Who Is Allah?
“Allah” is the name God most often uses to describe Himself in the Qur’an. Likewise, it is the Arabic cognate of the Hebrew and Aramaic words Elohim and Alaha that all Biblical Prophets, including Jesus, upon him be peace, used to call upon Him. But who indeed are we calling upon with this name?
The best introduction to Allah comes from Allah Himself in the opening chapter of the Qur’an known as the Fatihah. This is a chapter that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ called “the mother of the Qur’an” because it distills our scripture’s knowledge of God, and humanity’s relationship to Him, down into seven simple verses. Let’s look at the first four verses to see how they describe Allah:
In the Name of Allah, the Ever Merciful, the Especially Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds
The Ever Merciful, the Especially Merciful
Sovereign of the Day of Judgement
The first verse of this chapter is one that we find at the beginning of nearly every chapter in the Qur’an. In it, Allah identifies Himself by His two predominant attributes: al-Rahman, the Ever-Merciful and al-Raheem, the Especially Merciful. Mercy is emphasized twice here because it is the primary means through which God interacts with humanity. His greatest mercies to us are giving us existence after non-existence, and granting us bodies, minds, and souls that allow us to survive in this world. The mercy that comes from al-Rahman is the kind of mercy that is constant and unwavering because we could not exist without it. In addition, we receive from Allah as al-Raheem the kind of mercies that we often refer to as the blessings in our lives--companionship of friends and family, sustenance to provide for ourselves and others, or luxuries purely for our enjoyment. To draw an analogy to many of our childhoods, the first kind of mercy equates to the food, water, clothing and shelter our parents provided us while the second kind of mercy is analogous to an allowance, the kinds of clothing we like, and the occasional dessert.
In the second verse, Allah identifies Himself as “Lord of the worlds.” This implies all of the connotations of the word “Lord” that we understand in English. Allah is master of the heavens and the earth, and all that is in between them; He rules over them with a watchful eye; and He ultimately sits in judgement over every one of us. However, there is more to Rabb, the Arabic word for Lord. A rabb is also a nourisher, a sustainer, and a cherisher of those whom he rules. Rabb is closely related to tarbiya, raising children or even crops--an act that requires as much love and care as it does power and might. Allah’s name al-Rabb builds upon al-Rahman and al-Raheem: He rules the universe in accordance with His mercy.
This mercy is reiterated in verse three, a point that we will return to.
In verse four, Allah returns to another of His majestic attributes, Malik, meaning sovereign or king. Here He identifies Himself as the sovereign of the Day of Judgement, a day when all of humanity will stand before Him to account for their actions in this world. This verse brings Allah’s description of Himself in this chapter full circle: He is a merciful Lord who created all the worlds, who rules over them, and to whom we all ultimately return. This is the essential knowledge of God that humanity needs as well as the answer to the question, “Who Is Allah?” He is our Creator, our Sustainer, and our final destiny.
The Fatihah, like the Qur’an, is a bottomless ocean and there is no end to the wisdom we can derive from it. But let’s look at two more lessons from this chapter. The first is that while Allah is One God, unique and without partner, He has many names that we can use to call upon Him. The Fatihah introduced us to a few: al-Rahman, al-Raheem, al-Rabb, and al-Malik. Allah informs us of ninety-nine of His names throughout the Qur’an and instructs us to call upon Him by these names: "Say: Call upon Allah or call upon the Ever-Merciful. However you may call, to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names." (17:110)
The second lesson is in how we are to relate to these names. These four verses of the Fatihah alternate between mentioning names of beauty, al-Rahman and al-Raheem, and names of majesty, al-Rabb and al-Malik--keeping them in perfect balance. So too are we to balance our relationship to His beautiful and majestic attributes. Allah’s beautiful qualities, His mercy, love, and forgiveness inspire hope and unencumbered worship in us whereas His majestic qualities inspire fear and careful fulfillment of His commands and prohibitions. Excessive focus on either can lead us into carelessness or undue strictness in our religion. Allah reveals both His aspects in the Fatihah to introduce us to the balance we must strike in our worship and worldly conduct. Yet just as He first mentions His beautiful qualities, al-Rahman and al-Raheem, so too are we to remember that mercy is His primary mode of interaction with His creation. As the Messenger of God ﷺ informs us: “When Allah completed the creation, He wrote in His book with Him upon the Throne: Verily, My mercy prevails over My wrath.”
And Allah knows best.