Sikhism Islam

ISLAM Bismi Allah

(In the Name of Allah)

Part–1(i) of 11

By Abul Kasem (e-mail: [email protected])

April 21, 2006

[A note of caution: The contents of this essay might offend some readers.]

Abstract This essay painstakingly analyses Allah, the Islamic God. Allah is at the core of religion of Islam. Every act, every ritual, every Jihad, every Islamic incursion, every Islamic bloodshed, every Islamic law is designed for only one purpose—to please Allah. Who this Allah is? Where did He come from? Where does He live now? What are His daily activities? How is His temperament? What are His likes and dislikes? Does Allah have an Executive Office?—how does that office look like? Does Allah have a Throne? Does Allah have a physical body or is Allah just amorphous—without any corporeal existence –but only an invisible, incomprehensible, a never–to–be–understood entity? These are extremely blasphemous questions. None the less, these questions haunt every Muslim’s mind from the moment he hears Allah’s name to the moment of his last breath. But he never gets any satisfactory answers to these perennial questions. For eternity, Allah would like to remain an enigma to the Muslims. Islamists always advance this mysterious, elusive nature of Allah as the epitome of Islam—Allah has to remain obscure, recondite and ephemeral—this is what makes Islam great—the hide–and–seek game of Allah with His devotees.

This essay is an attempt to remove this antediluvian (before the flood long before the messenger of Allah), outdated and irrational method to understand Allah. The most surprising result of this enquiry about Allah is that: Allah is not at all a mystery. He is just like any one of us—a living and breathing human being, so to speak! Allah is not esoteric; neither is He hiding from us. He lived, yes, with Muhammad, but did not die with Muhammad. Based on irrefutable evidences, this essay will tell the story of Allah and how Muhammad advanced Allah as a deity to be worshipped—just because he wanted to be worshipped—in the name of Allah, in the manner the pagans worshipped Allah.

Introduction, In the name of Allah

The very first two words in every sura (chapter) in the Holy Qur’an, are Bismi Allah (sometimes written as Bismillah or Basmallah) which, translated into English means: In the name of Allah. The only exception is sura 9 (Sura Baraat or Sura at-Taubat). The reason why these two words (I mean, Bismi Allah) are missing from sura 9 is that it is a continuation of sura 8 (spoils of war)—during compilation of the Qur’an (probably, during the Uthmanic compilation), this sura (sura 9) was separated out from sura 8. There are no word/words holier than those two words. In Islamic parlance those two words are of supreme importance in almost all religious rituals. Truly, Bismi Allah are the key words which unravel the mystery of Allah.

Bismi Allah words are routine incantation in Islamic rituals, such as: attending a prayer, marriage, eating, drinking, reading, writing, sleeping, waking up, walking down, seating down, standing up, running, playing, urinating, kissing, copulating, sitting for an examination, visiting a doctor, setting out on a journey….and whatnot. The only times these two extraordinarily holy words are not invoked are: Islamic beheading, slaughtering an animal, waging a war (Jihad), defecating and visiting graves. The words used in these occasions are; Allahu Akbar. Thanks to the Islamist terrorists and the snuff videos on Islamic beheading and decapitation shown on the Internet, I do not have to write much about these two other hallowed words of Islam. The world has already associated these two words (I mean Allahu Akbar) with terror, evil and murder. Curiously, one might notice that the most consecrated words, i.e. Bismi Allah are not announced during the cacophony of Islamic cry for prayer (Azan). Instead, we hear Allahu Akbar (three times) at the beginning and towards the end.

Bismi Allah words are not Muhammad’s invention. The pagans in Mecca used those two sanctified words, though infrequently, in most of their rituals as they also considered Allah to be their supreme deity or God. They called this ritual Tasmiya. Its probable origin is from the Jewish custom of invoking HaShem when they recited the Torah. It is not clear, who invented this custom—but it is certainly Muhammad who steadfastly instituted this tradition (invoking Bismi Allah) as a compulsory universal practice for the Muslims. As you proceed diligently with this essay, you will understand why Muhammad had made it obligatory to cite Bismi Allah in every occasion I mentioned previously.

Thus, it is important that we meticulously dissect these two valuable words: Bismi Allah, which are the roots of all Islamic acts. This will help us to understand the mindset of Allah, which in turn is the key in understanding the state of mind of Muhammad and his religion, Islam. This is the prime focus of this essay—to decipher an esoteric Allah and His inseparable partner Muhammad.

The readers might find that certain sections are repetitive—to some extent. It happened simply because the Qur’an and ahadith are repetitive. I tried to avoid repetition as far as possible, but in a few cases this (repetition) could not be avoided all together.

Special Thanks During the last few months I have received many e–mails from readers who were very curious to know why I have been so silent. I am so flabbergasted by their show of sincere warmth, unbound encouragement and good advice, that I shall be doing injustice to these readers if I fail to formally thank them for their genuine love, affection and understanding. I never knew that my writings could move people. I thought my essays were trash—to be thrown in the dustbin of history. The only rewards, so far, I received were hate mails—hundreds of them and threats to kill me—just for speaking my mind. So, when I read e–mails from those readers who truthfully demonstrate their empathy for me, it brings much ardor in me—the ardor to continue with my pen. I feel very emotional reading those heartfelt e–mails. A few readers were concerned about my safety when the Islamist terrorists issued death fatwa to slaughter us. Their list also included myself. To these genuine well–wishers, I would like to extend a big thanks.—You are the persons for whom I would like to leave all my dedications—so posterity will not forget what we stood up for, –a world devoid of religious anarchy and religious bigotry. You are the harbingers—the fulfillment of the longing for a world free of religious insanity.

Let us now begin with the ‘Beginning’—the nature of Allah.

Allah is Anthropomorphic (i) Allah is for real.

Muslims often think of their God, Allah, to be someone who is omnipresent, omnipotent, shapeless, infallible, ever‑awake and rules the world through His absolute commandments as enshrined in the holy Qur’an. According to many Islamist apologists, none could comprehend the nature and extent of Allah, the Islamic God. Many of these erudite scholars write prolix essays filled with Islamic drivels. They will write, extolling various features of the invisible, vacuous, incomprehensible and impenetrable Allah. Imbued with utmost devotion to Allah, many Muslims, five times a day, will seek bounty and forgiveness from Him. What do you think this means? Obviously, there is some kind of contradiction here. On one hand, during conversing loosely, they will portray the concept of Allah as someone who is unreal and ephemeral, while during prayer they will consider Allah to be like a real entity who has eyes to see, ears to hear and has the physical means to deliver to the faithful all their requests. So, what is the correct situation—a non-physical, unreal, unseen, ephemeral Allah or a real, temporal, physical deity? Believe it or not: when we search the Islam’s main sources: the Qur’an, Hadith, Sirah (Muhammad’s biography) and Sharia, we invariably derive one simple conclusion—that Allah, truly is for real, that He, Himself had written the Qur’an with His own hands and that He, truly metes out justice and bounties with His own hands.

To begin with, an impeccable Islamic scholar, Ali Dashti contends that most Islamic scholars believe that just like human beings Allah has limbs and organs (68:42).This means: Allah is anthropomorphic!—with real hands, eyes, ears, legs, feet and body! Quoting from an immaculate Islamic source (Abu ‘Amer), Ali Dashti says that according to real Islam Allah has limbs and organs like a human being. Abu ‘Amer uses verse 68:42 to describe the true nature of Allah. Here is what Dashti writes:

Abu ‘Amer ol–Qorashi, a Moor from Majorca who died at Baghdad in 524/1130, declared that it was heretical to understand the sentence “There is nothing similar to Him” in verse 9 of sura 42(osh–Showra) (this is verse 42:11in the Qur’an translation of Yusuf Ali—author’s note) as meaning what it says; it meant, in his opinion, that nothing resembles God in respect of His divinity, because “God possesses limbs and organs like yours and mine.” As proof of God’s possession of such limbs and organs, Abu ‘Amer ol-Qorashi cited the description of the last judgement in verse 42 of sura 68 (ol-Qalam) “On the day when the leg will be bared and they will he bidden to kneel but cannot,” and then slapped his thigh and said, “God has legs just like mine.” (Dashti, 1994, p.158)

042.011 YUSUFALI: (He is) the Creator of the heavens and the earth: He has made for you pairs from among yourselves, and pairs among cattle: by this means does He multiply you: there is nothing whatever like unto Him, and He is the One that hears and sees (all things). 068.042 YUSUFALI: The Day that the shin shall be laid bare, and they shall be summoned to bow in adoration, but they shall not be able,-

Ali Dashti continues:

Allah is anthropomorphic! According to Ghazali, Mutazillites were infidels and heretics. Allah will step down from His throne—said Ghazali.(Dashti, 1994, p. 157).

Sourcing Imam Ahmad b. Taymiya, one of the highest among the Islamic scholars, Dashti further writes that he (Ibn Taymiya) repudiated Ghazali (the most celebrated Islamic scholar—many Muslims consider Ghazali’s work as next to the Qur’an) who did not have a clear idea about Allah—believing that Allah is not a physical entity. Ibn Taymiya even called Ghazali a heretic. Ibn Taymiya strongly believed that Allah is really anthropomorphic! He will step down from His throne! Dashti writes:

Many Moslems, however, have had rigid minds. Such men only accepted interpretations which are confirmed by Hadiths, and they considered any use of reason in religious matters to be misleading and impermissible. They took the above quoted Qur’anic phrases literally and believed that God possesses a head, mouth, eyes, ears, hands, and feet just like those of human being. In the opinion of Abu Ma’mar al–Hodhali (d. 236/850), a preacher in Baghdad , anyone who denied this belief was an infidel. Adherents of the school of the famous traditionist and lawyer Ahmad b. Hanbal (164/780–241/855) have stuck to the same unthinking literalism ever since. The school’s chief later exponent, Ahmad b. Taymiya, was so fanatical that he called the Mo’tazelites infidels and Ghazali a heretic; on one celebrated occasion, after quoting the Qor’an in a sermon, he said to the congregation as he stepped down from the pulpit of the Great Mosque at Damascus, “God will step down from His throne in the same way as I am stepping down from this pulpit.” .(Dashti, 1994, p. 157)

Dashti also writes that Muslim scholars agree that the Qur’an is not a miracle. Al-Maari wrote an imitation of the Qur’an. He writes:

It is widely held that the blind Syrian poet Abu’l‑‘ Ala ol‑Maari (368/979–450/1058) wrote his Ketab ol‑fusul wa’‑ghayat, of which a part survives, an imitation of the Qor’an (Dashti, 1994, p. 48)..

Here is another proof that Allah is for real and possesses human qualities (anthropomorphic):

Enoch walked with Allah 19:56-57, 21:85-86 (Tabari, 1988, p. 6.42).

Allah walks with human beings (in Paradise , of course)—this is impossible to believe. But look what the Qur’an says!

019.056 YUSUFALI: Also mention in the Book the case of Idris: He was a man of truth (and sincerity), (and) a prophet: 019.057 YUSUFALI: And We raised him to a lofty station.

In foot note 55 of volume vi of Tabari we read:

A Prophet mentioned in the Qur’an as “raised to high station “ by God (19:56f, sec 21:85). He is usually identified with the Biblical Enoch (Akhnukh) who “walked with God, and he was not, for God took Hi” (genesis 5:24).” (Tabari, 1988, p. 6.42).

This means Allah surely has feet, just like humans, to be able to walk with a human being such as Prophet Enoch (Idris).

Further evidence that Islamic God, Allah is a living entity, alive and going about His daily business, like other creatures is glimpsed from a hadith. In Sahih Bukhari we read:

People used to worship Muhammad till he died, Abu Bakr then claimed that Muhammad was dead but if people worshipped Allah then Allah is alive…(Sahih Bukhari, 5.59.733)

Volume 5, Book 59, Number 733:

Narrated 'Aisha:

Abu Bakr came from his house at As-Sunh on a horse. He dismounted and entered the Mosque, but did not speak to the people till he entered upon 'Aisha and went straight to Allah's Apostle who was covered with Hibra cloth (i.e. a kind of Yemenite cloth). He then uncovered the Prophet's face and bowed over him and kissed him and wept, saying, "Let my father and mother be sacrificed for you. By Allah, Allah will never cause you to die twice. As for the death which was written for you, has come upon you."

Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: Abu Bakr went out while Umar bin Al-Khattab was talking to the people. Abu Bakr said, "Sit down, O 'Umar!" But 'Umar refused to sit down. So the people came to Abu Bakr and left Umar. Abu Bakr said, "To proceed, if anyone amongst you used to worship Muhammad , then Muhammad is dead, but if (anyone of) you used to worship Allah, then Allah is Alive and shall never die. Allah said:--"Muhammad is no more than an Apostle, and indeed (many) apostles have passed away before him..(till the end of the Verse)......Allah will reward to those who are thankful." (3.144) By Allah, it was as if the people never knew that Allah had revealed this Verse before till Abu Bakr recited it and all the people received it from him, and I heard everybody reciting it (then).

Narrated Az-Zuhri: Said bin Al-Musaiyab told me that 'Umar said, "By Allah, when I heard Abu Bakr reciting it, my legs could not support me and I fell down at the very moment of hearing him reciting it, declaring that the Prophet had died."

The holy Qur’an also confirms that Allah is a living being—like any other creatures. Here is a verse from the Qur’an:

020.111 YUSUFALI: (All) faces shall be humbled before (Him) - the Living, the Self-Subsisting, Eternal: hopeless indeed will be the man that carries iniquity (on his back).

One of the most enigmatic episode of Muhammad’s life was his alleged journey from his temporary sleeping place, Umm Hani’s (Muhammad’s cousin sister) bed‑room to the mosque called al Axsa (then at Medina, the eastern most mosque) (this is questionable, of course, since no mosque existed at Jerusalem during Muhammad’s time) of Jerusalem, Bait al‑Maqdis and then to Paradise, to meet Allah. Ibn Sa’d writes that on the night of this journey Muhammad went to Umm Hani’s house, offered isha paryer (night prayer) with her, boarded a Buraq, a half‑horse–half–female shaped angel creature (of fire or bright light) and departed for (they now say Jerusalem) and from there took another flight with this Buraq (or in some version climbed a long ladder) and ascended to Paradise to meet Allah. (Ibn Sa’d, 1972, p. 1.248).

We might laugh at this infantile imaginary travel which could only be conceived by a person in hallucination under the influence of a strong drug. But look! What one of Islam’s principal sources, Sahih Bukhari writes:

The night journey to Bait ul-Maqdis (Isra) was a real sight and not a dream (context of verse 17:60) …(Sahih Bukhari, 5.58.228). This is a lengthy hadith, I am quoting just the relevant part.

Volume 5, Book 58, Number 228:

Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:

Regarding the Statement of Allah"

"And We granted the vision (Ascension to the heavens) which We made you see (as an actual eye witness) was only made as a trial for the people." (17.60)

Ibn Abbas added: The sights which Allah's Apostle was shown on the Night Journey when he was taken to Bait-ulMaqdis (i.e. Jerusalem ) were actual sights, (not dreams). And the Cursed Tree (mentioned) in the Quran is the tree of Zaqqum (itself).

The verse (17:60) mentioned in this Sahih (authentic) hadith reads:

017.060 YUSUFALI: Behold! We told thee that thy Lord doth encompass mankind round about: We granted the vision which We showed thee, but as a trial for men,- as also the Cursed Tree (mentioned) in the Qur'an: We put terror (and warning) into them, but it only increases their inordinate transgression!

Those two sources prove that Allah is for real and He really has His residence in Paradise . Had Allah been everywhere, as many Islamists believe, it was not necessary for Muhammad to embark on this trip. Allah could simply manifest Himself to Muhammad in any form and talked to him. Allah could do this in an instant. So why should He waste time and resource to send a Buraq to Muhammad just to accost him?

Therefore, we can safely derive this conclusion: Allah is for real. He is physical and has a fixed residence, wherever it might be.

Allah is human-shaped; He looks like Adam. Muhammad had great difficulty to explain to the illiterate, un‑informed and gullible Bedouin folks his twisted concept of Allah. Those desert folks always associated their concept of god/s to a physical entity. So, when Muhammad introduced the idea of a single, unseen Allah, they were very confused and vehemently questioned his sanity,—since no one had ever seen this Allah (although they believed in a supreme deity whom they also called Allah). Therefore, Muhammad had to associate his Allah with some living creatures; and what could be better than associating the mien of Allah with the first and the original human being, Adam? He told his people that Allah did really look like Adam. Here is a hadith from Sahih Bukhari:

Adam was shaped completely like Allah; Adam was 60 cubits (30m) in height...(Sahih Bukhari, 8.74.246)

Volume 8, Book 74, Number 246:

Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet said, "Allah created Adam in his complete shape and form (directly), sixty cubits (about 30 meters) in height. When He created him, He said (to him), "Go and greet that group of angels sitting there, and listen what they will say in reply to you, for that will be your greeting and the greeting of your offspring." Adam (went and) said, 'As-Salamu alaikum (Peace be upon you).' They replied, 'AsSalamu-'Alaika wa Rahmatullah (Peace and Allah's Mercy be on you). So they increased 'Wa Rahmatullah' The Prophet added 'So whoever will enter Paradise , will be of the shape and form of Adam. Since then the creation of Adam's (offspring) (i.e. stature of human beings is being diminished continuously) to the present time."

In Sahih Muslim we read:

Adam is the image of Allah… (Sahih Muslim, 32.6325)

Book 032, Number 6325:

This hadith has been transmitted on the authority of Abu Huraira and in the hadith transmitted on the authority of Ibn Hatim Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) is reported to have said: When any one of you fights with his brother, he should avoid his face for Allah created Adam in His own image.

To avoid the embarrassment, in the print version of Sahih Muslim, the translator of Sahih Muslim, the Islamist scholar, ‘Abdul Hamid Siddiqi, in a foot note, writes confusing remarks which could only confirm the absolute perplexity that Muhammad had created with his own concept of Allah. The learned ‘Abdul Hamid Siddiqi writes:

We have translated Surathi as His image instead of His form as Allah has no definite form and shape. The words that Allah created Adam in his own image do not mean that he has been fashioned after His image or form, as the finite being cannot be fashioned after the pattern of Infinite. Here the words “His image” have been used in order to give an idea of the high dignity of man and of his being the roof and crown of his creation and of the high dignity of man and of his being the roof and crown of His creation and of His being the vicegerent of the Lord upon the earth.

According to some scholars, the pronoun “his” does not stand for God, but for the person who has been beaten on the face.

According to this elucidation, the translation of the sentence should be: For Allah created Adam in his shape (the shape in which the victim too has been created). It is therefore the duty of everyone not to beat the face which is a replica of the face of Adam. (Sahih Muslim, 2004, p. 4.1660, foot note 2872).

Note that the translator imposes his own version of concept of Allah, which clearly contradicts the Qur’an’s idea of Allah and the ahadith in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. Obviously, Professor ‘Abdul Hamid is as confused as any Bedouin could have been during Muhammad’s time!

Allah noticed the nakedness of Adam and Eve (Ibn Sa’d, 1972, p. 1.22).

Yes, Allah was embarrassed seeing a naked Adam. As Allah looked like Adam, He surely should be! Allah could never be naked. So, He instructed Adam and Eve to be properly dressed. On this, Ibn Sa’d writes:

When Allah noticed the nakedness of Adam and Eve, He commanded him to slaughter a male sheep out of eight pairs which Allah had cast from the heavens. So Adam took the male sheep and slaughtered it. Then he obtained its wool which Eve span (sic). Then Adam along with Eve weaved it. So Adam weaved a garment for himself and a shift and a head‑covering

For Eve. Both of them dressed themselves in their garments and met together on the day of Jam’a and therefore the day was named jam’a; they recognised each other at ‘arafah and so it was named ‘Arafah.

Allah has arms, legs and ears but the idols do not have them. From the previous discussions, we should have very little doubt about this. Muhammad’s Allah, does indeed take after a human being. Since Allah looks like a human being, it then follows logically that Allah must have all the physical features of a human being.

Thus, in the Qur’an we read that Allah has eyes and ears…(42:11).

042.011 YUSUFALI: (He is) the Creator of the heavens and the earth: He has made for you pairs from among yourselves, and pairs among cattle: by this means does He multiply you: there is nothing whatever like unto Him, and He is the One that hears and sees (all things).

Allah has hands; He created Adam with His own hands…(38:75, 48:10).

038.075 YUSUFALI: (Allah) said: "O Iblis! What prevents thee from prostrating thyself to one whom I have created with my hands? Art thou haughty? Or art thou one of the high (and mighty) ones?" 048.010 YUSUFALI: Verily those who plight their fealty to thee do no less than plight their fealty to Allah: the Hand of Allah is over their hands: then any one who violates his oath, does so to the harm of his own soul, and any one who fulfils what he has covenanted with Allah,- Allah will soon grant him a great Reward.

Commenting on the above two verses, the translator of Sahih Bukhari, Dr Muhammad Muhsin Khan writes that those two verses confirm two hands for Allah, but there is no similarity for them. Readers might be confounded at such a convoluted remark, but hold on, Dr Muhsin writes further:

This is not like as some people think that Allah is present everywhere—here, there and even inside the breasts of men (Khan, 1994, p. 1067).

Dr Muhsin Khan has confirmed what I wrote beforehand that Allah is anthropomorphic and He has a fixed residence.

In Sahih Bukhari we read that Allah does have real physical hands. But His hands are so huge that He could grab the entire earth in one of His hands. Perhaps this hugeness of Allah’s hand is the dissimilarity with humans’ hand when Dr Muhsin Khan mentioned Allah has hands but there is no similarity for them. Let us read this hadith.

Allah will hold the whole earth and roll all the heavens up in his right hand...(Sahih Bukhari, 6.60.336)

Volume 6, Book 60, Number 336:

Narrated Abu Huraira:

I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "Allah will hold the whole earth, and roll all the heavens up in His Right Hand, and then He will say, 'I am the King; where are the kings of the earth?"'

Allah has huge feet. He puts His foot over hell–fire. That’s right. Commenting on verse 50:30, Sahih Bukhari says exactly this. Let us first read verse 50:30.

050.030 YUSUFALI: One Day We will ask Hell, "Art thou filled to the full?" It will say, "Are there any more (to come)?"

Here are the ahadith from Sahih Bukhari:

50:30 Allah puts his foot over hell fire...(Sahih Bukhari, 6.60.371, 373)

Volume 6, Book 60, Number 371:

Narrated Anas:

The Prophet said, "The people will be thrown into the (Hell) Fire and it will say: "Are there any more (to come)?' (50.30) till Allah puts His Foot over it and it will say, 'Qati! Qati! (Enough Enough!)'"

Volume 6, Book 60, Number 373:

Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet said, " Paradise and the Fire (Hell) argued, and the Fire (Hell) said, "I have been given the privilege of receiving the arrogant and the tyrants.' Paradise said, 'What is the matter with me? Why do only the weak and the humble among the people enter me?' On that, Allah said to Paradise . 'You are My Mercy which I bestow on whoever I wish of my servants.' Then Allah said to the (Hell) Fire, 'You are my (means of) punishment by which I punish whoever I wish of my slaves. And each of you will have its fill.' As for the Fire (Hell), it will not be filled till Allah puts His Foot over it whereupon it will say, 'Qati! Qati!' At that time it will be filled, and its different parts will come closer to each other; and Allah will not wrong any of His created beings. As regards Paradise , Allah will create a new creation to fill it with."

Here are two similar ahadith from Sahih Muslim:

Allah would place his foot on hell when the hell is filled with sinners…(Sahih Muslim, 40.6823, 6825).

Book 040, Number 6823:

Anas b. Malik reported that Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) said that the Hell would continue to say: Is there anything more, until Allah, the Exalted and High, would place His foot therein and that would say: Enough, enough, by Your Honour, and some parts of it would draw close to the other.

Book 040, Number 6825:

'Abd al-Wahhab b. Ata' reported in connection with the words of Allah, the Exalted and the Glorious: We would say to Hell on the Day of Resurrection: Have you been completely filled up? and it would say: Is there anything -more? And he stated on the authority of Anas b. Malik that Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) said: (The sinners) would be thrown therein and it would continue to say: Is there anything more, until Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, would keep His foot there- in and some of its part would draw close to the other and it would say: Enough, enough, by Thy Honour and by Thy Dignity, and there would be enough space in Paradise until Allah would create a new creation and He would make them accommodate that spare place in Paradise.

Even the translators of The Noble Qur’an and Sahih Bukhari, Drs al–Hilali and Muhammad Muhsin Khan, having included this hadith in a foot note admits the physical nature of Allah’s foot (Hilali and Khan, 1999, The Noble Qur’an, p. 679, foot note 1).

Embarrassed with such mindless, cock‑and‑bull ahadith many contemporary Islamist scholars twist the meaning of those ahadith and contain that those allusion of the physical attributes of Allah are metaphorical. Here is a comment from none but the hadith scholar Professor ‘Abdul Hamid Siddiqi.

Hand is here used not in the literal sense, but in metaphorical sense. (Siddiqi. 2004, p. 1.151, footnote 388)

In the holy Qur’an (35:41) we read that Allah grasps the sky and the earth firmly lest they move away from their places; only Allah could guarantee the continued existence of the heavens and the earth. This verse clearly depicts the hugeness of Allah’s hand and personifies Allah’s might so much so, that only Allah has the physical strength to keep perfectly the earth in its position of rest.

Here is the verse 35:41

PICKTHAL: Lo! Allah graspeth the heavens and the earth that they deviate not, and if they were to deviate there is not one that could grasp them after Him. Lo! He is ever Clement, Forgiving.

Allah does have physical ability of hearing and seeing. Here is a hadith from Sunaan Abu Dawud:

Sunaan Abu Dawud, Vol. III, Hhadith Number 4710

Abu Yunus Sulaim b. Jubair, client of Abu Hurairah, said: I heard Abu Hurairah recite this verse (4:58): “Allah doth command you to render back your trusts to those to whom they are due”…up to “For Allah is He who heareth and seeth all things. He said: I saw the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) putting his thumb on his ear and finger on his eye.

Abu Huraira said: I saw the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) reciting this verse and putting his fingers. Ibn Yunus said that al‑Muqri said: “Allah hears and sees” means that Allah has the power to hearing and seeing.

As usual, embarrassed with such incredulous hadith, the translator of Sunaan Abu Dawud, Professor Ahmad Hasan, in a foot note, vehemently denies the existence of Allah’s physical organs like ears and eyes. He rather blames the Jahiliya (ignorance) for such an idea. In a foot note, he writes:

The Jahmiyyah did not believe in Divine attributes. This tradition refuted their view. Allah does not have the organs of hearing and seeing, i.e. ears and eyes, but their power. (Hasan, 2001, p. 3.1324, foot note 4121).

Needless to say, this is a prevarication by Professor Hasan to impose his personal opinion on unsuspecting readers.

Let us read what Tirmidhi Hadith says about Allah’s finger. In The Noble Qur’an, Dr Muhammad Taqi-uddin Al‑Hilali and Dr Muhammad Muhsin Khan comments on verse 7:143 which talks about Allah’s conversation with Moses. This verse reads as follows:

007.143 YUSUFALI: When Moses came to the place appointed by Us, and his Lord addressed him, He said: "O my Lord! show (Thyself) to me, that I may look upon thee." Allah said: "By no means canst thou see Me (direct); But look upon the mount; if it abide in its place, then shalt thou see Me." When his Lord manifested His glory on the Mount, He made it as dust. And Moses fell down in a swoon. When he recovered his senses he said: "Glory be to Thee! to Thee I turn in repentance, and I am the first to believe."

Here is the comment by these two impeccable Islamist scholars:

The appearance of Allah to the mountain was very little of Him. It was approximately equal to the tip of one’s little finger as explained by the Prophet when he recited this verse (This Hadith is quoted by At‑Tirmidhi) (Hilali and Khan, 196, p. 225, foot note 1)

Muhammad was so convinced of the anthropomorphic nature of Allah that he even compared the limbs of the idols of the Arab pagans to those of Allah. Ridiculing the idols of the Bedouin polytheists, he told them that their idols’ limbs were useless, whereas Allah’s hands, eyes and feet are real and workable.

Let us read verse 7:194-196 from the holy Qur’an:

Idols have no legs to walk, no hands to hold, no eyes to see and no ears to hear; you may try in vain to call on them to smite Allah (this means that Allah has feet, hands and ears)…7:194–196:

007.194 YUSUFALI: Verily those whom ye call upon besides Allah are servants like unto you: Call upon them, and let them listen to your prayer, if ye are (indeed) truthful! 007.195 YUSUFALI: Have they feet to walk with? Or hands to lay hold with? Or eyes to see with? Or ears to hear with? Say: "Call your 'god-partners', scheme (your worst) against me, and give me no respite! 007.196 YUSUFALI: "For my Protector is Allah, Who revealed the Book (from time to time), and He will choose and befriend the righteous

Muhammad was adamant that his Allah was for real; that is, Allah does have physical limbs. To strengthen his claim he compared the eye of Dajjal (anti‑Christ) to that of Allah. He claimed that Dajjal is one-eyed, but Allah is not. Here is a hadith from Sahih Bukhari:

Dajjal is one-eyed but Allah is not…(Sahih Bukhari, 4.55.553)

Volume 4, Book 55, Number 553:

Narrated Ibn Umar:

Once Allah's Apostle stood amongst the people, glorified and praised Allah as He deserved and then mentioned the Dajjal saying, "l warn you against him (i.e. the Dajjal) and there was no prophet but warned his nation against him. No doubt, Noah warned his nation against him but I tell you about him something of which no prophet told his nation before me. You should know that he is one-eyed, and Allah is not one-eyed."

Sahih Muslim writes that Allah is not deaf; He can talk and listen and he is really an entity—a physical entity, to be precise, just the likes of a human being.

Let us read this hadith from Sahih Muslim:

Allah is not deaf or absent; the treasure of Paradise is reciting ‘there is no might and no power but that of Allah’…(Sahih Muslim, 35.6528)

Book 035, Number 6528:

Abu Musa reported that he (and his other companions) were climbing upon the hillock along with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and when any person climbed up, he pronounced (loudly):" There is no god but Allah, Allah is the Greatest." Thereupon Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) said: Verily, you are not supplicating One Who is deaf or absent. He said: Abu Musa or Abdullah b Qais, should I not direct you to the words (which form) the treasure of Paradise ? I said: Allah's Messenger, what are these? He said:" There is no might and no power but that of Allah."

Allah will shake hands

Yes, that’s correct. Allah does have arms to shake hands with the His ardent faithful followers.

Here is a hadith from Sunann ibn Majah:

Sunaan ibn Majah, Vol. I Hadith Nnumber 104:

‘Ubayy b. Ka’b (Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him said, “The first person with whom Allah will shake hands (on the Day of Judgment), will be ‘Umar and he will be the first man to whom Allah will pay salutation (say: Assalamu ‘alaika) and he will be the first man whom he will hold with his Hand and make him enter the Paradise.

According to Al-Zawa’id, its isnad is daif. It contains in it Dawud b. ‘Ata al‑Madani and all the scholars are unanimous about his du’f (weakness). The other transmitters are reliable and sound. As‑Suyuti has said, “Hafiz ‘Imad ud-Din b. Kathir in his Jami al‑Masanid has said: This hadith is highly munkar (disagreeable) and is not far from being a maudu (fabricated) hadith.

In case we are wondering about the content of the second paragraph of this hadith, here is the explanation. According to Ibn Majah, a person, named Dawud b ‘Ata al‑Madani who is one of the narrators of this hadith is not a very reliable narrator of hadith. The other narrators are reliable and the text of the hadith is acceptable, though this might be weak. Another opinion is that this hadith could be fabricated.

The bottom line is: though this hadith might be weak and controversial there is no compelling reason to reject this hadith, out‑of‑hand, or render it totally un‑authentic. At best, it is controversial; at worst it is a weak hadith, but not completely inauthentic.

Here is another proof from the holy Qur’an that Allah does indeed have physical eyes to see what His Prophets are doing. In fact, Allah instructed Noah to construct an arc right in front of His eyes. After inspecting Noah’s accomplishment, Allah vouched the complete annihilation of the wrong-doers.

Here is the verse 011:036–037

011.036 YUSUFALI: It was revealed to Noah: "None of thy people will believe except those who have believed already! So grieve no longer over their (evil) deeds.

011.037 YUSUFALI: "But construct an Ark under Our eyes and Our inspiration, and address Me no (further) on behalf of those who are in sin: for they are about to be overwhelmed (in the Flood)."

A brief history of Allah

When we study Allah seriously, the important feature to learn is that Allah has quite a fascinating history. In ancient Arabia , during biblical time, many millenniums before Muhammad was born, Allah was worshipped by the desert Bedouins of Arabia. The ancient Arabs associated Allah with the moon which shone clearly in the night sky of the vast and wild desert for most of the year. The reason why Allah was treated as a moon god is not difficult to understand. The Bedouin Arabs had a nomadic life. Living in a harsh, barren, desert–land, devoid of any perennial river for irrigation and incapable of sustaining an agricultural society, the Bedouin Arabs belonged to a pastoral society. They were half-starved anarchic tribes (Rodinson, 2002, p. 17). Their meagre livelihood grossly depended on grazing and tending cattle, conducting frequent raids and plunder on other tribes or on the passing caravans. Rodinson writes that the unruly Arab's vendetta is the pillar of Bedouin society (Rodinson, 2002, p. 14). The Bedouins during those days also had a life of unceasing cycles of plunder and revenge. Day-time travel was nearly impossible due to the unbearable heat of the sun. Most journeys were undertaken at night, on moonlight and beneath a sky bedecked with glittering stars. They marvelled at the exquisitely beautiful night sky with the moon at its centre of beauty. To them the emergence of the graceful moon was the appearance of the king of the night sky. That is why those indigent Bedouin Arabs were so intimately connected with the moon and its phases. Their lives were literally governed by the moon.

To them, the moon was their life-sustainer. They based their primitive calendar on the movement of the moon; their religious and communal ceremonies were all arranged according to the moon’s position and phases. No wonder, that those desert Arabs considered the moon as their highest deity—Allah Taalaa–the supreme God. Professor of Arab History, the late, Phillip K. Hitti, writes that the moon-worshipping is principally a pastoral society and the sun-worshiping is chiefly an agricultural society (Hitti, 2002, p. 97). To the Arab Bedouin folks, the moon was an absolute holy entity to be worshipped and revered with utmost zeal. After Muhammad forced, at the point of sword, Islam on these desert Arab indigents, these neo-Muslim Bedouins still continued with the practice of their age–old belief that their life was regulated by the moon.

Even today, we find that this obsession with the Arab Bedouin moon is strongly prevalent in Islam. Islam is intimately connected with the moon. All its rituals are based on the sighting of the moon or on the moon calendar. No matter how much Islam advocates that it shuns idolatry or Paganism, it has not shed off its past connection with Paganism and idolatry. The truth is: Islam is still symbolised with the moon, especially the crescent shape. Look at the spires of any mosques; you are bound to witness a dazzling crescent moon, sometimes along with a star as well. Later, I shall provide the historical reason why the star is also a symbol of Islam. To explicate further, look at the symbol of Red Cross in Islamic Paradises. It is, of course, a crescent‑the symbol of Islam, which was the ubiquitous emblem of the moon god of the Arab Pagans. Even the flags of many Islamic countries show either the crescent moon and star together, or the crescent moon alone. Have a look at the national flags of a few Islamic states, such as: Algeria, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan (shows the full moon), Malaysia, Mauritania, Brunei, Turkey…etc. As for idolatry and stone-worshipping, please remember that the holiest object in Islam is the stone of the Ka’ba. This stone (or stones—presumably three broken pieces of rocks, as reported by many historians) was also the stone of worship by the Pagan Arabs. Even Muhammad kissed and hugged it in his chest with deep reverence, Caliph Umar did the same and the Muslims are supposed to do this at least once in their life times.

We will now briefly review the history of Allah (see the stone-carved Pagan Allah here).

Historians believe that the Arabian Allah originated in Syria. The Aramaeans inhabited Syria around 1300 BC. These Syrians used to worship passionately a few deities, the principal among them were the storm-god Hadad; the sky-god Alaha and the goddess Athargatis. The Syrians probably got Allah (in some form of image) from the Sumer in the ancient city of Babylon. According to many historians, Alaha is the Syrian name of Allah (Walker, 2004, p. 20). To them, Allah was a male God, the supreme God, who had three daughters, Allat, Uzza and Manat. The Nabateans, the first-born son of Ismail around the Sinai Peninsula, were the first to bring Allah to Arabia from Syria (Walker, 2004, p. 22) The Nabateans probably worshipped Allah in other names as well, such as: Elh and Alh (ibid). Besides Allah, the Nabateans also brought from Syria Hubal, a huge male idol. This Hubal was later placed in the precinct of Ka’ba. Hubal was the greatest of all idols in and around Ka’ba. The massive statue of Hubal was made of red agnate in the form of a man with right hand broken off. The Quraysh received Hubal in this form from Khuzaymah ibn Mudrikah, a Meccan who brought it from Syria. Later, the Quraysh made for it a hand of gold. Hubal stood in front of Ka’ba. The Pagan Quraysh considered Ka’ba for Hubal only (Rodinson, 2002, p. 54). They used divination arrows to determine the legitimacy of a newly born child (ibn al-Kalbi, 1952, p. 23). Many historians believe that Hubal was the physical representation of Allah at Ka’ba. In his youth Muhammad helped with the ritualistic preparations being ardently made for the ceremonial installation of Hubal in Ka’ba (Walker, 2004, p. 42). Muhammad’s biographer, Martin Lings, a Catholic convert to Islam, agrees that Hubal was from Syria (Lings, 1983, p. 5, 11). Arab Historians believe that the mighty Hubal was actually an ancient variation of Allah (Walker, 2004, p. 31). The word (Hubal) is derived from the Semitic word Hu, which means ‘He’ or ‘He is’ with the suffix El, which, of course, is another name for Allah. The deified name of Hubal was ceremoniously invoked by the Quraysh during war cry (ibid). Gradually, the concept of Allah, the God spread all around Arabia . An inscription found in south Arabia bears the name of Allah. Allah is Hallah in the Safa inscription. This was five centuries before Islam. The Arabs used to invoke Allah during times of special peril. This all-powerful Allah gradually became the supreme tribal deity of the Quraysh. Even the holy Qur’an confirms this in verses 6:109, 6:136, 10:22, 31:22,and 31:29 (Hitti, 2002, pp. 100–101). Other names by which Allah was known are: the Babylonian and Assyrian Ilu, the Canaanite El, the Hebrew Elohim and Ilah of central Arabia (Walker, 2004, p. 420).

Another name of Allah was Wadd

Another name of Allah was Wadd—the moon god which stood at the head of the Minaean Pantheon. Allat, Uzza and Manat were the three daughters of Allah for this Wadd (Hitti, 2002, pp. 97–98).

WA LILLAHIL MASHRIQU WAL MAGRIBU FA AIYNAMA TU WALLU FA SAMMA WAJHU (A)LLAHI INN ALLAHA WASI UN ALEEM
To Allah belong the East and the West; where ever you turn there is the presence of Allah. For Allah is All Pervading All Knowing.

INN AL LAZEENA KAFAROO WA MA TOO WA HUM KUFFARUN ULAIKA ALAI HIM LA NAT ULLAHI WAL MALAAIKA TI WAN NASI AJMAEEN(A)
Those who disbelieve, and die while they are disbelievers; on them is the curse of Allah and of angels and of all mankind.

KHALI DEENA FEEHA LA YU KHAF FAFU AN HUMUL AZABU WA LA HUM YUN ZAROON(A)
They will dwell in there. Their penalty will not be lightened, neither will they be reprieved.

WA ILAHU KUM ILAHUN WAHIDUL LA ILAHA ILLA HU WAR RAHMAN UR RAHEEM
Your God is One God; there is no god Only He, the Beneficent, the Merciful. [Quran: Al Baqara, Chapter 2]