Concept of
A N I C N A P R O J E C T
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Every language has one or more terms that
are used in reference to God and some-
times to lesser deities. This is not the case
with the word ‘Allah’. Allah is the personal
name of the One True God. Nothing else can be
called Allah. The term has no plural or gender.
This shows its exclusivity when compared to the
word ‘god’ which can be made plural, i.e.‘gods’ or
feminine, i.e. ‘goddess’. It is interesting to note
that Allah is the personal name of God in Aramaic,
the language of Jesus (p)1. The word Allah is a
reflection of the unique concept that Islam
associates with God.
To a Muslim, Allah is the Almighty, Creator and
Sustainer of the universe, who is similar to none
and nothing is comparable to Him. The Prophet
Muhammad (p) was asked by his contemporaries
about Allah. The answer came directly from
God Himself in the form of a short chapter of the
Qur’an that is considered the essence of the Unity
of God or the motto of monotheism. “Say: He is
Allah, the One; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He
begetteth not, nor is He begotten, and there is none
like unto Him.” [Al-Qur’an 112:1-4]
Some non-Muslims allege that the concept of God
in Islam is that of a stern and cruel God who
demands to be obeyed fully. He is not loving and
kind. Nothing can be farther from the truth than
this allegation. It is enough to know that with the
exception of one, each of the 114 chapters of the
Qur’an begins with the verse: “In the Name of
Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful” In one of the
sayings of Prophet Muhammad (p) we are told:
“God is more loving and kinder than a mother to
her dear child.”
Besides being Merciful, God is Just too. Hence
evildoers and sinners must have their share of
punishment and the virtuous their rightful reward.
Actually, God’s attribute of Mercy has full
manifestation in His attribute of Justice. People
suffering throughout their lives for His sake and
people oppressing and exploiting other people all
their lives should not rec