16. How does the Quran explain God?
Fundamental to the religious structure of Islam is the concept of tawhid, or monotheism. As the seed is to tree, so is tawhid to Islam. For monotheism in Islam does not mean simply belief in one God, but in God’s oneness in all respects. No one shares in this oneness of God.
As proof of the Creator’s existence, the Quran advances the fact of the very existence of the universe. All studies of the universe show it cannot be sui genesis: some other agent is essential for the universe to have come into existence. This means the choice is not between a universe with God and one without God, rather it is between a universe with God, and no universe at all. And so, we are left with only the option of a universe with God — a condition also necessary for the existence of human beings.
As the Quran expresses it:
God; there is no deity save Him, the Living, the Eternal One. Neither slumber nor sleep overtake Him. To Him belong whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth. Who can intercede with Him, except by His permission? He knows all that is before them and all that is behind them. They can grasp only that part of His knowledge, which He wills. His throne extends over the heavens and the earth; and their upholding does not weary Him. He is the Sublime, the Almighty One. (Quran 2:255)
God acquires a very prominent position in the Quran. Every chapter in the Quran begins in the name of God. People often believe that in Islam belief in God is a matter of blind faith, but if you read the Quran you will find that the Quran treats belief in God as a matter of realization resulting from thinking and pondering over the world around us. Throughout the Quran there are numerous verses enjoining the reader to observe and reflect on the universe and the phenomena of nature. A verse in chapter 3 says:
There are signs in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day for people of understanding. (Quran 3:191)
This is because the Quran wants people to discover God through study and contemplation. God should be an intellectual discovery for believers.
It is also generally believed that God of the Quran is cruel and punishes sinners for every minor sin. But contrary to this, every chapter of the Quran begins with these words:
In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. (Quran 1:1)
In the Quran, God Himself says:
O My servants, who have committed excesses against their own souls, do not despair of God’s mercy, for God surely forgives all sins. He is truly the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful. (Quran 39:53)
