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The Nature and Essence of the Human Soul
   by Abu Bilal Mustafa al-Kanadi


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Scholars of various schools of thought [1] differ greatly regarding the nature and essence of the soul (nafs). Is it a part of the physical body or a non-essential characteristic [2] of it? Is it an entity consigned to dwell within the physical body?, or is it an independent essence in itself? Is the nafs the same as the rûh (spirit)? Finally, what happens to the soul upon death? Is it confined to its body and its grave? If not, is it free to move about in the unseen spiritual world and on the earth? [3]
Regarding this subject, leading theologians of various sects have put forward a host of conflicting opinions. It would be beyond the scope of the present work to examine each and every view put forward by the various scholars; however, a brief mention of some of their opinions regarding this issue is necessary. The correct view [4] is given, supported by sound reason and statements from the Qur'ân and the authentic sunnah.

Various Incorrect Theories
According to the theologian, Abul-Hasan al-Ash'arî scholars differed regarding the rûh (spirit), nafs (soul) and hayâh (life force). An-Nadhdhâm, one of the leaders of the Mu'tazilah,[5] is attributed with having said that the nafs is the form of the rûh. He further claimed that the rûh is alive (i.e. animate) and exists independently. In contrast to his view, other scholars alleged that the rûh is a non-essential characteristic of the human being, unable to exist independently of itself. Still others opposed both of these views and claimed that it is not known what rûh is – an essential characteristic or a non-essential characteristic.
The proponents of another theory claimed that man consists of a particular form contained within a physical body, however, they differed as to precisely what this form is. One group maintained that the form consists of four ingredients [6] from which the physical body originates and further develops. A second opinion was that it represents pure blood, free of impurities and contamination. Another view claimed that this form is the animate life in man, the sensual heat which pervades the body. And a fourth group proposed that the form is an essential element which causes all animate, living beings to function in a particular manner [7 ]yet is not separated from such beings and does not have a different structure. Although there are other opinions [8] defining this form within the physical body, the four previously mentioned views are a sufficient sample.

The Correct View
What is considered as the most accurate view regarding the nafs and the rûh is that of Ibn al-Qayyim [9] which is affirmed by Ibn Abul-'Izz al-Hanafî in his commentary on al-'Aqeedat at-Tahâwiyyah. [10 ]They base their position on various verses of the Qur'ân and the traditions of the Prophet as well as on sound logic and rational thought. According to them, man consists of a spirit and a body together. The spirit is an entity which differs from the physical, tangible body. It is a higher type of luminous (or light-like) being, alive and moving, and it penetrates the limbs, circulating through them as water circulates throughout the petals of a rose, as oil circulates throughout the olive and as fire circulates throughout the burning embers of coal. One may reasonably perceive the soul filling and occupying the body; its form, though non-physical, is molded into the body's shape. [11]
The soul will maintain its penetration of the limbs of the physical body and continue to affect their sense, movement and will as long as these limbs remain sound. However, if they are overcome [12 ]and no longer accept the forces enacted upon them by the soul, the soul leaves the body and enters the spiritual world.

Qur'ânic Evidence
Certain circumstances of the human soul are mentioned in various places of the Qur'ân. [13 ]Two such examples follow:
"Allâh takes soul at the time of their death and [the souls] of those that do not die during their sleep. He retains those souls for which He has ordained death, whereas He releases the rest for an appointed term." [14]  


In this verse it is stated that there are only two points in time at which Allâh takes souls: at death and during sleep. [15 ]When one sleeps, Allâh separates the soul from the body. If He has decreed death for a person at this point, the separation becomes permanent and the body no longer functions. In the case of one for whom death has not been decreed at that time, the soul taken during sleep is returned to its respective body upon awakening. However, the soul for which Allâh has decreed death need not necessarily be taken during sleep but may be taken at a time other than sleep.

"If you could see when the wrongdoers taste the pangs of death and the angels stretch their hands out, [saying], 'Deliver up your souls. This day you will be awarded a degrading punishment.' " [16]  


Here it is stated that death is painful for the disbelievers. Although they are ordered to surrender their souls to the angels, they are unwilling; therefore, the soul must be forced out as it does not wish to meet its punishment.[17 ] The terms "akhrijû anfusakum" used in this Qur'ânic verse literally means "expel or push out your souls," indicating that the soul becomes a separate entity from the physical body.

Evidence from the Sunnah
The sunnah is replete with descriptions of the state and nature of the human soul. These hadîths substantiate the view held by the dependable scholars of ahl as-sunnah. An example of the physical and psychological punishment awaiting the disbelievers occurs in the following portion of a long, authentically related hadîth:
"The Angel of Death...[says], 'O you foul soul, come out to the anger and wrath of your Lord.' The soul inside the disbeliever's body is overcome by terrible fear [and does not want to deliver itself up], whereupon the Angel of Death violently pulls it out like multi-pronged skewers being yanked out of wet wool – tearing with them the arteries and nerves." [18]  


It is also narrated in an authentic tradition:

Umm Salamah reported: "Allâh's Messenger entered upon Abû Salamah [i.e. his corpse], whose eyes were wide open. The Prophet closed the lids and then said, 'When the rûh [spirit] is taken out, the eyesight follows it [i.e., watches it ascend].' " [19]  


These hadîths indicate in two ways that the soul is indeed a form. First of all, something must have a form in order to be grasped and extracted. And second of all, eyes can only visualize something that has a form. [20] In another narration the Prophet described how the believer's soul comes out of the body:

"The Angel of Death comes to the [dying] believer, sits at his head and says, 'O you good soul, come out and receive your Lord's forgiveness and pleasure.' Then the soul flows out effortlessly just as water flows from the mouth of a waterskin." [21]  


It is related in the same hadîth that as the soul is being carried up through the skies, the angels ask, "Who is this?" This question reaffirms the soul's separate existence from the body. The angels would not pose such a question unless they had seen a distinct form.

In the following hadîth also affirms that the soul separates from the body:

Abû Hurayrah narrated that Allâh's Messenger said: "When the soul of the believer comes out [of its body], two angels receive it and rise with it towards the heavens, whereupon the inhabitants of the heavens say, 'A good soul has come from the earth. Allâh has blessed you and the body which you used to occupy.' " [22]  


The Arabic expression "kunti ta'mureenah" ("you used to occupy") suggests that the soul inhabited the body, filling and possessing the whole of it. The soul's dwelling within the body and departure from it clearly confirms the soul's own entity.

Islam and Human Reason

Sheikh `Alî Bâdahdah, professor at King `Abd al-` Azîz University in Jeddah


Islam affords the faculty of human reason with a lofty status. It is what allows us to think, contemplate, and draw conclusions. It is what gives us the ability to develop the Earth on which we live. The Qur'ân highlights this point from many different angles:

1. Allah singles out the people who possess reason and proper knowledge as being those who carry out the objectives of worship. He discusses the rulings of how to perform the pilgrimage and then concludes by saying: "And fear me, O people of understanding." [ Sûrah al-Baqarah : 197]

2. Allah declares that the ability to receive benefit from remembering Him and from hearing exhortations to truth and righteousness is the exclusive quality of those possessing reason. He says: "In their stories is a lesson for those possessing reason." [ Sûrah Yûsuf : 111]

He also says: "And We have certainly left of it a sign as clear evidence for a people who use reason." [ Sûrah al-`Ankabût : 35]

3. Allah honors the faculty of reason and makes it the crux of our legal accountability. The Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "The pen is lifted from three people: the sleeper until he awakens, the child until he reaches the age of discernment, and the insane until he is able to reason." [ Sunan al-Tirmidhî (1423) and Sunan Ibn Mâjah (2042)]

4. Allah reprimands those who unthinkingly follow in the footsteps of their forefathers who in doing so shun the dictates of reason. He says: "And when it is said to them to follow what Allah has revealed, they say: 'Nay, we follow what we found our fathers upon.' Even though their fathers could discern nothing of reason and were not rightly guided." [ Sûrah al-Baqarah : 170]

5. Islam has made it unlawful to compromise the faculty of reason in any way. It forbids intoxicants and narcotics. Allah says: "O you who believe! Intoxicants, games of chance, sacrificing on stone alters, and divining arrows are the filth of Satan's handiwork, so keep away from it that perchance you might be successful." [ Sûrah al-Mâ'idah : 90]

Umm Salamah relates to us that the Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade every intoxicating and narcotic substance. [ Sunan Abî Dâwûd (3686) and Musnad Ahmad (26634)]

6. Islam strictly prohibits every practice that offends reason or runs contrary to it, like seeing evil omens, resorting to soothsayers and fortunetellers, divination with sand or seashells, and all other deviant and superstitious practices.

In Islam, there are two sources of knowledge:

1. Divine revelation: This is the truth that is conveyed to us from Allah by way of His Prophets (peace be upon them).

2. Human experience: This is the truth that is achieved through the combined efforts of our sensory observations and our faculty of reason.

From this, we can appreciate Islam's balanced approach to the relationship between reason and revelation. Ibn Taymiyah writes:

Reason is a precondition for knowledge and for the proper performance of our actions. By it, knowledge and action are perfected. However, it does not stand independently in this capacity. It is but an innate ability like the eyesight of our eyes. If the light of faith and of the Qur'ân reaches it, it is the same as when the light of the sun or of a flame reaches our eyes. If it is kept isolated, it cannot perceive the matters that it is unequipped to perceive on its own. If it is taken away completely, words and deeds become nothing more than animal behaviors, experiencing likes, emotions, and tastes in the same way that cattle might experience them. Therefore, deeds carried out in the absence of reason are deficient and words spoken contrary to reason are false. [ Majmû` al-Fatâwâ (3/338)]

Reason does not play the same role in all fields of knowledge. In this respect, knowledge can be broken down into three categories:

1. Essential knowledge: This is knowledge of that which cannot be doubted by any rational person. Every reasoning soul must possess this knowledge. This includes a person's knowledge of his own existence, that two is greater than one, or that the sky is above us and the ground below us.

2. Theoretical knowledge: This is knowledge that is acquired through and gleaned from evidence. Such thinking must draw from essential knowledge in order for its correctness to be discerned. Many disciplines fall into this category, like the natural sciences, medicine, and various manufacturing arts. It is in these fields where reason plays its greatest, most critical, and most constructive role.

3. Knowledge of the Unseen: These are matters that reason alone cannot arrive at. For a person to arrive at such knowledge, some other source of information is needed. This includes knowledge of what is to be found in some distant land or knowledge of the events of the Hereafter, like the resurrection and the judgment. Such knowledge is only ascertainable by way of a report. When the questions at hand are those of religious faith, especially with respect to the particulars, then the only source that can be relied upon is divine revelation.

This is the balanced approach to reason and revelation. It can be contrasted with the approaches of various deviant sects. Some of them, like the Peripatetic philosophers, relied exclusively upon reason and eschewed revelation in its entirety. Others, like the majority of the scholastic theologians, discounted the purport of revelation where they presumed it to contradict with the dictates of reason. Others, like some of the Sufi sects, took personal inspiration and spiritual experience as the basis of truth even when it contradicted with both reason and revelation.

In order to appreciate the proper role of reason and accurately define its limitations, we should consider the following. Each of our senses has its limits of strength and its particular domain. Any attempt to employ one of the senses beyond its scope is an exercise in futility that might also prove injurious to the one attempting to do so.

For example, the eye provides us with the ability to see objects. However, regardless of how healthy and acute a person's eyesight might be, it cannot be used unaided to see microbes, in spite of the fact that microbes most surely exist. Likewise it cannot hope to see the colors of the Infrared or Ultraviolet spectrums of light. If a person tries to force his eyes to view these things, he will never succeed in doing so, though he might succeed in damaging his vision.

Likewise, the intellect has its limits. It cannot ascertain on its own all truths and all forms of knowledge. People believe in and accept things that their senses cannot perceive and that their intellects cannot comprehend. For instance, our intellects accept the phenomenon of gravity though we are of yet unable to comprehend its true nature. We can explain electricity as electrons moving from a negative to a positive charge. However, the true nature of the subatomic world still eludes us.

Among what must remain beyond the scope of our reason are matters of the Unseen. We can say with confidence that whatever falls squarely into the domain of the Unseen falls outside the domain of our intellects. For example, we know that when the body of the deceased is placed in its grave, its soul is returned to it then two angels approach that soul to question it. This is established by authentic hadith. How is the soul returned? Why doesn't his body stir and cry out at this time? How is his grave made spacious for him to the extent of his vision if he is among the righteous? Questions like these cannot be answered by our intellects. Our rational faculties are limited in their scope and cannot investigate matters that pertain exclusively to the world of the Unseen.

Our intellects must accept such matters if we come to know of them by way of divine revelation from Allah to His Messengers (peace be upon them). We are limited in our knowledge of these matters to what the sacred texts inform us about them and we cannot delve into their true nature or speculate on them any further. If we attempt to do so with our intellects, we will not arrive at any results, though we might bring harm to our faculties of reason in the attempt. This has been the plight of the philosophers and others who have tried to use reason to acquire knowledge of things wholly outside the world of human experience.

It is in light of this understanding that Allah says: "And those of firm knowledge say: 'We believe in it. All of it is from our Lord.' And none take heed except people of discernment." [ Sûrah Âl `Imrân : 7]

This was the approach of the Salaf , our pious predecessors. They knew the limits of reason and stopped at those limits, never attempting to use their rational faculties to plumb the depths of the Unseen. They did not ponder on the true nature of Allah, His essence, and His attributes. They voiced their objections to this pursuit and forbid others from engaging in it. In this way, they safeguarded themselves from doubt and error and kept their hearts secure in the certainty of faith.

We can actually use reason to argue against those who advocate the application of reason to these questions. We can say to them: It is a fact that rational minds differ in their strengths and abilities. Whose mind, then, must we give preference to when it is at variance with the texts? Why should we submit to the intellect of any human being? Moreover, any given mind is prone to change its opinions as it acquires new knowledge or as it contemplates and reviews matters more thoroughly. This means that we will be obliged to adhere to one viewpoint today and possibly a wholly different one tomorrow. Because minds differ so much, we will be subjected to a whole range of conflicting and often irreconcilable opinions that will consign us to confusion and doubt. Experience has shown us that many of those who have subjected the sacred texts to the rule of reason had later abandoned that approach as being in error.

It is one of the blessings of Allah upon the Muslims that he has sufficed them regarding matters of the Unseen. He revealed to them the Qur'ân and took its preservation upon Himself and He sent them the Messenger (peace be upon him) and preserved for them the Sunnah of that Messenger. In this way, he sufficed them in their knowledge of the Unseen, so they would not have to squander their intellectual powers trying to investigate matters that their minds are unable to cope with. In this way, He freed their minds to pursue the problems of their worldly existence and derive benefit from the world in which they live.

Sayyid Qutub writes:

There is no other religion that so honors the human intellect, awakens it, sets it on the right course, and mobilizes it for constructive effort, liberating it from the shackles of fables and superstition, and the oppression of soothsayers and possessors of "forbidden knowledge". At the same time, it safeguards the mind from straying outside of its proper domain and into an intellectual wasteland without a guide. There is no other faith that has done this quite as Islam has. [ Khasâ'is al-Tasawwur al-Islamî (49)]

He also observes:

The conceptual framework of Islam – in what is beyond the basis of this conceptual framework and its fundamentals – affords the human intellect and human knowledge a vast and total field of endeavor. It does not impede the mind or stand in its way of investigating the universe. Rather, it calls upon it to investigate and spurs it on. [ Khasâ'is al-Tasawwur al-Islamî (71)]

Among the gems of what al-Ghazâlî said in his later life is that Allah has sufficed the Muslims in the matters of their faith and commanded them to follow, while opening up to them the matters of the world and commanding them to be innovative. However, some Muslims instead opted to be innovative and inventive in matters of faith, while in the affairs of the world, they sufficed themselves with following the nations of the East and West without contributing any development or any new ideas.

Who is Allah?

By Abu Iman Abd ar-Rahman Robert Squires. © Muslim Answers

Some of the biggest misconceptions that many non-Muslims have about Islam have to do with the word "Allah". For various reasons, many people have come to believe that Muslims worship a different God than Christians and Jews. This is totally false, since "Allah" is simply the Arabic word for "God" - and there is only One God. Let there be no doubt - Muslims worship the God of Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus - peace be upon them all. However, it is certainly true that Jews, Christians and Muslims all have different concepts of Almighty God. For example, Muslims - like Jews - reject the Christian beliefs of the Trinity and the Divine Incarnation. This, however, doesn't mean that each of these three religions worships a different God - because, as we have already said, there is only One True God. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all claim to be "Abrahamic Faiths", and all of them are also classified as "monotheistic". However, Islam teaches that other religions have, in one way or another, distorted and nullified a pure and proper belief in Almighty God by neglecting His true teachings and mixing them with man-made ideas.

First of all, it is important to note that "Allah" is the same word that Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews use for God. If you pick up an Arabic Bible, you will see the word "Allah" being used where "God" is used in English. This is because "Allah" is the only word in the Arabic language equivalent to the English word "God" with a capital "G". Additionally, the word "Allah" cannot be made plural or given gender (i.e. masculine or feminine), which goes hand-in-hand with the Islamic concept of God. Because of this, and also because the Qur'an, which is the holy scripture of Muslims, was revealed in the Arabic language, some Muslims use the word "Allah" for "God", even when they are speaking other languages. This is not unique to the word "Allah", since many Muslims tend to use Arabic words when discussing Islamic issues, regardless of the language which they speak. This is because the universal teachings of Islam - even though they have been translated in every major language - have been preserved in the Arabic language.

It is interesting to note that the Aramaic word "El", which is the word for God in the language that Jesus spoke, is certainly more similar in sound to the word "Allah" than the English word "God". This also holds true for the various Hebrew words for God, which are "El" and "Elah", and the plural form "Elohim". The reason for these similarities is that Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic are all Semitic languages with common origins. It should also be noted that in translating the Bible into English, the Hebrew word "El" is translated variously as "God", "god" and "angel"! This imprecise language allows different translators, based on their preconceived notions, to translate the word to fit their own views. The Arabic word "Allah" presents no such difficulty or ambiguity, since it is only used for Almighty God alone. Additionally, in English, the only difference between "god", meaning a false god, and "God", meaning the One True God, is the capital "G". In the Arabic alphabet, since it does not have capital letters, the word for God (i.e. Allah) is formed by adding the equivalent to the English word "the" (Al-) to the Arabic word for "god/God" (ilah). So the Arabic word "Allah" literally it means "The God" - the "Al-" in Arabic basically serving the same function as the capital "G" in English. Due to the above mentioned facts, a more accurate translation of the word "Allah" into English might be "The One -and-Only God" or "The One True God".

More importantly, it should also be noted that the Arabic word "Allah" contains a deep religious message due to its root meaning and origin. This is because it stems from the Arabic verb ta'allaha (or alaha), which means "to be worshipped". Thus in Arabic, the word "Allah" means "The One who deserves all worship". This, in a nutshell, is the Pure Monotheistic message of Islam. You see, according to Islam, "monotheism" is much more than simply believing in the existence of "only One God" - as seemingly opposed to two, three or more. If one understands the root meaning of the word "Allah", this point should become clear. One should understand that Islam's criticism of the other religions that claim to be "monotheistic" is not because they are "polytheistic" in the classic sense, but because they direct various forms of worship to other than Almighty God. We will discuss the meaning of worship in Islam below, however, before moving on it should be noted that many non-Muslims are unaware of the distinction between simply believing in the existence of only One God and reserving all worship for Him alone. Many Christians are painfully unaware of this point, and thus you often find them asking how Muslims can accuse the followers of Jesus, peace be upon him, of being "polytheists" when they were all "monotheistic Jews". First of all, it should be clarified that the word "polytheist" doesn't really sound right in this context, since to many it implies simply believing in the existence of more than one God. So in an Islamic context, "associators", "man-worshippers" or "creature worshippers" might be more accurate and appropriate terms - especially since Christians believe Jesus to be both "100% God and 100% man", while still paying lip-service to God's "Oneness". However, as we're previously touched upon, what is really at the root of this problem is the fact that Christians - as well as the members of other religions - don't really know what "monotheism" means - especially in the Islamic sense. All of the books, articles and papers that I've read which were written by Christians invariably limit "monotheism" to believing in the existence of "One Sovereign and Creator God". Islam, however, teaches much more than this.

Suffice it to say that just because someone claims to be a "monotheistic" Jew, Christian or Muslim, that doesn't keep them from falling into corrupt beliefs and idolatrous practices. Many people, including some Muslims, claim belief in "One God" even though they've fallen into acts of idolatry. Certainly, many Protestants accuse Roman Catholics of idolatrous practices in regards to the saints and the Virgin Mary. Likewise, the Greek Orthodox Church is considered "idolatrous" by many other Christians because in much of their worship they use icons. However, if you ask a Roman Catholic or a Greek Orthodox person if God is "One", they will invariably answer: "Yes!". This lip-service, however, does not stop them from being "creature worshipping" idolaters. The same goes for Hindus, who just consider their gods to be "manifestations" or "incarnations" of the One Supreme God.

Everyone should be aware of the fact that throughout the long history of the "Abrahamic Faiths", there have people who, while believing in "One God", have adopted beliefs and practices that completely nullify their claim to "monotheism". This is the Muslim view of Christians. We're well aware of the fact that they claim belief in "One God" with their lips, but this doesn't mean that they don't nullify their claim in other ways. This is because many people simply haven't been taught everything that Pure Monotheism entails. From an Islamic point of view, "monotheism" can be nullified in many ways. For example, simply believing that it is permissible to rule by Western "liberal" and "democratic" laws in lieu of the Divinely Revealed Law of Almighty God makes one a "polytheist". Certainly, a person who does such a thing, whether Jewish, Christian or Muslim, doesn't ever believe that there is another Almighty Creator and Sovereign Lord. However, for all practical purposes, such a person has take another "god", whether they choose to admit it or not. In this way they are associating partners with Almighty God (Arabic: shirk), and thus become a "polytheist" in a practical sense, regardless of their lip-service to "monotheism". This holds true even if the person doesn't believe what they are doing is "worship". For example, Roman Catholics who pray to the Virgin Mary will staunchly deny that they are "worshipping" her. They instead call it "adoration" or some other watered-down term. However, from an Islamic point of view, what is worship if not this? Islam teaches that prayer and supplication are the marrow of worship, so if one directs their prayers to an intermediary (even if the pray is "ultimately" meant for God), then what is left of worship? Additionally, how can someone who believes in Almighty God follow man-made laws instead of God's Law, without admitting that they've begun worshipping other than God? Do they know better than God?

Additionally, the Old Testament makes it perfectly clear that making a "graven image" of any created thing (not to mention ones which are supposed to "represent" Almighty God) is prohibited. Please see Exodus 20:4-6, Leviticus 26:1 and Deuteronomy 4:16, 23, 25, 5:8 and Nehemiah 9:6 for some statements in regards to this point. Without addressing the issue that Christians commonly violate the unambiguous commandment not to even "make" representations of anything that is in the "heavens above or on the earth beneath", these verses not only teach that worshipping idols is prohibited, but also that Almighty God is eternally distinct from His creation and thus nothing in His creation can represent Him. To believe otherwise is to be a de facto idol worshipper - even if one claims belief in one, and only one, "True God". In Exodus 20:4-6 and Deuteronomy 4:16, Almighty God - who is a "Jealous God" - makes it perfectly clear that He is distinct from His creation.

By giving such clear and merciful guidance to human beings, God is establishing a universal and eternal Truth for the benefit of mankind. This eternal Truth is the bedrock of religious guidance, since once people begin to believe that Almighty God mixes with or can be represented by His creation, they can be duped into believing almost anything. Once someone accepts that God has become "incarnate" in His creation, or that someone or something is a "manifestation" - and thus representation - of Him, the floodgates are open and "Truth" becomes a matter of subjective guesswork. Once the first and most basic concept is violated - regardless of how complicated and sophisticated the rationale for it might be - it is very easy to fall further and further away from the Eternal Truth of Pure Monotheism. In the final analysis, it is not a question of whether God is capable of becoming a man, but rather a question of whether one bases their beliefs about God on clear, unambiguous and authentic guidance. Once it is left up to the human mind to decide what Almighty God can and cannot do, the stage is set for misguidance to take root. Human speculation about God only ends up leading to misguidance and despair, since no clear conclusions can ever be reached. For example, is God capable of creating an object so heavy that He is incapable of moving it? If not, does that mean that He is incapable? It is because of misguided questions like this that Islam clearly teaches that mankind should only say about God what He has said about Himself. This means all of our ideas about God must be based on Revelation - not human speculation. In short, the final prophet of Islam - Muhammad - was sent by Almighty God to preach the same Pure Monotheism that was practiced by Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus - peace be upon them all. This Pure Monotheism means not only believing that there is only One God in existence, but realizing that He is transcedent above His creation and that all worship is due to Him alone.

Before concluding, we should probably address the practice of those Muslims who insist on using the Arabic word "Allah" even when speaking English. Even though this practice certainly is not to be condemned when it is done around those who understand the meaning of the Arabic word "Allah", it is my experience - both during my years as a non-Muslim and my years as a Muslim - that such a practice can (and usually does) breed misunderstanding. It seems that often times, many of the Muslims who use the word "Allah" in lieu of the word "God", even when trying to attract people to Islam, are unaware of the severe misunderstandings that many non-Muslims have about Islam (and the distorted way which Islam has been portrayed in the West). Insisting on using the word "Allah" only fuels the flames of misunderstanding - so there's no good reason to do it. I've often wondered what value some Muslims think that using the word "Allah" adds to the Pure Message that they are trying to convey. ( . . . and I'm still waiting for an answer!) Unfortunately, those Muslims who insist on using the word "Allah" even when addressing non-Muslims who are unfamiliar with Islam and the Arabic language, do both a disservice to themselves and their religion. Unfortunately, this practice is usually based on the false assumption - by a non-native speaker of English - that the word "God" in English is incapable of expressing a pure and proper belief in Almighty God. This is certainly false. If someone says that the English word "God" cannot be used to express the Pure Islamic Belief in Tawhid, they are wrong not because they don't understand Tawhid, but simply because they don't understand the English language. Many people who insist on using the Arabic word "Allah" usually don't realize this, because in reality, they are not so much affirming the word "Allah" as they are rejecting the word "God" as unsuitable - based on incorrect assumptions. For someone to assume that the word "God" presupposes a certain theological point-of-view (such as the Trinity) is simply Wrong - and that's Wrong with a capital "W". To say the word "God" should be rejected because it can be changed into "god", "gods" or "goddess" is illogical because each of these words has a distinctive meaning and a distinctive spelling - at least to someone who knows how to speak English correctly. Using the same logic, I can demonstrate that the root letters "ktb" can be used to form the Arabic words "kitab" (book), "maktabah" (library), "maktab" (office) and "kaatib" (writer), but does that mean that these words have the same meaning? Do Arabic-speaking people go through life confusing libraries with writers and offices with books (both in conversation and in reality)? I think not! This is not to mention the fact that if the Arabic "Al-" was put in front of these words in order to make them definite, confusion would be even less likely! So the logic in both cases is the same, and this is because even though the same letters are used in "God" and "god", these two words have two different meanings in the English language. The capital "G" implies something different than the small "g" - and anyone who denies this simply doesn't know how to speak the English language.

In concluding this point, it should be mentioned that Arabic-speaking Muslims who believe in Pure Tawhid, Arabic-speaking Christians, the idol worshippers of Mecca and (so-called) Muslims who believe in "Wahdat al-Wujud" all use the word "Allah". However, does this guarantee all of them proper belief in "Allah"? Certainly not, because if they have a corrupt concept of "Allah" it doesn't matter what word they use!

This brings us to a more important point: It should be clearly understood that what Islam is primarily concerned with is correcting mankind's concept of Almighty God. What we are ultimately going to be held accountable at the end of our life is not whether we prefer the word "Allah" over the word "God", but what our concept of God is. Language is only a side issue. A person can have an incorrect concept of God while using the word "Allah", and likewise a person can have a correct concept of God while using the word "God". This is because both of these words are equally capable of being misused and being improperly defined. As we've already mentioned, using the word "Allah" no more insinuates belief in the Unity of God than the use of the word "God" insinuates belief in the Trinity - or any other theological opinion. Naturally, when God sends a revelation to mankind through a prophet, He is going to send it in a language that the people who receive it can understand and relate to. Almighty God makes this clear in the Qur'an, when He states:

"Never did We send a Messenger except (to teach) in the language of his (own) people in order to make (things) clear to them."

(Qur'an, Chapter 14 - "Abraham", Verse 4)

As Muslims, we think that it is unfortunate that we have to go into details on such seemingly minor issues, but so many falsehoods have been heaped upon our religion, that we feel that it is our duty to try to break down the barriers of falsehood. This isn't always easy, since there is a lot of anti-Islamic literature in existence which tries to make Islam look like something strange and foreign to Westerners. There are some people out there, who are obviously not on the side of truth, that want to get people to believe that "Allah" is just some Arabian "god", and that Islam is completely "other" - meaning that it has no common roots with the other Abrahamic religions (i.e. Christianity and Judaism). To say that Muslims worship a different "God" because they say "Allah" is just as illogical as saying that French people worship another God because they use the word "Dieu", that Spanish-speaking people worship a different God because they say "Dios" or that the Hebrews worshipped a different God because they sometimes call Him "Yahweh". Certainly, reasoning like this is quite ridiculous! It should also be mentioned, that claiming that any one language uses the only the correct word for God is tantamount to denying the universality of God's message to mankind, which was to all nations, tribes and people through various prophets who spoke different languages.

Before closing, we would like everyone to be aware of the fact that some Christian missionary organizations print English literature intended to teach Christians about Islam which say such things as: "Allah is the god of the Muslims" and that "Muhammad came to get people to believe in the god Allah" - implying that "Allah" is some sort of false "god". However, when these same organizations print literature in the Arabic language, hoping to lead Arabic-speaking Muslims "to Christ", they use the word "Allah" for God. It seems that if they were on the side of truth, they would not have to resort to such inconsistencies. And on an even more ridiculous note . . . there are also missionary organizations that exceed this in ignorance (or deceit) by writing books that call on Muslims to give up their belief in "Allah", and instead worship the "Lord" Jesus, "the Son of God". Besides making it abundantly clear that they are outside the community of Pure Monotheism, the people who write such material don't even realize that if they wrote such a pamphlet in Arabic, it would be self-contradictory. This is because in an Arabic Bible Jesus is the "Son of Allah"! If an Arabic-speaking person gave up the worship of "Allah", they would have no God to worship, since "Allah" is simply the Arabic word for God!

Before we conclude, however, we would like to ask our readers to ask themselves what they think the reasons are behind all of these lies? If Islam was just some false religion that didn't make any sense, would so many people, from Western scholars to Christian missionaries, have to tell so many lies about it? The reason is that the Ultimate Truth of Islam stands on solid ground and its unshakable belief in the Unity of God is above reproach. Due to this, Christians can't criticize its doctrines directly, but instead make up things about Islam that aren't true so that people lose the desire to learn more. If Muslims were able to present Islam in the proper way to people in the West, it surely might make many people reconsider and re-evaluate their own beliefs. It is quite likely that Christians, when they find out that there is a universal religion in the world that teaches people to worship and love God, while also practicing Pure Monotheism, would at least feel that they should re-examine the basis for their own beliefs and doctrines.