In the heavens and on earth.”

[Holy Qur’an 2:255]

Worship of another human is useless:

If the idea of God becoming a human is unacceptable, we must also agree that there is therefore no sense in worshipping another human. If God becomes a human form, He ceases to be God and possesses all the qualities of a human. For example if a brilliant professor meets with an accident and suffers irreparable loss of memory, it would be foolish on the part of his students to continue to take lessons from him in that subject.

Moreover if God takes human form, the same human cannot later become God, since human beings, by definition, do not possess the power to become God. The worship of God in a human form is therefore a logical fallacy and should be abhorred in all its forms.

That is the reason why the Holy Qur’an speaks against all forms of anthropomorphism.The glorious Qur'an says in the following verse:

"There is nothing whatever like create him"

(Al-Qur'an 42:11)

God does not perform ungodly acts:

The attributes of Almighty God preclude any evil since God is the fountainhead of justice, mercy and truth. God can never be thought of as doing an ungodly act. Hence we cannot imagine God telling a lie, being unjust, making a mistake, forgetting things, and such other human failings.Similarly God can do injustice if he wants but He will never do it because being unjust is an ungodly act.

The Holy Qur’an says:

“Allah is never unjust In the least degree”

([Holy Qur’an 4:40)

God can be unjust if he wants, but the moment God does injustice He ceases to be God.

God does not forget nor does He make mistakes:

God will not forget anything because forgetting is an ungodly act, which reeks of human limitations and failing. Similarly God will not make a mistake, because making mistakes is an ungodly act.

“ my Lord never errs, nor forgets”.

[Holy Qur’an (20:52)]

God performs Godly acts:

He has power over all things: The Islamic concept of God is that God has power over all things. The Holy Qur’an says in several places:

“For verily Allah has power over all things”

[Holy Qur’an (2:106)]

[Holy Qur’an (2:109)]

[Holy Qur’an (2:284)]

[Holy Qur’an (3:29)]

[Holy Qur’an (16:77)]

[Holy Qur’an (35:1)]

Futher the Glorious Qur'an says:

“Allah is the doer of all He intends”

[Holy Qur’an (85:16)]