Ramadhan, the holiest of all months, the month in which the Quran was revealed in its entirety by Allah, the Creator of All, Master of the universes seen and unseen, known and unknown, free of all fault, heedlessness, defect and deficiency, pure and most holy, knower and container of all things, the Lord who preserves us from all disasters and calamities. (Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi-What The Seeker Needs).
Firstly, we must accept wholeheartedly the statement of Allah in Surah Ta Ha (20) which says Allah! There is no God but Him. To Him belongs the Best Names.
In Tafsir Ibn Kathir it is interpreted as, This means, ‘He Who revealed this Quran to you (O Muhammad), He is Allah, there is no God except Him. He is the Owner of the Best Names and the most lofty attributes.
In Surah Anbiyaa (21) Allah says, If there were, in the heavens and earth other gods, besides God, there would have been confusion in both. But glory to God, the Lord of the Throne: (High is He) above what they attribute to Him.
In interpreting this verse Abdullah Yusuf Ali comments as follows. The false gods in the heavens and earth are similar to those in Greek Pantheon, who quarreled and fought and slandered each other and made their Olympus a perfect bear garden. He further states God is Self-Subsisting. All his creatures are responsible to Him and dependent on Him as there is no other being to whom He can be responsible or on whom he can be dependent. He concludes by saying, All reason revolts against the idea of conflicting gods, and points to Unity in Creation and Unity in Godhead. This is not only the Message of Islam but the message of all prophets who came before the holy Prophet Muhammad and the line of prophets was closed with him. The Message given to every apostle in all ages was that of Unity as the fundamental basis of Order and Design in the world, material, moral and spiritual.
The second principle which is the foundation of our faith is that you cannot compare or equate Allah with any of his creations. Allah is free from all resemblance to anything visible or invisible in the creation. Ibn Arabi says Nothing is like Him.
In Surah Hud (11) it is stated, And He it is Who has created the heavens and earth in six days and his Throne was over the water.
In explaining this verse Prophet Muhammad sallalahu alaihi wasallam elaborated that Allah was before everything and his Throne was over the water. He then wrote in the Preserved Tablet mentioning everything. (Sahihs of Al Bukhari and Muslim).In a note attributed to Tafsir Ibn Abi Hatim it is stated that before Allah created the universe including the heavens and earth, His Throne of authority was over water. Allah was in existence before that. Allah has no Beginning or End. Thus Allah is always in Existence. First he created water. From water he created all else including the heavens and earth.
This explanation corresponds with scientific theory that all life was evolved out of the waters.
Be unwavering in your commitment to the fundamental principles of Divine Truth. Do not harbor any doubts about the Quranic verses. Do not deviate from the teachings of our Beloved Prophet.
This Ramadhan through fasting control your nafs, cleanse your heart and refrain from sinful acts. With a clean heart pray for your faithful brothers, help, serve and love each other fostering the spirit of Brotherhood.
Seek bountiful rewards from the Creator indulging in prayers, fasting and charity. Shaikh Abd Al Qadir Al Jailani in one of his discourse stated that through prayers one is brought half way in nearness to Allah, through fasting he reaches the door and enters the palace by indulging in charitable activities.
The Covid 19 pandemic has caused economic and social disruption, significantly increasing the number of unemployed, single parents with dependent children having no source of income to put food on the table. Please contribute generously to PERMIM Bantuan Raya programme. Your generous contribution will help to alleviate their sufferings and help the families to break their fast and celebrate Eid.