Jesus as the Holy and Righteous One

5. Al-Quddus
The Most Holy…

30. Al-'Adl
The Utterly Just (Gibril F. Haddad, Allah’s Names and Attributes)

God is He save whom there is no deity: the Sovereign Supreme, the Holy (al-qudusu), the One with whom all salvation rests, the Giver of Faith, the One who determines what is true and false, the Almighty, the One who subdues wrong and restores right, the One to whom all greatness belongs! Utterly remote is God, in His limitless glory, from anything to which men may ascribe a share in His divinity! S. 59:23 Muhammad Asad 

ALL THAT IS in the heavens and all that is on earth extols the limitless glory of God, the Sovereign Supreme, the Holy (al-qudusi), the Almighty, the Wise! S. 62:1 Asad

He is Allah, than Whom there is no other Allah, the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One, Peace, the Keeper of Faith, the Guardian, the Majestic, the Compeller, the Superb. Glorified be Allah from all that they ascribe as partner (unto Him). Pickthall

All that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth glorifieth Allah, the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One, the Mighty, the Wise. Pickthall

Allah is He, than Whom there is no other god;- the Sovereign, the Holy One, the Source of Peace (and Perfection), the Guardian of Faith, the Preserver of Safety, the Exalted in Might, the Irresistible, the Supreme: Glory to Allah! (High is He) above the partners they attribute to Him. Ali

Whatever is in the heavens and on earth, doth declare the Praises and Glory of Allah,- the Sovereign, the Holy One, the Exalted in Might, the Wise. Ali

3. Shirk in Asma wa l-Sifat. The concept of Tawhid al-Asma wa l-Sifat involves affirming for Allah the Most Beautiful Names and Perfect Attributes. So shirk of this category can occur in a number of ways:

a. By comparing Allah to creation. For example, the claim of the Jews and Christians that Allah ‘tired’ after creating the Heavens and Earth, or that He ‘forgot’ certain matters are examples of shirk in Asma wa l-Sifat.

b. By comparing creation to Allah. When creation is given the Names or Attributes that belong solely to Allah, shirk occurs. So to claim that a certain saint knows everything, or can hear the plea of any worshipper, is in fact shirk in Asma wa l-Sifat.

c. By deriving the names of idols from Allah’s Names. This was the practice of the Jahiliyyah Arabs of old, for they named their idol al-Lat by feminising the name ‘Allah’, and al-‘Uzza by feminising al-‘Aziz, and al-Manat from al-Mannan. 

This categorisation, just like the three categories of tawhid, can be inferred and derived from various texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah. The Qur’an explicitly describes shirk in all of these three categories. In one verse, Allah states…

In this verse, shirk in Rububiyyah is mentioned, since Allah negates them having any command or ownership of the heavens and earth.

A verse which mentions shirk in Uluhiyyah is…

In this verse, Allah warns mankind from falling into shirk in Uluhiyyah by directing acts of worship to other than He.

Shirk in Asma wa l-Sifat is also negated frequently in the Qur’an. For example, Allah states…

 And He states…

So Allah negates the existence of any partner that resembles Him, or has His Names and Attributes. (An Explanation of Muhammad ibn ‘Abdul Wahhab’s Kashf al-Shubuhat - Critical Study of Shirk, translation and commentary by Abu Ammaar Yasir Qadhi [Al-Hidaayah Publishing & Distribution, Birmingham, UK], 6. The Categories of Shirk, 1. Shirk in Relation to the Categories of Tawhid, pp. 37-38; bold emphasis ours)

“This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. But God raised him up, having loosed the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him, ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of gladness with thy presence.’ Brethren, I may say to you confidently of the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne, he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.” Acts 2:23-32

“Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered,” Acts 7:52

“And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’ And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he spoke in this way, ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’ Therefore he says also in another psalm, ‘You will not let your Holy One see corruption.’ For David, after he had served the counsel of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid with his fathers, and saw corruption; but he whom God raised up saw no corruption.” Acts 13:32-37 

“And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Just One and to hear a voice from his mouth;’” Acts 22:14

“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the Holy One, the True One, who has the key of David, who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and no one opens.’” Revelation 3:7

“And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’” Mark 1:23-24

“From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise, of glory to the Righteous One. But I say, “I pine away, I pine away. Woe is me! For the treacherous deal treacherously, the treacherous deal very treacherously.”” Isaiah 24:16

“‘To whom then will you liken Me That I would be his equal?’ says the Holy One.” Isaiah 40:25

“I am Yahweh, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.” Isaiah 43:15

“I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I devastate Ephraim again. For I am God, and not a man—the Holy One among you. I will not come against their cities.” Hosea 11:9

“Art you not from everlasting, O Yahweh my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, you have ordained them as a judgment; and you, O Rock, have established them for chastisement.” Habakkuk 1:12

“Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: ‘You are just in these judgments, O Holy One, you who are and who were; for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.’ And I heard the altar respond: ‘Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.’” Revelation 16:5-7

“Mary asked the angel, ‘How can this be, since I have not been intimate with a man?’ The angel replied to her: ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.’” Luke 1:34-35

“The one who speaks for himself seeks his own glory. But He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.” John 7:18 – cf. 8:29, 46; Psalm 92:15; Romans 9:14

“But because He remains forever, He holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore, He is always able to save those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them. For this is the kind of high priest we need: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He doesn’t need to offer sacrifices every day, as high priests do—first for their own sins, then for those of the people. He did this once for all when He offered Himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak, but the promise of the oath, which came after the law, appoints a Son, who has been perfected forever.” Hebrews 7:24-28 – 4:15; 9:14

“Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself just as He is pure… You know that He was revealed so that He might take away sins, and there is no sin in Him… Little children, let no one deceive you! The one who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous. The one who commits sin is of the Devil, for the Devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the Devil’s works.” 1 John 3:2-3, 5, 7 – cf. 2:1-2

“Then He said to them, ‘These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then He opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in HIS NAME to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” Luke 24:44-47

“Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?’ And Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him.’” Acts 2:37-39

“The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you handed over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you. You killed the Author/Source of life, whom God raised from the dead; we are witnesses of this. By faith in His name, His name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. So the faith that comes through Him has given him this perfect health in front of all of you… God raised up His Servant and sent Him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your evil ways.” Acts 3:13-16, 26(1)

“God exalted Him at His right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.” Acts 5:31

“And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified BY FAITH IN ME.’” Acts 26:15-18

“To God’s church at Corinth, to those who are sanctified IN CHRIST JESUS and called as saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord—both their Lord and ours.” 1 Corinthians 1:2

“Don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be deceived: No sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, or anyone practicing homosexuality, no thieves, greedy people, drunkards, verbally abusive people, or swindlers will inherit God’s kingdom. And some of you used to be like this. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

“For in bringing many sons to glory, it was entirely appropriate that God—all things exist for Him and through Him—should make THE SOURCE OF THEIR SALVATION perfect through sufferings. For THE ONE who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. That is why JESUS is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying: I will proclaim Your name to My brothers; I will sing hymns to You in the congregation.” Hebrews 2:10-12

“even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28

“Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ And he took a cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’” Matthew 26:26-28

“And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God…  For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior… Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. Even so husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no man ever hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.” Ephesians 5:2, 23, 25-30

“awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.” Titus 2:13-14

“For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in His steps. He did not commit sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth; when He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He was suffering, He did not threaten but entrusted Himself to the One who judges justly. He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness; you have been healed by His wounds. For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.” 1 Peter 2:21-25 – cf. 1:18-19; 3:18(1)

“And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until His enemies should be made a footstool for His feet. For by a single offering HE HAS PERFECTED FOR ALL TIME those who are being sanctified.” Hebrews 10:10-14

“So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through HIS OWN BLOOD.” Hebrews 13:12

“and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by His blood, and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—the glory and dominion are His forever and ever. Amen.” Revelation 1:5-6

“When He took the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slaughtered, and You redeemed people for God BY YOUR BLOOD from every tribe and language and people and nation. You made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:8-10

“After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were robed in white with palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who is seated on the throne, AND TO THE LAMB! All the angels stood around the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures, and they fell facedown before the throne and worshiped God, saying: Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen. Then one of the elders asked me, ‘Who are these people robed in white, and where did they come from?’ I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’ Then he told me: These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes and made them white IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB. For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve Him day and night in His sanctuary. The One seated on the throne will shelter them: They will no longer hunger; they will no longer thirst; the sun will no longer strike them, nor will any heat. For the Lamb who is at the center of the throne will shepherd them; He will guide them to springs of living waters, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:9-17

“But Anani′as answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to YOUR SAINTS/HOLY ONES at Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon YOUR NAME.’” Acts 9:13-14, 21

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we are now justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received our reconciliation… But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the effect of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. If, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Then as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous." Romans 5:8-11, 15-19(1)

“Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, that he should live on forever and never see the pit… But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah” Psalm 49:7-9, 15

“I have been Yahweh your God ever since the land of Egypt; you know no God but Me, and no Savior exists besides Me. I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought… I will ransom them from the power of Sheol. I will redeem them from death. Death, where are your barbs? Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion is hidden from My eyes.” Hosea 13:4-5, 14