Religion of the ancient Arabs

To understand the preaching angle of the Holy Qur’an and the Messenger of Allah we should be familiar with the environment and circumstances in which the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S. A. W.) had to preach.
According to early Arabian tradition, when Allah expelled Adam and Eve from paradise, after their sin of disobedience, Adam landed on a mountain in Sri Lanka and Eve fell on mount Arafat. After a hundred years of wandering they met at Mecca, where Adam, as per the instruction and design given by Allah, constructed a temple called the Ka'ba, and placed in its foundation the famous Hajar Al-Asvad, or "The Holy Black Stone", which had also fallen from paradise when the primal couple fell. This stone had once been whiter than milk, but had since turned black on account of the sins of the pilgrims, who touched and kissed it. (98, p. 7) According to one tradition, this holy stone had previously been a guardian-angel of Adam. Because this angel had not been cautious enough, Adam was induced by Iblis (Satan) to disobey Allah. In this way Adam fell from paradise and this guardian-angel turned into stone and fell after him. (131, p. 30) Thus, according to tradition, the Ka'ba was originally founded by Adam, and after his death rebuilt by his son Seth.

Tradition further says, that Mecca stands on the spot exactly beneath Allah's throne in heaven and that the Ka'ba is an exact replica of the tabernacle in heaven in which angels offer prayers to Allah. The Ka’ba is a cubic shaped building with a height of 45 feet. Ka'ba actually means "cube".

According to Arab historians, after the Flood, Sim, a descendent of Noah, established his home in the Arabian peninsula and he became the origin of several tribes. One grandson of Sim was Katan, and his grandson, Yarab, formed the Yemen state. The word Arab originated from the name of this descendent of Sim. (66, p. 6)

At the time of the Flood, the Ka'ba Seth rebuilt was destroyed. (51, p. 5) It was again rebuilt by Abraham and his son Ishmael. For rebuilding the Ka'ba, the Archangel Gabriel (Hazrat Jibraeel; ‘Aliaihis-salam, Peace be on him) brought Abraham a flat stone (Makam Abraham) on which Abraham stood and which served him as a moveable scaffold while building the Ka'ba. That stone rose and fell under Abraham’s feet as he required. Today this stone still bears his foot-prints. Now it is enclosed in an iron case and the pilgrims offer prayers before it. (98, p. 133)

When the temple was almost complete Abraham decided to place a noticeable stone in one corner so that pilgrims could start their ritual circumambulation around the Ka'ba from that point. At that time, the Archangel Gabriel showed Abraham the Holy Black Stone that had been missing when the Ka’ba was last destroyed. This Holy Back Stone was placed in the south-eastern corner of the Ka'ba. Later on, the Ka'ba was again rebuilt by the clan of the Amalikah, descendants of Noah. Then again by Banu Jurhum, who also descended from Noah through Katan. Several hundred years before the revelation of the Holy Qur’an, the Ka'ba was rebuilt again by Kusay ibn Qilab, who had led the Quraysh tribe to Mecca. At that time, according to the historian Azraqi, the Ka'ba was 4.5 meters (13.5 feet) high without a roof, and there were venerated stones in all four corners.

Today the Black Stone and the Ka'ba represent a sanctuary consecrated to God since time immemorial, and it is towards the Ka'ba that Muslims orient themselves in prayer. Thus the Ka'ba is a spiritual center, a support for the concentration of consciousness upon the Divine Presence. If one makes the ritual prayer inside the Ka'ba, it can be made in any direction. The Black Stone is in the south-east corner, set 1.5 meters from the ground. It is black with reddish tones and yellow particles, of ovoid shape, about 11 inches (28cm) wide and 15 inches (38cm) high, and set in a silver casing. In the opposite corner, set somewhat lower, is another stone of a reddish color, Hajar As-Sa’Adah (The Stone of Felicity). It is the center of the Ka'ba which marks the direction of the qiblah, the focal point of ritual prayer.

Thus, the Ka'ba had been built by Adam for the worship of the one God. It was called the "House of Allah". It is also called Al-Bayt Al-Haram, "The Holy House", and Al-Bayt Al-'Atiq, "The Ancient House".

In this way, the ancient Arabs accepted the one Almighty God and worshipped him. But they also believed that some human beings are outstanding in their relationship with Allah and their intercession on behalf of others is accepted by Allah. To reach Him is difficult for ordinary human beings, so people must have others to intercede for them to attract Allah's notice and help. The people of Mecca, therefore, had made images of holy and righteous persons and worshipped them. They also made offerings to these images in order to please Allah through them. (70, p. 1)

The ancient Arabs believed that Allah had entrusted the discharge of the various functions of the universe to different gods and goddesses. People would therefore turn to these gods and goddesses to invoke their blessings in all sorts of undertakings. (96, p. 22) They prayed to them to intercede before Allah and to pass their desires on to Allah. Arabs of the Syrian desert considered Al-Manat, "Goddess of fortune" as the consort of Allah and mother of gods. Some deities such as Al-Lat, "Goddess of sky" and Al-Uzza, "Goddess of Venus" were considered the daughters of Allah. (78, p. 27) The people of Yemen worshipped the sun. Other tribes worshipped the moon, while others worshipped the stars. Most of them, however, worshipped idols. Almost every tribe had its own idol. At Dumat-ul-Jandal, in the north of Hijaz, was the temple of Wadd. The idol was the image of a man, cut out of stone and covered with two mantles. It carried a sword and a bow on its shoulders, a quiver full of arrows upon his back and a javelin with a small flag attached near the spear-head in his hand.

The goddess Al-Manat had her temple at Qudaid on the sea coast, half-way between Mecca and Medina. The idol of Al-Manat carried two swords. The goddess Al-Lat was at Taif and was worshipped by the tribe of Bani Saqif who lived in that city. The idol was in the form of a square cut rock. Just as famous was goddess Al-Uzza, whose temple was situated in the valley of Nakhla, not far from Mecca. (87, p. 29)

In Hijaz and Hajd, Arabs worship the stones named betil, "House of Allah". They circumambulate and touch them so that the power contained in the stone passes to them. There were stationary betils and traveling betils. Traveling tribesmen carried betil on the backs of camels and priestesses played on drums and sang hymns. In addition to all these stones and deities, the Arab tribes also worshipped their forefathers. (41, p. 20)

Ancient Arabs believed that by preparing the sculptures of gods and goddesses and by performing proper rituals they could cause the actual gods and goddesses to manifest within the sculptures. They paid divine honors not merely to sculptured idols, but also venerated all types of beings and natural objects. Angels, jinns, or evil spirits, and stars were all their deities. They believed that the angels were daughters of Allah and the jinns were His partners in divinity. (21, p. 20) They would even worship pieces of stones, trees, and sand-heaps. They would fall prostrate before any fine piece of stone; they would worship sandhills after having milked their camel thereon. Going out on a journey they would carry four stones along with them, three to make a hearth for cooking while the fourth to serve as an object of worship. Sometimes no separate stone for worship would be carried. So after cooking was done any one of the three stones used as a hearth would be pulled out and worshipped. (97, p. 14)

Some Arab tribes worshipped fire, others, the male and female genitals, while sometimes some famous persons produced his own sculptures and forced others to worship them. (90, p. 17) Some tribal men made idols from dates which they and their children sometimes devoured to satisfy their hunger. (124, p. 8) These ancient Arabs also had some terrible customs, like sacrificing their new born baby-girl to idols or burying them alive.

Gradually the Ka'ba lost its influence and Mecca lost its prominence. To counter this, the city authorities decided to put a very influential deity named Hubal in the Ka'ba. (162, p. 21) It was brought from Moab, in Palestine. Seven arrows were placed in its hands. These were used for divination and omens. The Ka'ba was a famous place of pilgrimage and to make it more attractive for the Arab tribes, Meccans slowly started to collect different idols. Soon three hundred and sixty idols were installed within the Ka'ba and it’s courtyard. The deities of Al-Lat, Al-Manat and Al-Uzza were nicely dressed and decorated. Wadd, Sava, Yagus, Yauk and Nasr also were very honorable idols. Muslim historians claim that these idols were worshippable even before the Great Flood. Wadd is a personification of the sky in a male form, Sava had a female form, Yagus had the form of a lion, Yauk that of a horse, and Nasp that of a kite. There was another idol in the form of a big wooden pigeon.

The ancient Arabs worshipped these deities by offering incense, costly presents, food, etc. They bathed the deities with scented water, honey, and the blood of sacrificial animals.

In front of the Ka'ba there were two statues, one of a man and the other of a woman - Isaf and Naila. Tradition says that one day this young couple wanted intimacy and finding no other suitable place, entered the Ka'ba and polluted it with an ugly sin. Forthwith, they were punished by Allah and turned into stone. The people later discovered their petrified bodies exposed in the courtyard of the Ka'ba as a warning to one and all. But people’s ignorance was so great that even these statues were considered deities and adored. (119, p. 118) Inside the Ka'ba there were fresco paintings including those of Abraham and the virgin Mary with the baby Jesus. (119, p. 13)

The Arabs had a custom of performing a sevenfold circumambulation of the Ka'ba completely naked. Men performed this in the day time and women at night.

No doubt, the ancient Arabs believed somewhat in Allah, the one Lord of the heaven and earth, but they didn't worship Him. They worshipped the idols and thought the idols did everything for them, such as bringing them rain and riches, and carrying their prayers to Allah.

Thus from the history of the Ancient Arabs we can understand that in due course of time, the principles of true religion was distorted and people worshiped anything and everything beside the Supreme Lord. In this condition of the Arab peninsula the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S. A. W.) appears to reestablish the principles of true religion. As people were then worshipping various false fabricated deities, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S. A. W.) strictly forbade such worship; however, with the passage of time, it became traditionally conventional to reject all deities, regardless of their genuine or spurious nature.

Hanif - The Upright One

Now let us consider the particular details from the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallal-lahu alaihe wa Salam) before he started his preaching activities. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S. A. W.), son of Abdullah of the tribe of Quraysh, was born in Mecca on 29th of August, 570 A. D. in the house of his mother Amina. (90, p. 8) His father died before he was born, and his mother soon after. He was raised by his grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, a very respected person in Mecca. The Ka'ba was under his care. This temple, built by Adam and rebuilt by others for the worship of the one Almighty God, Allah, was still called the "House of Allah", but the chief objects of worship were some 360 idols, called daughters of Allah and intercessors.
The few who felt disgust at this idolatry, which had prevailed for centuries, longed for the religion of Abraham and tried to find out what were his true teachings. Such seekers of the truth were known as Hunafa (sing. Hanif), a word originally meaning "those who turn away" (from the existing idol worship), but came in the end to mean "upright" or "by nature upright", because such persons held the way of truth to be the right conduct. These Hunafa did not form a community, each sought the truth by the light of his own inner consciousness. (95, p. 4) They believed in life after death and that their destination after death depended upon personal conduct, hence they strove for virtue, freedom from sin, and resigned themselves to Allah's will. The Hunafa practiced asceticism. They retired from social life, lived in a solitary place and performed meditation. Thus amidst all this degradation there were people who tried to follow the principles of true religion and strive for God-realization.
The degradation of moral codes and religious principles had come to a point where a messenger of Allah was needed. He had to be the best of people from his community. So Hazrat Muhammad (S. A. W.), the upright one was chosen by Allah and empowered to fulfill Allah’s desire.
 

Hazrat Muhammad (S. A. W.) grew up under the care of his grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, who was in charge of the temple Ka’ba. Throughout his day Abdul Muttalib would be in front of the Ka’ba with his favored grandson Muhammad (S. A. W.). In this way Hazrat Muhammad (S. A. W.) picked up different religious traditions off the Meccans. He grew up to be a devotee of goddess Al-Uzza. The Apostle of God once mentioned Al-Uzza, saying: "I have offered a white sheep to Al-Uzza, while I was a follower of the religion of my people." (71, p. 17) But gradually Hazrat Muhammad (S. A. W.) began to realize the distortions in the religious practices of his countrymen. He was attracted to the religious activities of the Hunafas and after some years of cultivation he also came to be known as a Hanif. It was his practice to retire from his family to a cave in the desert for meditation for a period of one month every year. (168, p. 3) His place of retreat was Hira, a desert hill not far from Mecca, and his chosen month was Ramazan (December), the month of heat. It was there, one night towards the end of his stay, that the first revelation came to him when he was forty years old. (95, p. 4) This happened on the seventeenth day of Ramazan month (22nd of December, 610), that date is since named Al-Gadir, "Night of Power".
Hazrat Muhammad was asleep when he heard a voice calling him. When he opened his eyes he saw a bright dazzling light and fell unconscious. (74, p. 38) When he regained consciousness he saw an angel in the likeness of a man, carrying a written document enveloped in precious silk. The angel said, "Read!" He replied, "I cannot read". Indeed he was illiterate. The angel placed the document on his chest. Hazrat Muhammad felt as if a mountain had fallen upon him and thought that he would die of suffocation. Then, the angel lifted the document and repeated, "Read!" He replied, "I cannot read" and again the angel pressed him even stronger than before. A third time the angel commanded in a more terrible voice, "Read!"

"What have I to read?"

The angel said:

"Read: In the name of your Lord Who created,
Created man from a clot.
Read: Your Lord is Most Bountiful,
Who taught by the pen,
Taught man that which he knew not."

(Qur'an 96.1-5)

Hazrat Muhammad submissively repeated the words and they remained "as if inscribed in his heart". He went out of the cave, onto the hillside and heard the same awe-inspiring voice say, "O Muhammad! You are Allah's messenger and I am Gabriel." Then he raised his eyes and saw the angel standing in the sky above the horizon and again the dreadful voice said, "O Muhammad! You are Allah's messenger and I am Gabriel." Hazrat Muhammad stood still. Due to the brightness of the light he turned his face away, but whichever direction he would turn his face, the angel always stood there confronting him. He remained standing there for a long time until the angel vanished. (95, p. 5)
Thus the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S. A. W.) received the first revelation of the Holy Qur’an and was appointed as a messenger of God. Later on he received more and more revelations and finally Al-Qur’an was compiled in the shape of this sacred book. There are a number of scholars who doubt the authenticity of the Holy Qur’an and the way in which the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S. A. W.) received the Qur’anic revelations. They deny that Al-Qur’an is a revealed scripture; however, a closer look at the historic record of Qur’anic revelations and compilation of the Holy Qur’an affords one a clear view of the authentic nature of the Holy Qur’an. Now, how has the Holy Qur’an come to be in our midst? Let us explore.

The message the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallal-lahu alaihe wa Salam) got on mount Hira was the first in a series of revelations of Allah conveyed through the Archangel Gabriel. In this way, throughout the rest of his life he received revelations, which were later arranged into the 114 suras (chapters) of Al-Qur’an. At the time of each revelation his physical condition changed. His body became heavy and he started shivering and perspiring profusely. He heard bells ringing and would cry out and fall down unconscious.
The words which came to him at the time of these revelations are held sacred by Muslims. Those words are never confused with the words he uttered in a normal physical state. The words of the revelations comprise the Holy Qur’an. The words of the Prophet himself are called the Hadith. Because the Archangel Gabriel on mount Hira ordered him to read and insisted on his reading, despite his illiteracy, the Sacred Book is known as Al-Qur'an, "The Reading" - the reading of the man who did not know how to read. (95, p. 5)
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S. A. W.) said that the origin of revelation is the "Heavenly Book" or Ummul Kutub, "Mother Book", written by Allah and preserved under His Throne. Only part of this book was revealed in the Arabic language. (36, p. 50) Once the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S. A. W.) said, "The Qur'an was sent down in seven dialects." This statement is connected with the following incident:
Omer-ibn-al-Khattab said: "I heard Hisham-bin-Hacim-bin-Nizam read the chapter entitled Furkan, in another manner than that which I read it, and the Prophet taught me that chapter; and when I read it as he taught me, and he read it differently, I was near being angry with him: after that I waited, till he had finished reading; then I threw my garment upon his neck, and pulled him, and brought him to the Prophet, and said, "O Prophet, verily I heard this man read the chapter Furkan, in a different way from that which you taught me." And the Prophet said, "Let Hisham go," and he said to Hisham, "Read the chapter." And he read it in the manner that he had done; and his highness said, "Thus has this chapter descended." After that he said to me, "Read it," which I did as I remembered. Here also he said, "Thus was this chapter sent down." And as we were confounded when he said of both, thus it was sent down. Verily the Qur’an was sent down in seven dialects: than read what is easy and agreeable to you." (101, p. 521)
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S. A. W.) himself made distinctions in his various utterances. For some things he said, "This is the message of God, take it down, learn it by heart, recite it in ritual prayers. This is the Qur'an." For others, either he said that it was God's revelation or said nothing, yet in any case he did not demand that these should be included in the Holy Qur'an. These other sayings are the Hadith. The description of his activities is the Sunna. (119, pp. 120-121)
The Holy Prophet decided that the revelations of the fragments of the Holy Qur'an should not be compiled in the mechanical manner of chronological order. He himself gave them a different order. Thus the very first revelation, which significantly praises the "pen" as the custodian of human knowledge, is now in the 96th of the 114 suras of the Holy Qur’an. It was even necessary, since a sura was not always revealed in its entirety, but various parts came down at intervals. According to historians sometimes several suras were given simultaneously in the course of fragmentary revelations. So whenever a new passage was revealed the Holy Prophet indicated its exact place in what had been revealed up to that time. He himself not only gave the sequence of the verses, but also of the suras. This required constant revision and control. So every year in the month of Ramazan, the Holy Prophet had the habit of reciting the till-then-revealed Qur’an publicly and his companions brought their copies and collated and corrected everything. During the last Ramazan of his life he did this twice as a matter of further precaution. These collations and public recitations were called arada, "the presentation".
Since revelations continued to come up to the end of his life, no official edition of the Holy Qur’an could be published during his lifetime. When the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S. A. W.) passed away on the 25th May 632 and there was no possibility of new additions, the Caliph Hazrat Abu Bakr (Razi Allahu anhu) appointed a committee under the presidentship of the chief secretary of the Holy Prophet, the Ansarite Hazrat Zaid ibn Thabit (R. A. A.), to prepare a final version of the Holy Qur’an in the form of a book. Hazrat Zaid (R. A. A.) was himself a hafiz (memorizer), but as a further precaution the Caliph ordered that for every verse or word he put in writing, he should have two witnesses, two written documents collated during the "presentations" of the Holy Prophet. People were asked to bring their private copies to the mosque, and show them to Hazrat Zaid (R. A. A.) and his assistant. When the work was completed, Hazrat Zaid (R. A. A.) read it twice from beginning to end and all deficiencies were corrected. The final version remained with the Caliph Hazrat Abu Bakr (R. A. A.) and later was passed to his successor Caliph Hazrat Umar (R. A. A.), and then to Hazrat Umar’s daughter Hazrate Hafsa (R. A. A.), the widow of the Holy Prophet.
After some time, when Hazrat Osman (R. A. A.) became Caliph, he had the old copy brought to him and entrusted it to another commission, presided by the same Hazrat Zaid ibn Thabit (R. A. A.), who brought the spelling up to date and made seven copies. These were publicly read in the Grand Mosque of Medina to the satisfaction of everybody. They were then sent to different provincial centers of the vast Muslim empire with the order that henceforth other public copies should conform only with the official copy and any copy which differed from it should be destroyed. (119, p. 121) But owing to the fact that the Kufic script in which the Holy Qur'an was originally written contained no indication of vowels or diacritical points, various readings are recognized by Muslims as of equal authority. (55, p. 6)
The arrangement of the Holy Qur'an is not easy to understand. Revelations of various dates and on different subjects are to be found together in the same suras. Some of the Medina suras, though of late revelation, are placed first, and the very early Meccan suras placed at the end. In regard to the placing of the very early Meccan suras at the end, some authors propose that the inspiration of the Holy Prophet progressed from inward things to outward things, whereas most people find their way from outward things to things within. (95, p. 16)
Thus, in summary, Al-Qur'an is the word of Allah. It was revealed to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S. A. W.) in portions over a period of 23 years. It is divided into 114 chapters, or suras, containing in all about 6,200 verses, or ayats. The sayings of the Holy Prophet which he did not include in the Holy Qur'an are called Hadith. If the Holy Prophet had said, "Allah says that...", it is called Hadith Qudsi, the saintly saying. When there is no precision, it is Hadith. In addition to the Holy Qur’an and the Hadith the description of the Holy Prophet Muhammad’s (S. A. W.) conduct and activities is called the Sunna. (119, p. 122)
This is how the Holy Qur’an was compiled and preserved. It is considered a bona fide scripture by Muslims. Not only by Muslims but many world scholars and scientists also accept the Holy Qur’an as a authentic scripture. Worldwide renowned eminent scholar and great religionist Srila Prabhupada said in this regard:
"According to the climate, according to the population, according to the country, there are different books of knowledge. Just like in India the book of knowledge is accepted as the Vedas, Vedic knowledge. In your European, American countries the book of knowledge accepted as the Old Testament, New Testament. Similarly, the book of knowledge amongst the Muslims, (which) they have accepted as the Qur’an. Actually, they are book of knowledge, undoubtedly. There is no doubt about it. But what are these book of knowledge, religious scripture? Religious scripture means they are meant for training you to that conception of life that you are pure soul, nothing more. They restrict your bodily activities under certain conditions. That is called morality" (27, p. 6).
Another great religious reformer and original spiritual master was Shree Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He believes in one Almighty God and chanting His holy names is the main process of God-realization for this age. He vigorously preached and distributed love of God without consideration of creed, nationality or social position of recipient. According to historians he was a great expert in all revealed scriptures of the world.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S. A. W.) is quoted as saying, "In every one of its (Al-Qur’an’s) sentences there is an external and an internal meaning." (6, p. 50) The external meaning most people can understand. Therefore it is this internal meaning which lies hidden in the Holy Qur’an that I wish to scrutinize. Now, a most interesting discussion unfolds itself. It took place in the 15^th century between the saintly scholar Abdullah Patan and Shree Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who discussed the inner meaning of the Qur’anic verses. Through this discussion the hidden treasures of Al-Qur’an once again were revealed for the benefit of humanity.

Allahu nurus:
"Allah is the Light."

(The Qur'an 24.35)

Shree Chaitanya Mahaprabhu agreed with the Muslim scholar that "The Qur'an had certainly established impersonalism."
(Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 18.189)

In the beginning of his speech Mahaprabhu admitted that the Holy Qur’an certainly established impersonalism which means that the Supreme Absolute Truth is not a person and has no form. He is without hands, legs, mouth, ears or eyes. According to this conception, spirit is the denial of matter; whatever pertains to matter cannot pertain to spirit. Spirit is just the opposite of matter. The material world is a realm of forms and personalities. In contrast, the spiritual world is a realm where nothing like forms or personalities ever exist.
For example, the 35th ayat of the 24th sura of the Holy Qur'an, states, Allahu nurus - samawati wal - 'ard: "Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth."
In this way the Holy Qur'an describes the impersonal feature of Allah. First of all, it is explained that Allahu nurus: "Allah is the Light". Indeed, Allah is the original spiritual Light. He illuminates the whole universe. All effulgent objects of the creation took their origin from this spiritual Light.

Eminent scholar and ustad (spiritual master) Abdullah Yusuf Ali in his commentary (9, p. 1015) on the verse (24.35) writes:
"The physical light is but a reflection of the true Light in the world of Reality, and that true Light is Allah."
The sun and the moon reflect this true spiritual Light. The original spiritual Light penetrates the whole creation. It is omnipresent.

Furthermore, the following statement occur in the Holy Qur'an:
Inna llaha wasi 'un 'alim: "Behold! Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing." (2.115)

Thus Allah is Wasi, All-Embracing, that is to say, everything exists in Him. Whereas He is Alim, All-Knowing which means His knowledge is unlimited, perfect, absolute and eternal, our knowledge is limited, imperfect, relative and temporary.

It is stated in the sura "Al-Baqarah", or "The Cow":

Allahu la ilaha illa hu / al-Hayyul Qayyum / La ta' khuzuhu sina tun wa la nawm . . . Huwal 'Aliyyul 'Aziim: "Allah! There is no God but He, the Living, the Eternal. Neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him. . . . He is the Sublime, the Tremendous." (2.255)

This is the Ayat-ul-Kursi, the "Verse of the Throne". The attributes of Allah has nothing to do with qualities of this material world. He lives, but His life is eternal. It is not limited by time and space. His Life is absolute Life. His Being is absolute Being, while others are dependent and temporary. Allah’s life is self-sufficient. It does not depend upon other living beings. In fact, His life is the source and constant support of all derived forms of life. Perfect life is perfect activity, in contrast to the imperfect life which we see around us, which is not only subject to death but also to the need for rest and sleep. But Allah has no need for rest or sleep. His activity, like His life, is perfect and self-sufficient.

It stated in the same sura "Al-Baqarah", or "The Cow":

Wallahu Ganiyun Halim: "Allah is Absolute, Lenient." (2.263)

Thus Allah is Gani, "The Absolute" which means He is free of all wants. He is the Ultimate Truth and Supreme Perfection.

Furthermore the Holy Qur’an says:

Huwa al-awwal wa huwa al-akhir / wa huwa az-zahir wa huwa al-batin: "He is the First and the Last, and the Outward and the Inward." (57.3)

This is other reference that indicate Allah’s impersonal aspect: He is al-awwal wa al-akhir: "the First and the Last", namely, He is the beginning and the end of everything. He is az-zahir wa al-batin: "the Outward and the Inward", that is to say He is present outside and inside of everything.

Ustad Abdullah Yusuf Ali comments (9, p. 1687) on the verse (57.3):

"Allah is Evident in so far as there is ample evidence of His existence and providence all around us. On the other hand, Allah is Hidden in so far as intellect cannot grasp His essence nor can He be seen in the present world. The following tradition in Sahih Muslim is also significant for an understanding this verse. The Prophet (peace be on him) said: "You are the First, so that there was nothing before You; and You are the Last, so that there is nothing after You; and You are Evident, (or Ascendant) so that there is nothing above You, and You art the Hidden, the Knower of hidden things, so that there is nothing hidden from You."

It is stated in the sura "An-Nisa", or "The Women" of the Holy Qur’an:

Inna llaaha kana 'Aliyan Kabira: "Behold! Allah is Most High, Great." (4.34)
Thus Allah is Ali, Most High. No one is equal to or higher than Him. Allah is Kabir, Great. He is the greatest and no one greater than Him.
Also in the sura "Al-Hashr", or "The Gathering" we can find the following ayat:
Huwallaa . . . Salamul . . . 'Azizul . . . Mutakabir: "He is Allah, . . . Peace, . . . Majestic, . . . Superb." (59.23)

Thus Allah is Salam, "Peace". The attribute "Salam" has not only the idea of Peace as opposed to Conflict, but wholeness as opposed to incompleteness. Allah is Aziz, "Majestic" and Mutakabir, "Superb". He is above all things and creatures.

It is stated in the sura "Al-An’am", or "The Cattle":

La tudri-kuhul-'absaru / wa huwa yudrikul-'absar / wa huwal-Latiful-Khabir: "No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision. He is subtle and well-aware." (6.104)

So Allah is Latif, "Subtle". Latif means fine and subtle. So subtle as to be invisible to the eyes; so fine as to be imperceptible to the senses. No one can see Him, no one can understand Him.

Thus Allah is Nur - "Light", Wasi - "All-Embracing", Gani - "Absolute", Salam - "Peace", Aziz - "Majestic", Mutakabir - "Superb", Qayyum - "Eternal", Ali - "Most High", 'Aziim - "Tremendous", Kabir - "Great", Latif - "Subtle". All these attributes describe the impersonal nature of Allah. His impersonal aspect is a dazzling spiritual effulgence, which is unmanifested and beyond the reach of our senses, and our intellectual speculative capacity. The impersonal aspect of Allah has no legs and no hands, yet goes faster than all and accepts everything which is offered with devotion. He is self-effulgent. He is unembodied, beyond reproach, without veins, pure and self-sufficient. He walks and does not walk, He is far far away, but He is very near as well. He is within everything, and yet He is outside of everything, His power is inconceivable. Although fixed in His abode, He is swifter than the mind and can overcome all others running, He surpasses all in excellence. He is unlimited. No one can fully describe the transcendental nature of Allah, the Absolute. No one can fully understand the impersonal features of Allah. He is beyond the expression of the mind and speech.