ODXA has posted updates for Target Listening frequencies by time and
country for July,2009. American and English Survey lists have also
been updated.Some new regular monthly feature articles for July as
well. All files are PDF.
Kudos for a fine effort by all at ODXA . Much appreciated !!
www.odxa.on.ca
Good Listening from SW4ever...

SW4ever wrote:

ODXA has posted updates for Target Listening frequencies by time and
country for July,2009. American and English Survey lists have also
been updated.Some new regular monthly feature articles for July as
well. All files are PDF.
Kudos for a fine effort by all at ODXA . Much appreciated !!
www.odxa.on.ca
Good Listening from SW4ever...

A very good resource for the country hunter.

dxAce
Michigan
USA

Descriptions of Allah
Published by Alyaa on 2009/4/19 (38 reads) The Qur'an, however,
attributes to Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) certain descriptions like
for instance:
The Beneficent is firmly established on the throne.( 20:5 )
Everything will perish except his Countenance.( 28:88 )

That you are brought up under my eye.( 20:29 )

Allah's hand is above their hands.( 48:10 )

The heavens are rolled in his right hand.( 39:67 )

One whom I created with my two hands.( 38:75 )


And the like. How can we understand these descriptions? Does Allah
(Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) have organs similar to ours? These and other
verses in the Qur'an are part of what is called allegorical verses in
the holy book whose real meaning only Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala)
knows. This is referred to in the following verse:

It is He who has sent down to you the book, in it are verses of
established meaning, they are the foundation of the book while others
are allegorical. But those in whose hearts is perversion follow what
is allegorical in it seeking discord and attempting to interpolate it.
No one, however, knows its real interpretation except Allah. Those who
are firmly grounded in knowledge say: we believe in it; each is from
our lord. No one will remember except those who have reason.( 3:7 )

Based on this verse and following the injunctions of prophet Muhammad
p.b.u.h. Early scholars including leaders of the major four schools of
thought took the following attitude. They said: we believe in these
descriptions of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) but leave the knowledge of
their reality to Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala). We should abstain from
interpreting them on the lines of similar descriptions ascribed to
humans; this is simply because as prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h. Warned us:
think of Allah's creation and never think of Allah, for you will never
appreciate him as he deserves.(6) also Muslim scholars said that
whatever we think of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala), he is totally
different from what we think about him. In sahih Muslim Abu Hurairah
said: people will continue to argue and dispute until it is said: this
is the creation of Allah who created Allah? Whoever finds anything
like this let him say: i believe in Allah.(7) we glorify Allah
(Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) from the imagined description that might come to
our minds. This is because it is impossible for Allah (Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala) to be similar to mortals. Commenting on the verse that says:

The Beneficent is firmly established on the throne.( 20:5 )

Ummu Salama wife of prophet Muhammad said: it is not possible to
imagine how, but the divine establishment on the throne is not
unknown; faith requires that we accept this without any questions for
denying it borders on disbelief. The same attitude is adopted by early
scholars like Imam Malek and many others. Prominent scholars even
today have the same conviction. Another group of scholars, however,
tend to interpret these divine attributes in such a manner that
becomes the glory of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) although they warn
against taking them to be literally equivalent to human qualities. One
example of their approach is their interpretation of verse 75 chapter
38 where they took the two hands of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) to be
only for confirmation and to assert Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala)'s care
of his slave Adam.

In addition to the above two approaches the closer of which to Islamic
creed is the former although the latter is not excluded, there were
some perverted attitudes influenced by alien philosophies like the
Greek and other philosophies. One claimed that all these descriptions
are identical to human ones. Another group gave incarnate descriptions
of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) while a third group went to the other
extreme and denied all description of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala).
These groups died in the bud; and the only ones that remained to exist
are the first two which are very close to each other. The Qur'an gives
us a conclusive answer when it says about Allah (Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala):

Nothing is like Him and He is the Hearer, the Seer. ( 42:11 )

Based on this verse we can safely confirm these descriptions but we do
not compare them to any others. Rather we believe in them and accept
them as they are.

Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) does not perish:

Every soul will taste of death; and you will be paid your wages on the
day of judgement. Whoever is removed from the fire and is made to
enter paradise, he indeed is triumphant; and the life of the world is
but comfort of illusion. (3:185 )

One God in Heaven and Earth:

And He it is who is in heaven is God, and in the earth God; and he is
the Wise, the Knower. And blessed be he unto whom belongs the
sovereignty of heavens and earth and what is between them and with him
is the knowledge of the hour; and to him you will be returned. And
those unto whom they cry instead of him possess no power of
intercession, save them who bear witness to the truth in a state of
knowledge. If you ask them who created them, they will surely say:
Allah. How then are they turned away?( 43:84-88 )

Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) is the only lord of all:

Lord of the east and the west, there is no God save him. So choose him
alone for your defender. (73:9 )

A conclusive verse about Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) is the one
towards the end of chapter two that says:

Unto Allah belongs whatsoever is in heavens and whatsoever is in the
earth; and whether you reveal what is in yourselves or conceal it
Allah will bring you to account for it. He will forgive whom he will
and he will punish whom he will and Allah is capable of all things.
The messenger (Muhammad) believed in that which was revealed to him
from his Lord and so did believers. Each one believed in Allah, His
angels, His books and His messengers; and they said: we heard and we
obeyed. Your forgiveness our Lord. Unto You is the journeying. Allah
tasks not a soul beyond its capacity. For it is that which it has
earned and against it is that which it committed. Our Lord! Condemn us
not if we forget or err. Our Lord! Lay not on us such a burden as you
did lay on those before us. Our Lord! Impose not on us that which we
have not the strength to bear. And pardon us, forgive us and have
mercy on. You are our protector. So grant us victory over disbelieving
folk. ( 2:284-286 )

The ninety nine attributes:

Prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h. Said: "Allah has ninety nine names one
hundred minus one, whoever counts them will enter paradise".(8) the
Qur'an also confirms this fact:

Unto Allah belong the most beautiful attributes, appeal to Him through
them; and leave the company of those who blaspheme his names. They
will be requited what they used to do.( 7:180 )

And again:

Allah: there is no God save Him. His are the most beautiful names.
( 20:8 )

So according to these statements and verses of the Qur'an what are the
ninety nine names of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala)? They are mentioned
in the Qur'an. We already quoted the greatest verse in the Qur'an
called the verse of the divine chair 2:255. Sometimes the Qur'an
mentions a number of these divine names together. Sometimes a couple
of them conclude some verses of the Qur'an and this happens very often
in the holy book. Numerous verses are concluded with two attributes of
Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) that are appropriate to the context and
the theme of the verses. If the context is one that extols the power
and wisdom of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala), then the conclusion is
thus: and he is the mighty, the wise. If the verse speaks about
forgiveness and mercy, then the conclusion is thus: and he is the all-
forgiving, the merciful and so on and so forth. Most of the time many
verses are concluded with two attributes; and very rarely with one.

Before we review the ninety nine names or attributes of Allah
(Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) let us quote a few verses that mention several
divine names. In chapter 59 we read:

He is Allah, than whom there is no other God; the Knower of the unseen
and visible. He is the Beneficent, the Merciful. He is Allah, than
whom there is no other God, the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One, the
Peace, the Keeper of faith, the Guardian, the Majestic, the Compeller,
the Superb. Glorified be Allah from all that they ascribe as partners
(to him). He is Allah the Creator, the Evolver, the Fashioner. His are
the most beautiful names; and He is the Mighty, the Wise.( 59:22-24 )

Now that we have reviewed some divine attributes, let us enumerate the
ninety nine names that any one who counts them and believes in them
will enter paradise.

Allah is: the Beneficent, the Merciful, the Sovereign, the Holy One,
the Source of Peace, the Guardian of Faith, the Overwhelming, the
Mighty, the Irresistible, the Supreme, the Creator, the Evolver, the
Fashioner, the Ever Forgiving, the Subduer, the Grantor of Bounties,
the Provider, the All-Knowing Judge, the All- Knower, the Withholder,
the Extender, the Abaser, the Exalter, the Honourer, the Humiliator,
the All-Hearer, the All-Seer, the Arbiter, the Justice, Beyond All
Comprehension, the All-Aware, the Most Forebearing, the Glorious, the
Oft- Forgiver, the Most Thankful, the Mot High, the Greatest, the
Guardian, the Saviour, the Holder of Careful Accounts, the Majestic,
the Generous, the Watcher, the Rresponder, the All-Eembracing, the
Wise, the Most Loving, the Owner of Glory, the Resurrector, the
Witness, the Truth, the Most Trusted One, the Powerful, the Steadfast,
the Patron, the Praiseworthy, the Keeper of All Statistics, the
Beginner of Creation, the Restorer of life, the Giver of life, the
Causer of death, the Ever Living, the Self Subsisting, the Founder,
the Deserver of all Praise and Honour, the One, the Eternal Absolute,
the Capable, the Omnipotent, the Forwarder, the Giver of Respite, the
First, the Last, the Manifest, the Invisible, the Protector, the Most
Eminent, the Source of All Good, the Acceptor of Repentance, the
Punisher, the Pardoner, the Most Kind, the Owner of the Universe, the
Lord of Majesty, Bounty and Honour, the Just, the Gatherer, the Self
Sufficient, the Giver of Wealth, the Preventer, the Harmer, the Giver
of Profit, the Light, the Guide, the Orginator, the Everlasting, the
Inheritor, the Most Upright, the Most Patient.

These are the important divine names agreed upon by many scholars
based on the Qur'an. It is not enough, however, to enter paradise just
to count the ninety nine divine attributes mentioned earlier, but one
has to believe in them seriously and to manifest his belief in pious
actions. So it is not simply a lip service to them; but rather the
sincere commitment to these attributes that brings salvation and
bliss.

There are also other names of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala); some
scholars counted more than two hundred as Imam al-Qurtubi says in his
Qur'anic interpretation volume 7 page 325. One may notice some
similarities in the names, or may even claim the existence of
repetition among them. This is not the case. It is only the difficulty
to translate their meanings that might give this wrong impression.

I remember once an argument between a Muslim scholar and a Christian
priest. The latter imagined that he caught something against Islam
when he said: you blame us for saying that god is a trinity while you
have ninety nine gods. The Muslim scholar laughed and then said: don't
confuse between attributes or names of the one god, and the trinity
which is three persons. These attributes describe the only one god in
his capacities, qualities and actions. They all refer to the same god,
the one divine being.

Some perverted people evolved some so-called miracles around number
19. They said that it is composed of two simple numbers, namely 1
which is the first simple number. Thus they claim that it refers to
god being the first, and 9 which is the last simple number, thus,
according to them it refers to god as the last. Based on these claims
they said that this number refers to Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) the
first and the last and they thus claim that it is the foundation of
the Qur'an. They then took one more step and said that the first verse
in the Qur'an which occurs at the beginning of every chapter of the
holy book namely: in the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful
is composed in Arabic of 19 letters. Then they began to make baseless
conclusions. They even reached the extreme and said that the day of
judgement will take place after more than 250 years or so and their
leader finally declared himself a messenger of Allah (Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala)! The fact of the matter is that the whole theory falls to
ashes when we confirm that the said verse on which they based their
theory is, in fact, 21 letters and not 19. The Qur'an or god, for that
matter, does not need these baseless claims. He is enough for
believers and his book the Qur'an, introduces him without the need of
any further theories.

God is not Muhammad:

Some non-Muslim writers call Muslims Muhammadans and Islam
Muhammadanism as an analogy of Christianity called after Jesus Christ,
Buddhism called after buddha etc. Muslims do not worship Muhammad or
any other. Their only deity is Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) the god.
Muhammad was nothing but the trusted conveyer of Allah (Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala)'s message. The most honourable title given to Muhammad in the
holy Qur'an is that he is the slave and messenger of Allah (Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala) almighty. He himself warned his followers not to raise him
above his human status. He said: only say i am the slave and messenger
of Allah.(9)

Another important distortion that has to be clear is the claim that
the Qur'an is the word of Muhammad. Time and again the Qur'an asserts
that it is the revelation of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala). The Qur'an
says:

And if he (Muhammad) had invented false sayings concerning Us, We
would assuredly had taken him by the right hand; and We would have
then severed his life artery.( 69:44-46 )

About the Qur'an we read in the same holy book:

It is the revelation of the Lord of the Worlds; the Honest Spirit
descended with it unto your heart (Muhammad) so that you may be one of
the warners, in a clear Arabic tongue.( 29:192-195 )

Muhammad p.b.u.h. Was not the first but the last messenger of Allah
(Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala). A series of prophets before him were sent by
Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) to different people at various times
conveying the same message of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala). The problem
of some people is that they do not understand the position of
prophets. On the one hand these prophets were not self appointed
individuals who claimed divine descent but they were chosen by Allah
(Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) based on their piety and righteous deeds. And as
all previous messages were changed or lost, Muhammad, the praised one,
was sent by Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) with the last message to the
worlds. He is the last messenger simply because his message is the
culmination and completion of all previous messages. That is why Allah
(Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) preserved the Qur'an. The holy book Muslims have
today is exactly the same book revealed to Muhammad p.b.u.h. Over
fourteen centuries ago. Why then should we have another message or
another prophet?

To conclude, this is how Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) is described in
the Qur'an the word of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) to all the worlds.
It is time to listen to Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) and believe in his
word that shows us the way to him and to salvation. This booklet is
just an attempt to guide the fair minded people to Allah (Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala) the Almighty the Only Lord.