Allah Is Free From All Defects — Essence of Islam Vol. 1
Introduction
In this discourse from Essence of Islam (Volume 1), Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (AS), the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, expounds upon Allah Is Free From All Defects, presenting profound spiritual insights and scriptural verities.
Book Series: Essence of Islam (Volume 1)
Author: Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (AS)
Section: Part 2: Allah The Exalted
Navigation: Book Table of Contents | « Previous: Two Kinds of Divine Mercy | Next: All Praise Belongs to Allah »
The Holy Qur’an sets forth that God is free from all defects and is not subject to any loss; and He desires that man should purify himself from defects by acting upon His instructions. He has said:
وَمَن كَانَ فِي هَٰذِهِۦٓ أَعۡمَىٰ فَهُوَ فِي ٱلۡأٓخِرَةِ أَعۡمَىٰ وَأَضَلُّ سَبِيلٗا
“But whoso is blind in this world will be blind in the Hereafter, and even more astray from the way.” (Surah Bani Isra’il, 17:73)
This means that: He who has no insight in this world and is not able to behold the Peerless Being, will be blind after death and will be enveloped in darkness, inasmuch as man is bestowed insight in this life with which to see God and he who will not take that insight with him from this world, will not be able to see God in the hereafter. God Almighty has made it clear in this verse what progress He desires man to achieve and how far man can proceed by following His teaching. God sets forth in the Holy Qur’an the teaching by following which a person can see God in this very life. As Allah says:
قُلۡ إِنَّمَآ أَنَا۠ بَشَرٞ مِّثۡلُكُمۡ يُوحَىٰٓ إِلَيَّ أَنَّمَآ إِلَٰهُكُمۡ إِلَٰهٞ وَٰحِدٞ ۖ فَمَن كَانَ يَرۡجُواْ لِقَآءَ رَبِّهِۦ فَلۡيَعۡمَلۡ عَمَلٗا صَٰلِحٗا وَلَا يُشۡرِكۡ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِۦٓ أَحَدَۢا
“Say, ‘I am only a man like yourselves; but I have received the revelation that your God is only One God. So let him who hopes to meet his Lord do good deeds, and let him join no one in the worship of his Lord.’” (Surah al-Kahf, 18:111)
This means that: He who desires to see God—who is the True Creator—in this very life, should act righteously. That is to say, his conduct should exhibit no default and his actions should not be for show, nor should he take pride in them that he is such and such, nor should his actions be defective and incomplete, nor should they smell of anything which is inconsistent with his personal love of God. All his actions should breathe sincerity and faithfulness. He should abstain from associating anything with God. He should worship neither sun nor moon, nor stars, nor air, nor fire, nor water, nor any other thing whatsoever. He should not exalt worldly means so as to depend upon them as if they were God’s associates, nor should he depend upon his own enterprise and effort, for this is also a species of association. Having done everything, he should consider that he has done nothing. He should have no pride in his knowledge, nor have dependence upon his actions. He should consider himself truly ignorant and slothful and his soul should be prostrate all the time at the threshold of God Almighty. He should draw the grace of God to himself through his supplications. He should become like a person who is thirsty and is helpless and finds a fountain spring forth in front of him, the water of which is clear and sweet, and he crawls up to the fountain and applies his lips to it and does not let go till he is fully satisfied.
In the Holy Qur’an, our God describes His attributes thus:قُلۡ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ ٱللَّهُ ٱلصَّمَدُ لَمۡ يَلِدۡ وَلَمۡ يُولَدۡ وَلَمۡ يَكُن لَّهُۥ كُفُوًا أَحَدُۢ
“Say, ‘He is Allah, the One; ‘Allah, the Independent and Besought of all. ‘He begets not, nor is He begotten; ‘And there is none like unto Him.’” (Surah al-Ikhlas, 112:2-5)
This means that: Your God is One in His Being and in His attributes. No other being is eternal and everlasting and self-existing like His Being, nor are the attributes of any being like His attributes. A person’s knowledge needs a teacher and yet is limited. God’s knowledge needs no teacher and is unlimited. A person’s hearing is dependent upon air and is limited, but God’s hearing is inherent and is unlimited. A person’s seeing is dependent upon the light of the sun or some other light and is limited, but God’s seeing is by His inherent light and is unlimited. The power of man to create is dependent upon some matter, needs time and is limited. God’s power to create is neither dependent on any matter nor does it need time and is unlimited. All His attributes are without equal and as He has no equal in His
Being, no one is His equal in His attributes. If one of His attributes were to be defective, all His attributes would be defective and therefore His Unity cannot be established unless He were without any equal in His attributes as He is without any equal in His Being. He is not anyone’s son, nor is anyone His son. He is Self-Sufficient and needs neither father nor son. This is the Unity which the Holy Qur’an teaches and which is the basis of our faith.
God has commanded me to inform the members of my Community that those who have believed with a faith which contains nothing of the world in it, and which is not coloured by hypocrisy or cowardice, and does not fall short of any degree of obedience, are the people who are approved by God, and God says that they are the ones whose feet are planted firmly on sincerity.
[Lecture Lahore, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 20, pp. 152-155]
Let him who has ears hear what it is that God desires of you. It is that you should become wholly His and should not associate anyone with Him in heaven or in earth. Our God is the One Who is living today as He was living before, and Who speaks today as He spoke before, and hears today as He heard before. It is a false notion that in this age He hears but does not speak. Indeed, He both hears and speaks. All His attributes are eternal and everlasting. None of His attributes has fallen into disuse or will fall into disuse. He is the One without associate Who has no son and no consort. He is the Peerless One Who has no equal and like Whom no individual is absolutely qualified with any quality, and Whose attributes are not shared by anyone. None of His powers lacks anything. He is near and yet far and He is far and yet near. He can
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 1, p. 44]
manifest Himself in any shape to those who have experience of visions but He has no body and no shape. He is above all but it cannot be said that there is anyone below Him. He is on His throne, but it cannot be said that He is not on the earth. He combines in Himself all perfect qualities and is a manifestation of all true praiseworthiness. He is the fountainhead of all excellences and combines in Himself all powers. All grace originates with Him and everything returns to Him. He is the Master of all kingdoms and possesses every perfect quality. He is free from every defect and weakness. It belongs to Him alone that all those on earth and in heaven should worship Him. Nothing is beyond His power. All souls and their capacities and all particles and their capacities are His creation. Nothing manifests itself without Him. He manifests Himself through His powers and His signs and we can find Him only through Him. He manifests Himself always to the righteous and shows them His powers. That is how He is recognized and that is how the path is recognized which has His approval. He sees without physical eyes, hears without physical ears and speaks without a physical tongue. It is His function to bring into being from nothingness. As you see in a dream, He creates a whole world without the agency of any matter and shows as present that which is mortal and nonexistent. Such are all His powers. Foolish is the one who denies His powers and blind is the one who is unaware of their depth. He does everything and can do everything except that which is inconsistent with His dignity or is opposed to His promise. He is one in His Being and His attributes and His actions and His powers. All doors that lead to Him are closed except the one door which has been opened
by the Holy Qur’an.
[al-Wasiyyat, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 20, pp. 309-311]
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 1, p. 48]
Book Series: Essence of Islam (Volume 1)
Author: Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (AS)
Section: Part 2: Allah The Exalted
Navigation: Book Table of Contents | « Previous: Two Kinds of Divine Mercy | Next: All Praise Belongs to Allah »