Understanding Islam — Page 204
IS ALLAH AN IMPERSONAL GOD? 202 it by a lexicon. We cannot give it more honour than is accorded it in a lexicon. Even when discussing the Word of God, we consult the lexicons to improve our understanding of the words and usage. In this case, the lexicon says that when a person is born of the seed of another, the person who drops the seed and has no further connection with his birth, is called his abb (Father). The Promised Messiah as then notes: If it should be desired to indicate that Almighty God is Himself the Conscious Creator of a person, and Himself leads him towards perfection, and out of His great mercy bestows appropriate bounties on him, and is Himself his Guardian and Supporter, the lexicon does not permit that these connotations may be expressed by the employment of the word ‘Father’; the lexicon provides another term for the expression of this concept, and that word is Rabb. . . We are not at all entitled to invent our own lexicon, and must follow the division of words established by God from the beginning. 1 What is more is that the word “Father” is derogatory and disrespectful when applied to God because it does not connote nurturing and love for