Tag Archives: God

Defining the Undefinable

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“Say: “He, God, is One; the Eternal, Absolute. He begot none, nor was He begotten. And there is none like unto Him.” –The Qur’an, Chapter 112 (Purity).

Islamicity.com

How do you define God?

It’s a heavy question, no doubt, and one that you will undoubtedly receive many, many answers on.

This chapter—yes, this is an entire chapter of the Qur’an—establishes the Islamic view of God. It is merely a translation of its meaning, since the original Qur’an is in Arabic, but I chose this particular translation because it has the best flow and choice of words. It is also my personal favourite chapter of the Qur’an because of its conciseness and breadth. It is only four verses long, but Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) referred to it as “equal to one-third of the Quran.” Continue reading →

Are You A Trial?

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Photo by Lee Davy (Flickr)

Humans are naturally introverted. It’s hard for us to think outside of ourselves. For the most part we think about how the world and everything in it is related to us. How traffic just can’t seem to speed up because we’re late for work; how our group members in class just don’t get our ideas; how we traveled so far to the video game store just to find out they dared to sell out the latest release on us.

God says in the Qur’an, “We have made some of you as a trial for others: will ye have patience?” (25:20).

Sometimes we fret and complain about people who have wronged us, who have annoyed us, who have ignored us. We bring up trivial details  or minor grievances on people who may or may not mean us well.

But what about ourselves?

Are we the “trial” and the people we interact with the “others”?

Continue reading →

Logic and the Existence of God

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This is a speech I did at school, which focuses on the existence of God through logic and reason.

Today, inshallah, I will be talking about God—more specifically, how we can prove the existence of God through logic and reason. Islam is a religion of the mind. In fact, no where in the Qur’an will you find God telling us to have blind faith, to believe without evidence.

There are several passages in the Qur’an where God asks the reader, rhetorically, “Will you not then use your reason?” Reason—the ability to think, to ponder, to discern truth from falsehood—is the greatest gift God has bestowed upon us. Continue reading →

How A Video Game Taught Me More About God

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The most common argument people raise against religion is that if they cannot see God, then they cannot believe in Him. However, the “Seeing is believing” argument has lost its clout, despite our numerous scientific advances. We can’t see gravity, but we observe its effects; similarly, scientists can’t see dark matter, but they propose its existence based on the expanding nature of the universe.

In my life I, too, have asked this question. And I found a very convincing answer in the most unlikely place: a Japanese fighting game. Continue reading →

Aliens, Alternate Dimensions, and Allah

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There’s a moment in the movie Paul where Paul, an extra terrestrial, says something to the effect of “My existence alone disproves every Abrahamic religion.” If there was ever a moment in my life for a Spock-like eyebrow raise, that was it. The assumption the screenwriters of Paul made is that if it turns out we are not alone in the universe, that other intelligent beings exist in the cosmos, then religion—God, even— will become obsolete. However, this simply isn’t true. Continue reading →

Islamic Art & Architecture in Brief – Part III: Architecture

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Read Part I: Arabesque

Read Part II: Calligraphy

One could easily say that Architecture is the most recognizable form of art in Islam.

Now, any piece of architecture is a work of both beauty and practicality, but Islamic architecture includes a third dimension: spirituality. This goes back to the idea that for Muslims there is no separation between secular and spiritual; both are one.

Islamic architecture is a combination of all the elements I’ve spoken of earlier, and many more. All of these elements are used in conjunction to draw the viewer’s attention to God and God’s oneness. Verses throughout the Quran speak of this oneness and emphasise its importance. Islamic art and architecture celebrate this using Quranic script throughout architecture. Continue reading →

Islamic Art & Architecture in Brief – Part I: Arabesque

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This is a copy of the speech I made at my University’s Islam Awareness Week Event. The event was titled “One” and focused on “poetry, art, and discussion from the Islamic perspective.” Corrections or changes to the speech are in square brackets.

Art can best be defined as the expression of one’s soul through a medium. That medium can be anything from a paint brush to a keyboard to the individual’s own voice. One’s artistic endeavours are no doubt influenced by their own experiences and beliefs. Continue reading →

Seal of the Prophets: Assessing the Legitimacy of Muhammad’s Prophethood

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Courtesy classes.colgate.eduThis man stood a little higher than average. He was sturdily built with broad shoulders and long muscular limbs—he was proportionate, with neither a head too small nor a stomach too large. He had a head of long, black hair, with some waves in it as it stretched down between his earlobes and shoulders. His face was slightly rounded, and he had a thick, dark, full rounded beard. His large eyes were a very dark brown, almost black, and his eyelashes were curved, long and thick. Continue reading →