Who is Allah?

الله Allah

Who is Allah? 

The question that is on the minds of many Muslims and non-Muslims alike, and has been on my mind for a long time thus leading me to begin this search for Allah. 
In Arabic Allah can be translated as "God" or the single deity. The incomparable, One true God.For some the concept of this deity is hard to fathom. Even at 24 the concept of Allah is a mystery to me, but one I devote the remainder of my life to uncover and solve. 
Linguistically speaking the term has no plural or no gender which is common for most words deriving from the Arabic language. This makes it unique in the sense that it cannot be pluralised like the English word "God", therefore insinuating that there can be no comparison in phrase. Allah is Allah. 

"In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
Say (O Muhammad) He is Allah who is One, Allah the Internal Refuge, Who has not begotten nor has been begotten, nor is there to him any equivalent" Surah Al-Ikhlas

The Quran, the words of Allah can verify and vouch for this notion that Allah is One. The uniqueness and authenticity of the Quran itself is such a deep and profound topic that I will talk about it in another post so I beg your pardon for the referential use of the Quran throughout this first post. I assure you it will make sense upon further reading. 
Much of what we as human beings can gather about Allah can be found from the evidence given to us from his word, the Quran. Language provides us with the best form of communication and also within each word and sound are morals and attributes that are embedded as clues for us. If one can see the connecting thread between language morals and attributes - understanding the concept of Allah is surely a task that anyone can undergo.  

However this is not the case for most. After writing a thesis at university and providing many evidential sources on how language and morality/ moral philosophy are linked I have decided to begin my search for Allah through words. Rather than believe in a bed time story told to children in order to adhere them from committing violent acts of sin, I decided to look for Allah through the scriptures and words left here many years ago which still to this date remain unedited and untouched.
I guess it is difficult to continue without talking about the Quran itself so here goes.

With the exception of one, each of the 114 chapters of the Quran begin with the phrase:
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Bismillah-ir rahman-ir-raheem.
Let us look at this phrase in detail to examine and extract the morals and attributes which make up this phrase in order to try and understand the One, Allah.
Upon doing some research I discovered a great Author who really illustrates the beauty of this phrase and in order to commend him on his work I will reference it as this brother deserves recognition for helping many to establish an understanding of one of the most pinnacle points of Allah's nature.
All the following information on this phrase can be found and read in more detail on Brother Wahiduddin's website.
Thus let us quickly proceed into understanding this beautiful concept.

Ah..before we begin if I may beg pardon for a moments digression, any adjectives I use to describe this religion or this journey for seeking the One, are solely chosen to illustrate my opinion. In the beginning I thought of portraying a slightly less biased version of my journey in order to make it more palatable for you, the reader, however without the vivid descriptions and emotion I feel that I cannot truly bring you the essence of this journey and for that I beg your forgiveness in advance for what may seem like my own personal bias.


For the non-Muslim readers my intentions are only to show you my journey and if you were to decide upon yourself to join me then I can only be humbly grateful. I am in no intentional way challenging your beliefs and I ask that if you do read this - please keep an open mind and respect my passion. And as Gandalf so eloquently puts it: "Bilbo Baggins! Do not take me for some conjurer of cheap tricks! I am not trying to rob you! I'm trying to help you." :)


For my Muslim readers - there may be opinions or thoughts of mine that you disagree with and although we are but one Ummah, my journey and my relationship with the One is an individual one. For that reason alone I beg forgiveness in advance if there are things you may read on this journey that displease you. Some plants grow in sunshine and some plants grow in shade; Allah knows best where you will grow best, Trust Allah.
Thus let us finally proceed into understanding this ....Beautiful concept.

*See next post*

Peace and blessings to you all x