1.4 West's tribute to Islam in concept of God.

Concept of God (Allah) in Islam as perceived by some western thinkers is under:

To the Muslim, God (Allah) is the absorber who dominates all aspects of daily life. Social intercourse, family relationships, work. political moves. hygiene. in fact, all aspects of life are God's province. Islam is a social gospel in which the total welfare of the community is of prime importance. The individual as such almost disappears in the whole. (Landau).

To Muhammad God (Allah) was not a personal being but the God and Maker of he universe and all mankind. With him the entire theme and volume of his stream of thought was Allah (God) and his religion. In reality one central idea alone inspired him. But great and magnificent as that was. it was equal to a multitude. (Leonard).

"Show me a people's God". said EURIPIDES "and I will tell you that people's history". To the history of Islam is this significant remark especially appropriate. The Moslem conception of the Deity is one of unapproachable grandeur and sublimity. While placed immeasurably above His creature, their praise and their petitions are always tendered Him without the officious intervention of a privileged caste and wherever the hour of prayer may find the worshipper, whether in the retirement of his room, in the noisy bazaar, upon the deck of a vessel in mid-ocean or amidst the awful stillness and solitude of the desert. (Scott)

We have seen how the prophet persisted in the face of heavy odds in preaching the doctrine of one true God, and the Quran shows us what his conception of God was. The formula 'compassionate and merciful' is familiar to almost everyone; and though the sufferings of the damned are painted in somber colours. Divine mercy and forgiveness are strongly emphasized. God's power is infinite, as is His knowledge. Though transcendent and above all similitude. He is nearer to mart than his neck. Again, though not bound by man's idea of justice and equity, God hates injustice and oppression, and requires kindness to orphans and widows and charity to the poor. The Muslim is not to fear death. for it is the gate of paradise: patience and trust are incumbent on him. He must endure with fortitude the troubles and trials of life, and must put his trust in God at all times. This is the briefest possible terms is the moral basis of Islam. and only the prejudiced can deny that it has produced, and still produces, men of the highest character and integrity. (Guiliaumme)

In the names Rehman and Rahim the divine Mercy confronts human incapacity in the sense that consciousness of our incapacity is, when coupled with confidence, the moral receptacle of Mercy. The Name Rehman is like a sky full of light; the Name Rahim is like a warm ray coming from the sky and giving life to man. (Schuon)