Names of Allah - introduction
 

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[CENTER][FONT=CgFeniceBd][SIZE=6][FONT=CgFeniceBd][SIZE=6]HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=CgFeniceBd][SIZE=6]
[SIZE=6][FONT=CgFeniceBd]?ALLAH, OUR CREATOR[/FONT][/SIZE][/CENTER]

[CENTER][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3][FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]Who created you? Who granted you your body, your eyes, or[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]
[SIZE=3][FONT=PalatinoTurk]the color of your hair? Who determined the shape of your body or[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=PalatinoTurk]the color of your eyes? Who created all other people, the heavens,[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=PalatinoTurk]Earth, and every living being in between? Who determined the[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=PalatinoTurk]order of the planets, the Sun, and the stars in the depths of space?[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=PalatinoTurk]Your answers to all these questions will be the same: “Allah.”[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=PalatinoTurk]When asked to other people, they will also answer: “Allah.” Indeed,[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=PalatinoTurk]Allah informs us in the Qur’an that people will confess this fact, as[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=PalatinoTurk]follows:[/FONT][/SIZE]
[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=PalatinoTurkB][SIZE=3][FONT=PalatinoTurkB][SIZE=3]If you ask them: “Who created the heavens and Earth and[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=PalatinoTurkB][SIZE=3]
[SIZE=3][FONT=PalatinoTurkB]made the Sun and Moon subservient?” They will say:[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=PalatinoTurkB]“Allah.” So how have they been deluded [away from the[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=PalatinoTurkB]truth]? (Surat al-‘Ankabut, 29:61)[/FONT][/SIZE]
[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=PalatinoTurk][FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]So, how well do you know our Creator, Who planned you and[/SIZE][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=PalatinoTurk]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]the entire universe with a delicate equilibrium? Are you aware that[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]He sees and hears you every moment and knows your every act?[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]Where do you think Allah is? Did He create you and then leave you[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]to your own devices? Does He tell you how to live? Can you see[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]Him? Has anyone talked with Him? What other creatures did He[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]create? What kind of a life does He promise after death?[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]No doubt, many similar questions may be raised and you may[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]answer them in your own way. While doing so, you will rely on[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]what you have learned from your family or relatives, the people surrounding[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]you, or the books you have read. Well, have you ever wondered[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]if their answers are correct?[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]Everyone may put forward different views about Allah.[/SIZE][/FONT][/CENTER]

[CENTER][FONT=PalatinoTurk][FONT=PalatinoTurk][FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]Conditioned by his education, a philosopher may formulate a definition[/SIZE][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=PalatinoTurk][FONT=PalatinoTurk]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]that relies on his favorite philosophers’ views. A housewife[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]who is truly ignorant of Allah believes in what she hears from her[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]neighbors. A writer who writes about Allah may have received no[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]theological training or even not know a single verse of the Qur’an,[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]His final revelation to humanity. Yet anybody who reads his book[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]considers its every line as if it were absolutely correct, internalizes it,[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]and, with great confidence, tells it to other people. The majority of[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]people never wonder if what they have heard is incorrect or mistaken.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]We need to remember that humanity is fallible and, therefore,[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]people may act ignorantly. For this reason, in our endeavor to know[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]Allah, we turn to the Qur’an, the most reliable and unique source,[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]the just Book in which Allah explains everything a person needs to[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]know. When we refer to it for the answer to the above questions, we[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]see that Allah is everywhere. He is nearer to you than your jugular[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]vein, witnesses and sees everything you do, hears every word you[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]utter, knows your innermost prayer, and is beside you at every moment.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]Furthermore, Allah talks to His servants with whom He[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]wishes to speak. For instance, the Qur’an relates that He talked to[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]Prophet Musa (as) and preferred him to all other human beings alive[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]at that time. Allah also created angels and jinn, as well as the afterlife,[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]where each individual will have an eternal existence in the[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]Hereafter. Allah also explains how we should live in order to attain[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]Paradise after death.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]This book, written to introduce you Allah, seeks to replace the[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]vague, flawed, and insignificant information that you may have acquired[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]over the years with the genuine faith described in the Qur’an[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]so that you may come to know Allah, the All-Mighty, better and[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]draw nearer to Him. Allah introduces Himself to humanity through[/SIZE][/FONT][/CENTER]

[CENTER][FONT=PalatinoTurk][FONT=PalatinoTurk][FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]the Qur’an He sent down 1,400 years ago and informs us of His[/SIZE][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=PalatinoTurk][FONT=PalatinoTurk]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]beautiful names. The various examples and explanations contained[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]therein display Allah’s infinite wisdom, intelligence, and artistry.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]The verses provided under each of Allah’s names are from[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]Allah, Who mentions and then explains that particular name. Under[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]each name, you will find concise explanations reflecting the viewpoints[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]that will remind you of some details about the name in question.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]Although these explanations are inadequate, for many[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]volumes could be written about just one of His names, we will limit[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]ourselves to concise ponderings that will broaden the reader’s viewpoint.[/SIZE][/FONT][/CENTER]

[/FONT][FONT=PalatinoTurkI][FONT=PalatinoTurkI][SIZE=3]The Names of Allah [/SIZE][/FONT]
[CENTER][/FONT][FONT=PalatinoTurk][FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]only conveys what is written in the Qur’an,[/SIZE][/FONT][/FONT][/CENTER]

[CENTER][FONT=PalatinoTurk][FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]for we have no knowledge about His names other than what He[/SIZE][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=PalatinoTurk]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]teaches us. Those that are out of our knowledge are, as is the case[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurk][SIZE=3]with everything else, in our Lord’s Sight:[/SIZE][/FONT]
[/FONT][FONT=PalatinoTurkB][FONT=PalatinoTurkB][SIZE=3]They said: “Glory be to You! We have no knowledge except[/SIZE][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=PalatinoTurkB]
[FONT=PalatinoTurkB][SIZE=3]what You have taught us. You are the All-Knowing, the All-[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=PalatinoTurkB][SIZE=3]Wise.” (Surat al-Baqara, 2:32)[/SIZE][/FONT][/CENTER]

[CENTER][FONT=PalatinoTurkB][I][SIZE=2][COLOR=blue]Haru Yahya[/COLOR][/SIZE][/I][/FONT][/CENTER]
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