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Post by kamalhussain on Apr 18, 2006 2:22:35 GMT
Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu, Reading one of the questions (About Allah Taa'la ashraf786.proboards15.com/index.cgi?board=aqueed&action=display&thread=1138783407) has prompted me to ask something that I've wondered for a while now. If "what He [Allah] has said about Himself is solely for the underastanding of our purpose [and] because what we have in our brains, or what we percieve through our senses, is very limited, as He is the Unlimited" and Allah is "free from all things" is Allah not free from race, sex and gender? Why is it that Allah can only be referred to in the masculine? Is it haram to refer to Allah in the feminine, if so why? Also what does 'Allah' itself mean specifically? Jazak-allah khair for your time, Wa-salam. |
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Post by Imam on Apr 23, 2006 2:46:48 GMT
Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem Wa'alaykum 'Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa BarakatuhuAll Praise be to Allah who is the Lord of the Worlds, and may Endless Blessings be showered upon His Most Beloved, and Final Messenger of Islam, Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa aalihi wa Sallam)Jazak'Allah for your valued question. Allah, means the deity, the apotheosized, the God whom is worshipped. Actually part of the answer, lies in the very question that you have asked. Although Allah the Almighty is free from race and gender, nevertheless, to quote Him, is to quote Him in a context, that can be perceived by us all, regardless of whether we are masculine or feminine. The Arabic language has a use of masculine and feminine words. Allah is used in the masculine sense, so that we can understand, who He is, that He exists, and that He is to be worshipped alone. He is the One who created Adam (alayhis 'salam), as the first man, and through Him, amongst other Prophet's do we know of His existence. It would not be unjustifiable, to refer to Allah the Almighty in the feminine sense, as He has been referred to in the Qur'an al kareem, as it is mentioned (masculine). This is the beauty of the Arabic language, as He wished us to know Him, as He has stated it in His Book. To refer to Him, in any other way other than what He has prescribed, would be turning away from what He actual wants us to realise Him by. The Qur'an al kareem states: 'Qul huwallahu ahad' The word Hu is masculine. Similarly: 'Huwallahuladhi la ilaha illa hu' In both the 'Hu's', it is referred to as the masculine gender. Although He is free from all worldly characteristics, He has referred to it as being the masculine gender in His Book, and we must believe in that. Furthermore, it would have been an injustice, if He was referred to in the feminine sense, as man would not have enjoyed in relating to Him, as He does now, yet the man has the obligation of setting out what is correct, from what he perceives. Where would have this obligation be met had the reference been made to a feminine sense? Indeed, in a day and age, where masculine and feminine gender, which belongs to the humankind, and not to the Lord Himself, there is this fight of whether God should be referred to as masculine or feminine. The truth is that we should in turn remember Him the way He has prescribed for us, and that no attempt to change this, should ever be made. Otherwise, this will be the cause of distortion in religion. This is how it is stated in His Book, the Final Testament. May Allah the Almighty help us to overcome, questions, that are set against our minds, and may He make us the followers of the religion of Islam, just as the previous personalities of Islam have enjoyed. AminWallahu A'lamu BiththawaabM. Waseem Ashrafi
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