The Christian Concept of God
In the same manner, when the Christians assert that their God is Christ and then they state in his relation that he was beaten at the hands of the Jews, Satan continued to test him, hunger and thirst took their toll on him, and he was put on the cross in a state of failure, what wise person would be prepared to believe in such a God? Therefore, in this manner, all of these nations are put to shame when they speak of the God in whom they believe. A Muslim, however, is never embarrassed in any gathering when they speak of their own God, because any merit and excellent quality that one can fathom is possessed by the God in whom they believe; and He is pure from any defect or evil that one can imagine. In Surah al-Fatihah, Allah is declared to be the possessor of all praiseworthy qualities. In truth, َحْمُدِہلِل ْ ال)َAll praise belongs to Allah) corresponds with دُ ُ َّ َ اكَ نْعب ي ِ ا) Thee alone do we worship). After this appears نَ ْ ٰعَلِمي ْ ال ب ِّر)َLord of all the worlds) and the task of divine providence (rububiyyat), is to nurture and bring to perfection, just as a mother nurtures her child, cleans it, keeps it away from all kinds of filth and uncleanliness and feeds it milk. In other words, one could say a mother helps her child. Now corresponding to this we have here نُْ َّ َ اكَ ن ْسَتِعي ي ِ ا) Thee alone do we implore for help) ْح ٰم ِن then and َّ الر)َthe Gracious), who bestows His grace without a desire from man, prior to his request and before any deeds are performed; if our body was not fashioned in its present form, we would not be able to prostrate, or bow. Therefore, َّ َ اكَ ن ْسَتِعي ي ِ ا) Thee alone do we implore for help) has been stated here to correspond with divine providence (rububiyyat). Just as a garden cannot grow and flourish without water, in the same way, if one is deprived of the water of God’s grace, we too cannot flourish and grow. A tree conducts water through xylem vessels and openings that extend from their roots. Botany tells us that the branches of a tree pull water upwards and possess a capacity to absorb. Similarly, servitude to God also possesses an absorbing capacity, which draws in and sucks the grace of God. ْح ٰم ِن ,Hence َّ الر)َthe Gracious) corresponds with مَ ْ ِي ُمْسَتق ْ َ َ اط ال ِ ْه ِدَن ِّ ا الصر ا) Guide us in the right path); that is to say that if we were not blessed with God’s graciousness (rahmaniyyat), and if God had not bestowed these strengths and faculties upon us, how could we have derived benefit from this divine grace? (Malfuzat Page 209-210)
[The original source is Al-Hakam, vol. 5, no. 33, dated 10 September 1901, pp. 1-2]
