The Shahadah
The Shahadah is the declaration of faith in Islam. It means "There is no God but The-God, and Muhammad is the messenger of The-God.
ALLAH is an arabic word that means The-God.
So basically, to be a Muslim (one who submits to God), you need to believe that God is God.
A lot of people say this or that is God. Islam (Submitting to God) is the only religion where we say God is God.
If you want to know why people deliberately say this or that is God instead of saying God is God. I'll answer you by simply saying: God have haters.
The Story behind this post: I opened an email from a non-Muslim thinker who has experienced a miracle in every religion (To him, every religion is convincing. So what's the true religion?) I replied...
Interesting thoughts.
As an Islamic thinker, I believe that every human being (religious or not) will experience miracles—because we are all made of soul and soil.
The soul comes from the Throne of ALLAH (ALLAH is an Arabic word that means The God).
The soul is sent through an angel into the womb of our mother after 120 days.
Before the 120th day, we grow like plants—a growth that is purely biological. That is why abortion is allowed in Islam before day 120. The moment we hit day 120, we receive souls. We become spiritual.
My point is this: there is no human being who is ordinary.
We are made of soul.
Therefore, we all carry greatness, and we will experience miracles.
We are made of soil.
Therefore, we are all weak. We get sick. We break.
The presence—or absence—of miracles does not indicate religious truth.
The Qur'an 38:79 tells us that the devil asked for a miracle. In verse 80, it was immediately granted.
This does not mean The God is pleased with the devil. In fact, the devil is going to hell—because he deliberately disbelieved and does evil.
Salvation and miracles are two very different things.
In summary, this life is not the day of reckoning so whatever miracle you experience here doesn't reflect your position with The Almighty God. He is The Creator and Maker of all that exists. The uncreated Creator. He sustains and tests. And there's no “evil” except that it is clear as a greater good for those who have been given deeper understanding (see Qur'an 18). You'll never understand the wisdom in cancer for a child if you view humans as beings whose journey starts and end in the realm of this world. To know your true status, you'll have to wait until the day of reckoning (this is a day that there's no doubt about).
In the realm of this world, HE (The Most High) sustains everything HE made. He is Al-Qayyum. That is One of His 99 names. He answers the calls/prayers of everyone in three ways. Some are immediate. And that is why they're called miracles. This happens to everyone (Muslim or not). Some mistake the intimate presence of The Almighty God in thier lives as a sign that HE is pleased with them. They have never learnt anything about The-God so they assume things about Him that is only true for humans.
The Qur'an makes it clear that long life isn't a sign of God's pleasure.
"And let not those who disbelieve think that [Our] delaying of them is good for themselves. We only delay them so that they may increase in sin, and for them is a humiliating punishment."
(Quran 3:178)
About Paradise and Hell-fire: There are different levels in Paradise and Hell.
Some people will receive greater punishment in Hell.
Some will receive greater enjoyment in Paradise.
It depends on your deeds. Hell is not generic. They are very different specific levels and types of punishment for different people.
Surah An-Nisa (4:40):
“Indeed, Allah does not do injustice, even as much as an atom’s weight…”
Another closely related verse:
Surah Al-Kahf (18:49):
“…And your Lord does injustice to no one.”
And also:
Surah Az-Zalzalah (99:7–8):
“So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it,
And whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.”
These verses all carry the same powerful message: nothing is overlooked, and Allah’s justice is perfect—down to the smallest possible amount.
The Qur'an speaks about our fingerprint. So know that the enjoyment of everyone and their punishment will be unique to them as each of our fingerprints are unique to us.
- Arabic: أَيَحْسَبُ الْإِنسَانُ أَلَّن نَّجْمَعَ عِظَامَهُۥ (3) بَلَىٰ قَادِرِينَ عَلَىٰ أَن نُّسَوِّىَ بَنَانَهُۥ (4)
- Translation: "Does man think that We will not assemble his bones? Yes. [We are] Able [even] to proportion [or reconstruct] his fingertips".
By the way, The God does not want to punish people.
ALLAH says:
“What would ALLAH do with your punishment if you are grateful and believe?”
— Qur'an 4:147
Some people deserve Hell because they transgressed against God by deliberately disbelieving.
The Qur'an repeatedly speaks about those who reject God after knowing the truth about Him.
How do you disbelieve in the One who made you and sustains you?
Some people will enter Hell because they transgressed against humans and/or animals. Even if they are Muslims (those who submit to God), they may enter Hell before Paradise.
Others transgressed against God, humans, animals, and the environment. So they're going to deeper parts of hell if they don't repent and do good.
ALLAH doesn't punish ignorance or mistake
Surah Al-Baqarah (2:286):
“Our Lord, do not take us to task if we forget or make a mistake…”
The Prophet ﷺ explained this verse when He said:
“Allah has pardoned for my ummah their mistakes, their forgetfulness, and what they are forced to do.”
This hadith (saying of the Prophet ﷺ) is reported in Sunan Ibn Majah (no. 2045) and also in Al-Mu'jam al-Kabir.
Another supporting verse from the Qur'an that makes it clear that Allah doesn't punish ignorance or mistake is Surah Al-Ahzab (33:5):
“There is no blame upon you for that in which you have erred, but only for what your hearts intended.”
Before the age of 10, I asked my mother how she became certain that Islam is the truth. So I will share part of her story.
My Mother’s journey to Islam
My mother experienced miracles in all the religions she practiced in her twenties.
She accepted Islam in her twenties, and she is still a Muslim in her 60s. Till today, her dreams still come true.
Part of what convinced her was the Qur'an.
The Qur'an (from the root word qara’a—to recite) is the only religious book that has remained unchanged from revelation until today.
It makes belief in all previous books of God obligatory—while also stating that those books have been altered.
We believe they were from God, but we do not follow their current content. We follow the legislation of the Qur'an.
The Qur'an was revealed to a Prophet who could not read.
“1, 2, 3” was revealed—and many memorised it.
“4, 5, 6” was revealed—and many memorised that too.
And so on, over 23 years.
This made the Qur'an impossible to alter.
It was not a book hidden with scholars and later changed.
It was a recitation—accessible to both the masses and scholars, immediately and simultaneously.
It is the promise of ALLAH that the Qur'an will forever remain preserved.
Surah Al-Hijr (15:9)
“Indeed, it is We who sent down the Reminder, and indeed, We will be its guardian.”
In Arabic:
إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ
About the Prophet (peace be upon him)
Sometimes, when he received revelation, people would see him sweating on a cold day.
He was corrected directly in the Qur'an multiple times (see Qur'an 80 and Qur'an 66).
He was sent to a society that mastered poetry. They could recite for hours.
Yet when they heard the Qur'an, they knew it was not human speech.
He lived among them for 40 years before revelation began, and they called him Al-Ameen (The Trustworthy).
The Prophet ﷺ said the human body has 360 joints.
Modern anatomy has identified roughly the same number.
You can learn more about him in The 100 by by Michael H. Hart, a non-Muslim author who ranked him as the most influential person in history.
Sincerely,
Hamidah Sẹ̀gílọlá Abbas
Founder, Hall of Light
Publisher, From Work Today (Threads)
