Islam

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Islam is a God centered religion. Being such, it focuses intently upon the character and attributes of God, Allah, and falls prostrate in awe of them. To Islam Allah has numerous attributes, some metaphysical and some moral, which are seen in the titles given to Allah in the Qur'an and the philosophical framework that binds them together. To the Muslim Allah’s character is seen all around them, in nature, in humanity, but centrally in the Qur'an. The Qur'an is the Muslims sole authority on the nature of Allah and the world. Therefore, mere conjecture or speculation will not suffice to describe Allah. Only in understanding the Qur'an do we understand Allah sufficiently. So then a systematic layout of the attributes of Allah, as described in the Qur'an, is essential to properly understand what is at the center of Islam, Allah Himself. Due to time only essential attributes of Allah will be discussed here.
Allah’s unity:
Central to Islamic teaching is the doctrine of self-subsistent unity, that is, that ontologically Allah is one person, essence, and being. He is not, as Christians believe, three persons, but rather one tightly connected person. Usual explicit descriptions of Allah’s oneness connect with the denial of any plurality in His being:
"Those who say God is one third of a trinity have certainly blasphemed, for there is no deity but one God"
"Do you actually bear witness that there are other deities along with God? Say, "I do not bear witness". Say, ‘There is only the one God, and I am innocent of your idolatry.’"
Similarly the first clause if the Islamic creed, the shahada, states "There is no God but God". This pronouncement of a strictly monotheistic faith and monopersonal God stem from Mohammad’s polytheistic surroundings and form the very crux of Islamic theology proper. As John Noss notes:
"This is the most important article in Muslim theology. No statement about God seemed to Muhammad more fundamental than the declaration that God is one, and no sin seemed to him so unpardonable as associating another being with God on terms of equality."
In protection of this sacred doctrine Islam pronounces it a shirk (i.e. blasphemy) to think, believe, or state that there is more than one God, or that there is a plurality of persons within the Godhead. Dr. Farah puts it simply:
"The orthodox Muslim conception of God may be summed up as follows: God is one; He has no partners; Singular, without any like Him; Uniform, having no contrary; Separate, having no equal; Ancient, having no first."
Allah’s sovereignty:
To Islam, Allah is the primary cause of all events that have, are, and will ever take place. From Allah come fixed immutable decrees that are necessarily actualized in the world. Allah is the sovereign ruler over history and the unfolding of the future. Here the Qur'an speaks clearly:
"Say ‘Nothing will happen to us but what God has ordained for us; God is our protector.’"
"And God leaves people astray at will, and guides anyone at will"
"No calamity occurs on earth, or to yourselves, but is in a decree before We created it. That is easy for God"
From such passages Muslim theology concludes that both good and evil proceed from the divine will. They find no problem in determinism, but rather an uplifting of Allah beyond the limitations of contingent beings. From this stems the famous Islamic maxim "If Allah wills" (Arb. Insha’ Allah). On determinism Ibn Warraq comments:
"Taqdir, or the absolute decree of good and evil, is the sixth article of the Muhammadan creed, and the orthodox believe that whatever has, or shall come to pass in this world, whether it be good or bad, proceeds entirely from the Divine Will, and has been irrevocably fixed and recorded on a preserved tablet by the pen of fate."
The Islamic view of predestination is central to understanding the character of Allah for it is one of the separating virtues that distinguish Him as God and as the only being that is truly free to do as He pleases. To attempt to establish any law or moral principle to explain the reasons for Allah’s actions is to limit Allah and make Him subordinate to something higher than Himself. Voluntarism permeates Muslim morality while essentialism is left in the ruins as a great shirk.
Allah’s omniscience:
While the active side of Allah’s decrees is His sovereignty, the passive side is His omniscience. Part of His character is that He knows all things, past, present, and future. This is another characteristic of Allah that separates Him from His creation. In the mind of Muslims Allah is not in time, but transcends it; He is timeless. He is not limited by the boundaries of time or affected by their change; He is atemporal and sees time as an ever present now. The Qur'an mentions Allah’s omniscience many times:
"And the keys of the unseen are with God, who alone knows them. And God knows what is on the land and in the sea. And not a leaf falls but God knows it"
"Knower of the invisible and the evident, God is the greatest"
"God is aware of whatever you do"
"God knows what is manifest and what is concealed"
Allah’s omniscience is what Mohammed used to encourage the unbelievers to faith and the believers to piety. It is one of Allah’s great metaphysical qualities; one that determines our realm of understanding and exceeds it infinitely. Of the ninety-nine names given to Allah in the Qur'an is the "All-Knowing (Arb. Al Alim), and the Muslim praises his God for having such an aspect.