QV05.....Is Allah the God of Muslims?

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We were discussing the 5 essential commandments of Islam as listed by the Holy Quran. Let us now see the first commandment, namely “Worship Allah”.

Many of us think that Allah is the God of Muslims. And so do even some Muslim. But is that the case?

I remember the simile Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (Guru of Swami Vivekananda) used to give. He used to say that just because different people call water by different names, it does not become different.

A Bengali calls it Jol, a Bihari calls it paani, a Goan calls it Udak. If you go to south India, the same Jol is called Niiru in Kannada, or Tanni in Tamil. Does it make the Jol of Bengalis any sweeter than the Tanni of the Tamils? No, it is the same water. It tastes the same and has the same properties.

So, Allah is not just the God of Muslims. It is just a name used by the Muslims to denote God. In many places, Quran clearly says that the Yahve of the Jews is none other than Allah. The difference is only in the name.

So, when Quran says “Worship Allah”’, it just means that “worship God”. Whether you call him Allah, or Yahve or Brahma, is immaterial.


There is a nice saying in the 5000-year-old Rig Veda (ancient Indian scripture)

“They call him Indra, Varuna, Vayu, and so on. But the reality is that the same one is called by different names” (Rig-Veda Book I, Section 164, Verse 46)

Does it mean that no matter what you call him, he is the same God? Then why is there so much fuss about Mono-theism and Poly-theism? If you look back into history, most of the religious fights and differences stem from this single issue.

What is God after all? We need to look into the definition of God.

Quran says that

“God is the one who created this world. He is the one who nourishes it. And he is the one to whom this world finally returns”

If you apply this test to what you call as God, you can clearly rule out who is not God – just the name is not sufficient.

You may be surprised to know that even the 5000-year-old Vedas give the same definition for God or Brahma as they call it. They say

“(Brahma is) that from which all the beings came into existence, that which sustains them and that into which they finally converge”. (Taitarïya Upanishad, Section Bhriguvalli, Verse 1)

So where is the fight? A Vedic Indian is no different in view from the Quranic Muslim, as far as the concept of God is concerned. It is just that one calls him Brahma and the other calls him Allah.

Water is water whether you call it Paani, Tanni, NIru, or whatever!

So, Allah is not just the God of Muslims, but also of the Jews, of the Christians, and even the Hindus, or whoever believes in the concept of God.

 

“Wa ilaahukum illaahunw waahid, laaa ilaaha illaa Huwar Rahmaanur Raheem” (Quran 2.163) 

“Your Allah is One Allah. There is no god but He, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.”

Quranic verses episode 5

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Based on verses from Holy Quran. The interpretation is by Dr.King. The Quran recitations are from various sites such as Quran.net, Quran411.com and so on.