A Letter to a Dear One — Page 21
Muhammad Zafrulla Khan 21 In other words, nothing is beyond Allah. He has power over everything. However, His way is such that when He has an objective, He commands a change in the apparent causes of the objective. This change is such that men of understanding see Allah’s manifestation in the change, but people with diseased hearts who have lost their spiritual insight consider such changes and reformations natural consequences of the apparent causes. We cannot compare or analogize Allah with any other being. There is nothing like Him. The span of language is limited; therefore we are forced to use the same metaphors and similes for Allah that we have for human use. These words, in their general connotations are not truly applicable to Allah’s Being and His attributes. Therefore, even after the most extensive praise of the Almighty, we still have to say, K YMçG é I äI¾M¦I¿G ò G ÔMÃG ö [42: 12], nothing is like Him. For instance, He speaks but we cannot say that He has a tongue or a mouth or that He is dependent on air to get His message across to His servants. He sees the minutest and the most concealed, but we cannot say that He has eyes. He hears the human heart beat but we cannot say that He has ears. Such limitations are only for us. Allah’s being is much lofty for all this. East, west, north and south, day, night, light and darkness, months, years, and centuries; in short, time and era all are limitations of man and this world and they all are consequences of the mutual connections of the earth, moon and the sun. All these are the creation of Allah, as indeed are their consequences. He is the Creator and commands them all. He is not bound by any of this. He is free from time and age and rises above it all. Similarly, He is higher than all human standards and all human capabilities which are related to human life, His being is free from it all and above it all—therefore, we cannot compare or analogize His being within these limitations—but He is everywhere at all times. That is to say, His being is free from the restriction of time and space. He was here before time began, for He created time and age. He is in and outside each place, as He created all space. Our senses do not feel Him for He is infinite, non-material and exquisite. For instance, our eyes cannot see Him but they can see the manifestations of His attributes. His attributes are so exquisite that our mind cannot comprehend them. He is so remote and distant that our intellect cannot