Say: He Is the One God: God the Eternal, the Uncaused Cause of all being

C. To Read The Existence Like A Book

The Noble Qur’ân recommends “to cast an eye” on the universe, instead of the classical method of Islamic theology “isbati wajib”. The created beings are encouraged to reflect (tafakkur), remember (tadhakkur), think (taakkul), treat with caution (tadabbur), realize (tafakkuh). A human being must read the following four Ayats in order to understand ALLÂH (SWT):

1. Ayat of the universe: The cosmos is an open book waiting to be read. None of the books is written by itself. Just as every book is written by a writer, so the book of the cosmos is also written by Writer. Everything in the cosmos has a meaning and a purpose. As the Sûrahs, Verses and words revealed through the Divine Revelation have: “[And] who remember God when they stand, and when they sit, and when they lie down to sleep, and [thus] reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth: “O our Sustainer! Thou Hast not created [aught of] this without meaning and purpose. Limitless art Thou in Thy Glory! Keep us safe, then, from suffering through fire!” (3:191). The universe is a mirror where the Attributes of ALLÂH (SWT) are manifested. His Mercy is manifested in rain, His Compassion in is manifested in spring, His Power is manifested in wind, His Might is manifested in thunder, His Grace is manifested in Light. Reading correctly the Ayats existing in the universe teaches the Divine cosmic laws. The human being who reads the proofs in the universe becomes aware of the Lordship (Rubûbiyyah) of ALLÂH (SWT), Who Is the Creator and the Ruler of the Universe. For that reason the human being discovers the established Laws of ALLÂH (SWT) (SUNNATULLÂH). The occupation field of the humanities and other positive sciences is in its entirety nothing else but the discovery of those laws.

2. Ayat of mankind: The man’s descent onto the earth (hubut) is a process comparatable with the Revelation. Human being is not only a microcosmos, but at the same time a conscious book sheltering innate revelation inside itself. The Noble Qur’ân also draws attention to Ayats inscribed in the book of mankind: “And on earth there are signs [of God’s existence, visible] to all who are endowed with inner certainty, just as [there are signs thereof] within your own selves: can you not, then, see? (51:20-21). The love and affection in mankind are the signs of the Mercy of ALLÂH (SWT). Anger and rage in mankind are the signs of the Anger ALLÂH (SWT). In this way a human being is a masterpiece of ALLÂH (SWT), a work of art that is manifested in itself. The human being that uses as instruments of sorcery the signs, which have been inscribed in his creation, falls into the position of a sorcerer. Both of them express ingratitude towards ALLÂH (SWT).

3. Ayat of Hadithat: ALLÂH (SWT) Intervenes in the life. There is no being that lives independently from ALLÂH (SWT). Actually, the following Verse express the truth that: “On Him depend all creatures in the heavens and on earth; [and] every day He Manifests Himself in yet another [wondrous] way.” (55:29) Just as the ALLÂH (SWT)’s Will is sometimes manifested in the divine revelation as word, it is also sometimes manifested in the phenomena in the form of message. Those messages form the Ayats of the Hadithat. The Word of ALLÂH (SWT) (Al-Kalâm) is manifested in this way in the phenomena. Actually, the Noble Qur’ân offers cross-section of such history carrying messages. The history cross-sections narrated in the Noble Qur’ân are both the Ayats of Hadithat. The stories of the Noble Qur’ân constitute examples of each of the manifestations of ALLÂH (SWT)’s Attributes. Adam’s forgiveness is the manifestation of the Name Al-Ghafûr (the All-Forgiving), the satan’s expulsion is the manifestation of the Name Al-Qahhâr (the Irresistible), Nûh’s salvation is the manifestation of ALLÂH (SWT)’s Help. Abraham’s protection is the manifestation of the Name Al-Hâfidh (Protector); Moses’s receiving of the Divine Revelation is the manifestation of the Name Kalîm (Speaking) of ALLÂH (SWT).

4. Ayat of the Noble Qur’ân: The Divine Revelation is the truest source by which we are to recognise ALLÂH (SWT). The Verses of the Noble Qur’ân show us the right way we should read the Ayats of mankind. The Divine Revelation is the Divine Education Project. ALLÂH (SWT) Has Created human being as an honourable guest of the earth guest-house and Educates that human being’s imagination, intelligence and personality through the Divine Revelation. A superstructure can be built onto the creation’s substructure only by the Hands Producing that creation. Actually, the Divine Revelation is the founding subject of the superstructure in question. Human being is created to be servant. The servitude is the human being’s predestination. This exists in his creation. If he is not a servant bound for the right direction, he proves to be seeking the wrong direction. If he is not a servant of ALLÂH (SWT), he can invent thousands of deities with his own hands and make useless honour to them. Those saying that they don’t worship anything turn out to have found a physical idol for oneself: Seductive egotism and instincts. There is nothing strange about that. As previously stated, when a human being turns his back on the door to the true servitude, he has a false deity for himself. For that reason, actually, absolute atheism is a dream and is impossible.

Among all the beings that humankind has worshipped since its creation until now, Only ALLÂH (SWT) Has Protected mankind from becoming object. That is proved by the will given to human being by ALLÂH (SWT). Except for ALLÂH (SWT), everything human being worshipped makes the human being become object, ruins his self-esteem and honour. Because the worshipped being is at a lower level of value than the being who worships. The rules change, the subject becomes object and the object becomes subject.

Man’s servitude to ALLÂH (SWT) is not an object­-subject relationship, but a subject-object relationship. Submitting oneself to ALLÂH (SWT) means entering upon an existential dialogue. The Divine Revelation represents a dimension of that dialogue coming from ALLÂH (SWT) to mankind and worship represents another dimension of that dialogue which is from mankind to ALLÂH (SWT). The greatest communication is the communication with the Greatest One (SWT). He (SWT) Is ALLÂH (SWT). The communication with ALLÂH (SWT) is the acme of communication. Therefore, to exist means to set up communication. To break off relations with ALLÂH (SWT) is to escape from life. Ending relationship with ALLÂH (SWT) is a human being’s actual death. If a human being wishes to set up sound communication with ALLÂH (SWT), he must know, recognise and understand ALLÂH (SWT) so as to succeed in establishing that communication. Thus, the first thing to be done is to tap at the door of Faith with the finger of will. In looking for the door of Guidance the first thing you encounter is the stop of Faith in ALLÂH (SWT).

Chapter Three

Faıth In Allâh (Swt)

A. Iman: The Only Path To Understanding

The One (Swt) Whose Greatness Is Infinite

“[Know that true] believers are only those who have attained to faith in God and His Apostle and have left all doubt behind, and who strive hard in God’s Cause with their possessions and their lives: it is they, they who are true to their word!” (49:15)

It is not enough alone to believe in ALLÂH (SWT). It is necessary to believe in ALLÂH (SWT) in a proper way. If it were enough, it would be necessary for us to address the polytheists not as polytheists but as the faithful. Iman (Faith) in ALLÂH (SWT) must be suitable to ALLÂH (SWT). The absolutely essential condition for such faith is to ascribe an Attribute belonging to ALLÂH (SWT) to nobody else but Him (SWT). It makes no difference whether it is a prophet, a saint or a dear one. Because Only ALLÂH (SWT) Is ALLÂH (SWT). There is not any partner or equal to Him (SWT). There is not anything like unto Him (SWT). It is impossible for there to be a companion or match for ALLÂH (SWT). Nothing can become an associate with Him (SWT). No mind can know Him (SWT) by His Personal-Self; no understanding can comprehend Him (SWT) by His Personal-Self. He (SWT) Is Known and Comprehended only by His Attributes.

The way the mind operates is obvious: make out the unseen from what one sees and to make out the unknown from what one knows. The mind performs this operation sometimes by going down from the whole to a part (deduction), sometimes by going up from a part to the whole (induction), and sometimes by transferring from a part to a part (comparison/analogy). It means the mind establishes the relation between the whole and a part because it sees without fail one of them from the other one. ALLÂH (SWT) Is Absolute and Sublime by His Personal-Self. The fact whole-part is not the case for His Personal-Self. Such a fact is the attribute of restricted and created being. The mind that has limits cannot encompass and grasp the Personal-Self of the One Whose Greatness is Infinite. The mind cannot comprehend that which it cannot grasp, consequently to limit. To limit is absolutely necessary for the mind’s comprehension. Whatever is limited cannot be ALLÂH (SWT). It is therefore that they used to say “Whatever comes into your mind is not ALLÂH (SWT)”. This expresses His Absoluteness and Sublimity.

Well, then, isn’t there a path to understanding the Infinite?

Certainly, there is: Faith.

Faith is, in fact, the light illuminating that path. We cannot say “Where there is not faith, there is definitely disbelief”. Because disbelief is “concealing”. Disbelief is the shutting of the inner ears, the dumbness of the inner tongue, closing the eyes of “the conscience” that is not obtained but that exists in every human being in advance. The owner of the conscience being concealed by the veil of disbelief go to denial whether he wants or not. In fact, it is for that reason that every denial is a prejudice. One cannot become involved in denial unless one’s conscience is concealed. One can only enter into denial with a deafened, dumb and blinded conscience.

1. Faith is foreknowledge. One can negate something one doesn’t know. Therefore, a person is an enemy of what he doesn’t know. However, a person cannot believe in something unknown. Denial is negating and gainsaying, faith is affirming and accepting. Not knowing, not recognising and not wanting to know are also types of denial. But, faith necessitates knowing, recognising. The root of the tree of faith is Ma’rifa that also includes knowledge. Knowing and recognising is a voluntary and conscious progress. Moreover, where there is no will and consciousness, there is no faith. Faith is a choice leaning upon free will. It is for that reason that faith involving the use force is no faith. Because the faith tree’s trunk is the confirmation with the heart. Confession with one’s tongue without the confirmation with the heart makes one not a believer, but a hypocrite. A hypocrite is a secret disbeliever and according to the Noble Qur’ân a hypocrite is even inferior to a disbeliever.

2. Faith resembles love, denial resembles hatred. Love is a positive thing, hatred a negative one. Love enhances a human being, but the hatred adds nothing to a human being. In exactly the same way, the faith is essentially positive, but the denial is negative. Faith enriches the human being just as the love does, and the denial, like hatred, impoverishes the human being. Faith is increase, denial is diminution. Faith adds merits, but the denial destroys merits.

3. Faith is remembering, disbelief is forgetting. To remember is to recuperate, but to forget is to lose and to diminish. The one who has faith is considered as having remembered the existing knowledge put in advance in one’s conscience. It is the acquisition of an appropriate superstructure for one’s character’s substructure. It is, so to speak, the transmission of a fitting nut to the character’s bolt gear. This state of harmony and combination existing between the substructure and the superstructure prevents human being from having a shameless personality and inner ruptures. The faith is remembering the existential safe keeping, the denial is forgetting it.

4. Faith is connection, denial is rupture. The connection renders a person “safe”. Therefore, faith is a guarantee of existential security.

5. Faith is perseverance. The faith makes one settled in one’s own place. The person settled in one’s own place finds peace and tranquillity. As for denial, it is the disorder. The one who denies does not proceed but he wanders. Rupture deprives a person from security. Even if it awakens a false feeling of freedom one can soon understand that it is not a true freedom. Because the denial “does not make the essence abundant”, on the contrary, it decays the essence, withers the essence. The feeling of freedom given by a thing which does not make the essence abundant is as false, transient and harmful as the feeling of happiness that the narcotics causes.

6. Faith is knowing the limit, disbelief is transgressing the limit. Faith is a state of being in oneself. The one who is not in oneself loves oneself. The one losing oneself is not aware of the limit. The one knowing the limit knows oneself and the one knowing oneself knows one’s Lord (SWT). The faith is finding oneself, but the denial is losing oneself.

7. Faith is thankfulness, denial is ingratitude. It is the right of the One providing the bread to be thanked, not of the bread. There is never property without an owner. If there is property, there is definitely the Owner of the property. The one who discerns the property looks for the property’s Owner. The one who finds the property’s Owner, thanks Him. Failure to discern the property provided for one’s sustenance is ingratitude.

8. Faith is loyalty, denial is disloyalty. The one who does not show loyalty to ALLÂH (SWT), does not show loyalty to anybody else. The greatest loyalty is the loyalty to the Greatest One.

9. Faith is turning one’s face, disbelief is turning one’s back. He who turns his face the Divine Light makes himself happy. He who turns his back on the Divine Light, make the life become a dungeon for himself.

10. Faith is heading towards the source. ALLÂH (SWT) Is the Light of the heavens and the earth. Having faith in ALLÂH (SWT) is heading towards the Divine Light. As for the denial, it is not moving in a direction, but refusing to go towards anywhere whatsoever. The one who turns to the Divine Light becomes honourable, upright and awake, but the one who turns away from the Divine Light becomes dishonourable, blind and bitter.

11. Faith is concern, disbelief is negligence. The one who has faith proves to be interested in the meaning and purpose of existence, but the one who denies turns out to be indifferent to the meaning and purpose of existence. There are values that a faithful person should protect. Therefore he is sensitive and awake. The denial, due to its negative nature, is no value for its owner. Consequently, neither protection nor fastidious treatment are necessary for it. And that very thing brings about the negligence.

12. Faith connects consciousness to the superconsciousness. But the denial breaks off this connection and restricts the consciousness to the subconscious. The faith in ALLÂH (SWT) is faith in the truth going beyond the consciousness. No consciousness and comprehension can encompass ALLÂH (SWT), only ALLÂH (SWT) Encompasses every consciousness and comprehension. To have faith is the consciousness’s ascension. It opens the horizons and enables one to go up to Him (SWT). The consciousness that has faith flies from the hard and crowded materialistic world to the transparent and beautiful spiritual world. The faith increases the interest in the abstract and this also improves the capability of abstracting. The extent of the improvement of human being’s intelligence is measured depending on the capability of abstracting. There is a limit of every abstraction. The only boundless abstraction is the contemplation about ALLÂH (SWT) Who Is The Absolute and Supreme Creator (SWT). Consequently, the faith in ALLÂH (SWT) is the motive power opening endless horizons to human comprehension and making it develop infinitely. As for the denial, it tears up the connection between the consciousness and the subconscious. In this situation the consciousness is doomed to the subconscious. Such consciousness fall under the control of the inner desires and the corruptive egotism. He who runs away from becoming a servant of ALLÂH (SWT), discovers himself to be a slave of the desires which control him through the subconscious. In fact, this is what the Noble Qur’ân says: “[the kind of man] who makes his own desires his deity”.

Faith in ALLÂH (SWT) is the first condition of faith. All the other conditions consist in this condition. As a matter of fact, without having faith in ALLÂH (SWT) the belief in the Hereafter and in the Prophethood is out of the question. You see, therefore, Tawhid which summaries all the requirements of the faith in ALLÂH (SWT) in one sentence, is the motto of faith.

B. Tawhid: Hundred Per Cent

Worship of ALLÂH (SWT)

“Know, then, [O man,] that there is no deity save God…” (47:19)

Tawhid is the signature put on a list of things the faithful believe in.

Tawhid is the confession of the truth in the form of a single sentence.

Tawhid is the essence.

Tawhid is the thinking heart of all the words. The word takes its spirit from it. Every word, every sentence, every text become a valuable statement at the rate it is near to Tawhid. And every word, every sentence, every text becomes a worthless utterance at the rate it is far from Tawhid.

Tawhid is the form of the truth of existence which, having been filtered and cast into a mould, is put into language. It is the secret of the Divine Breath. When uttering this statement, a human being says h (He) twice, when declaring that none other deity has the right to be worshipped but He (SWT), a sound h (He) comes right from the lungs and also when declaring that only He (SWT) Has the right to be worshipped another “He” comes out. The breath that proves the living creatures’ having life turns out to be a reference to the One (SWT) Who Creates that life.

Each and everything appears and ends between the word la (there is no) and the word illa (but). The whole existence itself declares ALLÂH (SWT) to be the Only God. To exist means to declare ALLÂH (SWT) to be the Only God. The rising of the sun, the rotation of the Earth, the glittering of stars, the rose’s opening, the chirp of a nightingale, the gentle splash of a river, the light blow of the wind, the hum of the forest, all taking and sending out a breath, represent Tawhid (the declaration of ALLÂH (SWT) to be the Only God). The one who listens to the universe with the heart’s ears does not hear any other sound except for Tawhid. The one who watches the existence with one’s heart’s eye sees nothing else but Tawhid. All synthetic hues fall into ruin, all false diamonds disintegrate, all gildings flake off, but the Hue, the Sibghah of ALLÂH (SWT) remains:

“[Say: “Our life takes its] hue from God! And who could give a better hue [to life] than God...” (2:138)

When saying La-ilâha-illa-ALLÂH, none of the labial sounds is used. The lips don’t touch one another at all. Tawhid is not a closed process. It is a process with a clear end going forward to perfection.

La-ilâha-illa-ALLÂH has a sound system beginning inside the mouth and finishing in the lungs. The way Tawhid makes an impression on the human being’s inner world is also like the way the process of the tongue takes place, that is to say from the outside right into inside. The order of sounds of Tawhid also operates from the outside into the inside, from the visible straight to the invisible, in just the same way as Ayats in the universe precede Ayats in the human beings themselves in the Verse (41:53) about the Ayats of ALLÂH (SWT) to be shown to human being. Let us right here remember the Verse (49:14) which describes that faith had not yet entered the hearts of the bedouins who said “We have attained to faith.”. The entry of faith into the hearts passing down from the throat of faith functions in the same way as Tawhid operates from the mouth into the lungs without stopping there.

There is one single dotted letter to be found in La-ilâha-illa-ALLÂH. That means that the word Tawhid doesn’t consists of subsidiary sounds but it consists of essential ones. Tawhid is essential for a human being just as the sounds of Tawhid. It can never be left out and it can never be in neglect. Tawhid is the human being’s consciousness of standing before ALLÂH (SWT). Being Muwahhid (i.e. the person declaring Tawhid, declaring the Oneness of ALLÂH (SWT)) is having the highest category position.

Tawhid with negating and affirming is as explicit and clear as the sounds represented by the undotted letters. It is as much improper to worry about “the possibility of confusing the meaning of that group of letters if a dot is omitted or forgotten” as to worry about the probability of confusing the meaning Tawhid bears. Because La-ilâha-illa-ALLÂH does not give any opportunity for misreading and misunderstanding by the person having ulterior motive: The Tawhid written without dotting is considered to indicate that there is no sign of polytheism / separation / rupture within it, even of the size of as a dot.

La-ilâha-illa-ALLÂH is more valuable and precious than the whole material universe by the worth and eminence of its meaning. Imagine a diamond whose carats cost as much as to buy the entire material universe. Well, Tawhid is that very diamond with which the entire material universe can be bought. That’s why ALLÂH’s Messenger (SAWS) described Tawhid as “more valuable/precious than the heavens and the earth”. Actually, on account of its being the key to Paradise, Tawhid is so great and glorious as to be beyond comparison with the heavens and the earth.

The phrase La-ilâha (there is no deity) which forms the first half of La-ilâha-illa-ALLÂH is the negation and the phrase illa-ALLÂH (except ALLÂH) forming the second half is the affirmation. The negation is rejecting and denying, but the affirmation is proving and stating that what one says is true. However, Tawhid as one whole is kept in the addressed person’s mind not as negation but as affirmation. Regardless of the fact that Tawhid’s beginning is negation, it always finds a response in the form of affirmation that has been strengthened in the perception. When the negative particle la is used with illa (in+la), the former la renders the latter la ineffective. In the reverse case, the particle in remains, which is used for reinforcement. As a matter of fact, the objection “perceiving the affirmation of the absolute existence comes before perceiving the negation of the absolute non-existence; because the latter is impossible” has been answered by Zarkashi, who has written a thesis on the meaning of ‘La-ilâha-illa-ALLÂH’, as follows: “The negation ‘La-ilâha’ that occurs at the beginning of Tawhid is in actual fact intended to reinforce the affirmation illa-ALLÂH’.” *5

This peculiarity of Tawhid should be obvious not only in the imagination but also in the language when being translated into other languages. If the original form “There is no deity except ALLÂH (SWT)” has the equivalent “ALLÂH (SWT) Is the Only God”, which answers the needs of a language it must clearly seen in this way. The literal translation of the word of Tawhid “There is no other god, there is Only One ALLÂH (SWT)” is not an acceptable and ideal equivalent both from the source language and from the standpoint of the target language.

Yet, there is a number of points concerning the negation’s coming before the affirmation. These are:

1. The construction of Tawhid is possible together with the destruction of shirk (polytheism). Without being cleansed of polytheism by the vacuum cleaner “LA” the Sultan Tawhid will not become a guest to the heart.

2. If you wish to express that your “yes” is strong, not subject to any terms, unconditional and absolute, the most effective way to achieve that is to begin by saying “no”.

3. The faith in ALLÂH (SWT) is the Heart’s Tawba (Repentance). Repentance is the heading towards the truth. In order to go towards the truth, it is necessary to abandon the wrong. The negation’s coming first resembles the giving up of the wrong before heading towards the truth. The Majalla (the Book of Islamic laws of conduct) Rule’s statement “getting rid of the harmful is prior to attracting the useful” is also a product of the intellect educated by Tawhid.

4. An expression affirming only its thesis is an expression that has only one end. It can be misused in the hands of those who have ulterior motives. If they get from the open end into that expression, they can do whatever they want. Even if they cannot abstract, they can add. In order to prevent this and make the malicious give up their plans, both of the ends should be closed. You see, the method of negation and affirmation is the method that closes the expression’s both ends. This is the most evident expression of the meticulousness of the Divine Revelation and its Owner, ALLÂH (SWT) about Tawhid.

5. It is not enough to say ALLÂH (SWT), it is necessary to say illa-ALLÂH (a hundred per cent only ALLÂH (SWT)). Because polytheism is not excluded alone by saying ALLÂH (SWT). Still the Divine Revelation insists that it is not enough just to say ILLA-ALLÂH. Instilling Tawhid into us, the Divine Revelation orders us to behave extremely scrupulously in affirming Tawhid. It orders us to revolt against polytheism and to say insistently “there is no (la)”. Because, the more cogently the Muwahhid (i.e. the person declaring Tawhid, declaring the Oneness of ALLÂH (SWT)) says “there is no”, the stronger grows the faith in the existence of “there is”. You see, that’s the reason why Tawhid begins with “there is no”.

The Oneness of ALLÂH (SWT) crystallizes in the human language by means of Tawhid. The whole universe is an unconscious witness of Tawhid. The human beings, who are the thinking and speaking living creatures, are required to be the conscious witnesses of Tawhid. That is the point where Tawhid transforms into Ash-Shahadah.