Dear Reader,

" Assalaamu Alaikum " : ( Peace be upon you ).

This is the way a Muslim greets when he meets another, as taught in the Qur'aan.(24:61)

It is the same way Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) greeted his disciples: " Peace be unto you." (Ref. The Bible: John, Chapter 20, Verse 19).

After greeting you in the way taught by Allaah through the great prophets, (peace be upon all of them), I begin with a prayer from the Holy Qur'aan, as prayed by prophet Moses (Peace be upon him). Quoted from the Holy Qur'aan, Chapter 20, verse 25 to 28:

THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD.

O people ! Please listen !

All the religions teach us that There is only One God and no other besides him.

In the Holy Qur'aan, (2:163), Allaah, the God says: " And your God is one God; there is no God except Him, The Beneficent, The Merciful. "

And in Christianity, the very first commandment as per Deuteronomy 6:4 of the Old Testament of the Holy Bible, is: " Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is One Lord."

And in the New Testament of the Bible, Jesus (peace be upon him), repeats it in Mark 12:29, by way of an answer to a question: "The first of all the commandments is: Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is One Lord."

Hindu scriptures are quoted to say: " Ekam Braham Dwithiya Naasthay." (There is one God, no second.) then adding emphatically: "Nay-ha Naa; Naasthay Kinchan." (No; None; Not even a little.)

Another sanskrit quote from a Hindu scripture: " Ekam Yevam a-dwithiyam." (He is one; without a second.) Veda is quoted to say: "Ekam Sat; Vipra bahuda vadanti." (That which exists is One, sages call it by different names.)

A South-Indian (Tamil language) adage says: "Onray kulam; oruvanay daywan." (Only one race; Only one God.)

All the major religions, therefore, include the important fact: THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD, NONE BESIDES HIM.

Yet, transgressors have, down the ages, tried to conceal or dilute this supreme fact in many ways, to serve their own purposes.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF THERE WERE MANY GODS ?

In the Holy Qur'aan, the God, Allaah, says:

" If there were therein Gods besides Allaah, then verily both (the heavens and the earth) had been disordered. Glorified be Allaah, the Lord of the Throne: (high is He) above what they attribute to Him ! " (21:22)

Thus Allaah gives the example of the orderliness with which the systems of the earth and the heavens are functioning, which surely would have been ruined, had there been gods besides Allaah, the one God.

At this point, some of the non-Muslims might feel uncomfortable on the use of the name "ALLAAH" to denote the ONE SUPREME BEING - THE ONE GOD.

"ALLAAH" is the ARABIC name for THE ONE GOD. Therefore, if He is called by a different name in another language, then it is only a matter of difference in languages.

When all major religions agree that there is ONLY ONE GOD, then God's Unity (Oneness) is not a matter under dispute.

Dictionaries, which give the meaning of the word "Allaah", as 'the Muslim name of God', are not telling you the whole truth. Because, besides the Muslims, the Arab Christians call the God as Allaah and the Arabic Bible calls the God as Allaah. So, it is not just the Muslim name for the God, but also the Arabic name for the God.

Coming back to the topic of ONE GOD: In the above Qur'aanic verse, Allaah thus invites our attention to the orderliness of the universe, to make us understand that there is only one God.

A suggestion to those who are not convinced about this line of reasoning: They might try to have two, three or four presidents or prime ministers for their country, or on a smaller scale, for their municipal administration or business corporations and then see the consequences.

Moreover, it is not just the orderliness of the universe, but there are hundreds of thousands of wonderful, innumerable signs of the God, in His creations, which our senses can perceive, through which He wants us to recognize Him and His powers. Through these signs He wants us to recognize Him, UNSEEN, and then obey His commands and accept His guidance sent through His messengers, for our own good.

Allaah says in Qur'aan, Sura 25, Verse 21:

" Such as (those who) fear not the meeting with us (for judgement) say: ' WHY ARE NOT THE ANGELS SENT DOWN TO US OR, (WHY) DO WE NOT SEE OUR LORD?'. Indeed they think too highly of themselves and are scornful with great pride. "

The God has raised messengers from among the people themselves, for their guidance, who read His commandments and matters of wisdom, the like of which can never be conceived by man.

Ignoring and forgetting the teachings of the great prophets, people have taken other persons and/or objects as god/s, of their own accord.

No respectable person, who is now being worshipped as god, ever claimed " I am god. Therefore, worship me." People worship them, following their own conjecture.

Down the ages, only wicked persons, out of their arrogance resulting from either their wealth, power or knowledge of trickery, have claimed to be gods. We see that they were not masters of their own souls and none of them is alive to-day.

If there is a likelihood that you would meet a person who claims to be god, then, be armed with the argument of Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him), as told in the Qur'aan: Sura 2, verse 258 :

" Have you not looked at him who disputed with Abraham about his Lord, because Allaah had given him the kingdom; when Abraham said: My Lord is He who gives life and causes death, he answered: I give life and cause death. Abraham said: Lo! Allaah causes the the sun to rise in the East, so do you cause it to come up from the West. Thus was the disbeliever utterly defeated. And Allaah guides not wrong doing folk. "

IDOLS AND GRAVEN IMAGES.

Idols and graven images are the inventions of the people who worship them, instead of the Almighty. Some people say that as a 'beginner', man needs 'something' to relate with the Almighty. This is just an excuse, in order to carry on the idol-worshipping. Because, as you would see, even after the 'beginner' becomes a 'veteran', he does not discard his idol.

Scriptures are unanimous in their opposition to graven images. The Bible says: (Exodus 20: 3,4,5.)

"Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them."

And again in Jeremiah 10:6

"For as much as [there is] none like unto you, O LORD; you [are] great, and your name [is] great in might."

Yajur Ved is quoted to say:

"It is not possible to make an idol of the God. "

And the Holy Qur'aan confirms:

" There is nothing whatever like unto Him." (42:11).

When there is nothing like Him, how can anyone conceive an idol that can represent God's image. Yet man has unjustly taken God's creatures and man's own fabrications as God.

Once again, it is worth recalling an episode involving Prophet Abraham (Peace be upon him), with the idol-worshippers, narrated in Holy Qur'aan: Sura 21, Verses 51 to 71:

" 51. And We verily gave Abraham of old his proper course, and We were Aware of him,
52. When he said unto his father and his folk: What are these images unto which you pay devotion ?
53. They said: We found our fathers worshippers of them.
54. He said: Verily you and your fathers were in plain error.
55. They said: Bring you unto us the truth, or are you some jester?
56. He said: Nay, but your Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, Who created them; and I am of those who testify unto that.
57. And, by Allaah, I shall circumvent your idols after you have gone away and turned your backs.
58. Then he reduced them to fragments, all save the chief of them, that haply they might have recourse to it.
59. They said: Who has done this to our gods? Surely it must be some evil-doer.
60. They said: We heard a youth make mention of them, who is called Abraham.
61. They said: Then bring him before the people's eyes that they may testify.
62. They said: Is it you who has done this to our gods, O Abraham?
63. He said: But this, their chief has done it. So question them, if they can speak.
64. Then gathered they apart and said: Lo! you yourselves are the wrong-doers.
65. And they were utterly confounded, and they said: Well, you know that these speak not.
66. He said: Worship you then instead of Allaah that which cannot profit you at all, nor harm you?
67. Fie on you and all that you worship instead of Allaah ! Have you then no sense ?
68. They cried: Burn him and stand by your gods, if you will be doing.
69. We said: O fire, be coolness and peace for Abraham !
70. And they wished to set a snare for him, but We made them the greater losers.
71. And We rescued him and (Prophet) Lot (and brought them) to the land which We have blessed for (all) peoples. "

That was the result of Prophet Abraham's episode involving the idols and idol-worshippers.

If you are not a Muslim, perhaps you are wondering by now, as to how a Muslim's lecture is revolving around the happenings to the prophets of other religions. For example, Jesus, (peace be upon him), is the prophet followed by the Christians. Moses, (peace be upon him), is the prophet followed by the Jews.

Let me clarify ...... in the next article.

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