Through Force or Faith? — Page 32
?— A Reply to Pope Benedict XVI 32 in any company or before God Himself, inasmuch as he is furnished with strong arguments. But a believer in an artificial god is always in great distress. Instead of putting forward reasons he describes every senseless thing as a mystery so that he should not be laughed at and thus he seeks to hide established errors. God is ُ ْمِن ُ الْعَزِيز ُ الْجَبَّار ی َ ُ الْمُه الْمُتَكَبِّر , Guardian over all and Supreme over all. He sets everything right and is exalted above everything. َُّ هُو َ الل َسْمَاء الْحُسْنَى ْأ الْخَالِق ُ الْبَارِئ ُ الْمُصَوِّر ُ لَه ُ ال , He is the Creator of bodies and souls. He gives shape to the bodies in the womb. All beautiful names that can be conceived of belong to Him. ُ م ی َرْض ِ وَهُو َ الْعَزِيز ُ الْحَكِ ْأ يُسَبِّح ُ لَه ُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَات ِ وَال , those in the heav- ens and the earth glorify Him, which is an indication that there is life in the planets and that the dwellers therein fol- low divine guidance. He has power to do all that He wills, which is a great reassurance for His worshippers for if God were not powerful and were helpless, nothing could be expected from such a God, and then He says: َ ن ی ِ ِرَب ِّ الْعَالَم ْب ُ دَعْوَة َ الدَّاع ِ اِذَا دَعَان ی ِ م ِ مَالِك ِ يَوْم ِ الدِّين ِ - اُج ی الرَّحْمـن ِ الرَّحِ He is the Sustainer of all the worlds, Gracious, Merciful and Master of the Day of Judgment. He has not committed His power to anyone else. He responds to the call of everyone who calls on Him, that is to say, He accepts prayer. ُ ُّوم ی َ الْق ُّ الْحَي , he is the Ever-Living and All-Sustaining. If He were not Ever-Living there would be fear lest He should die before us. He is Single, has no father and no son and no equal