Allah Imperfect Still!

Sam Shamoun

Bassam Zawadi has come out of his hiatus to produce more “rebuttals” in an attempt to defend the gross mistakes and errors of Muhammad. He recently produced an appendix where he tries to respond to my reply to his feeble attempt of disproving that, according to Muhammad, Allah is an imperfect and mutable deity who had to create certain attributes such as mercy since he initially didn’t possesses them.

We encourage the readers to first peruse my rebuttal and then Zawadi’s appendix before reading my response here.

Not surprisingly, Zawadi again tries to deny that the hadiths which speak of Allah creating mercy refers to Allah’s own attribute of mercy.

This is the problem with Zawadi. He keeps making up stuff out of thin air since neither the hadiths nor the Quran distinguish between the mercy which is created from the so-called source of that created mercy, namely, Allah’s eternal attribute of mercy. This is something which Zawadi and his authorities are forced to read into the texts since they are clearly embarrassed by Muhammad’s huge blunder in claiming that Allah’s mercy was created.

In fact, how can I fail to distinguish between the two types of mercy WHEN THE HADITHS THEMSELVES DON’T DO SO? In other words, there is nothing in the hadiths which I quoted that even remotely suggest that Muhammad wasn’t referring to Allah’s own attribute but to the mercy which he created from his own mercy. The plain reading of these hadiths is that Allah created his own attribute of mercy which he then divided into 100 parts.

Besides, does it really make sense to speak of Allah creating a different type of mercy from his own, one which he made out of his eternal attribute of mercy? Isn’t this simply jibberish?

More importantly, does Zawadi understand the implication of this assertion? Can he not see that his position means that the mercy which mankind receives both in this world and in the one to come is not Allah’s attribute but a created characteristic, one which is not to be confused with Allah’s own mercy?

Moreover, Zawadi can’t make up his mind whether the hadiths mean that Allah created mercy or bestowed mercy since this is what he originally wrote in his “reply” to me:

Notice how Zawadi admits that the hadiths that I quoted do in fact refer to Allah’s own attribute of mercy which he bestows or implements in his creation. Yet here he contradicts himself by saying that these narratives are not speaking of Allah’s own attribute but to created mercy, which is something other than Allah’s eternal attribute of mercy!

This simply proves that Zawadi doesn’t know what he is talking about, and that he really has no clue how to interpret these ahadith. Zawadi is only interested in providing a “rebuttal,” no matter how absurd or incoherent it may be, in order to give the impression that he is actually addressing the issues and objections that are being raised against him.

Zawadi then quotes a so-called scholar who only adds to the confusion.

Again, we challenge Zawadi to show us from the hadiths themselves where Muhammad distinguished between two kinds of mercy, one which was created and the other which is Allah’s eternal attribute. We want Zawadi to prove from the ahadith that the mercy which Allah created is an effect and manifestation of Allah’s mercy.

We are challenging Zawadi to provide a single narration which says that the mercy which Allah created is an effect and manifestation of Allah’s attribute of mercy. He needs to stop assuming his point and start provide evidence to back up his assertion.

Zawadi continues:

Once again, Zawadi and his authorities are begging the question since they have to necessarily assume that the mercy which Muhammad said was created is different and distinct from the mercy which subsists as an attribute within the essence of Allah. However, as we shall shortly prove, both the Quran and ahadith identify the mercy which Allah created as his very own attribute.

Furthermore, it seems that every time the mercy of Allah touches human beings, be it in rain, food, shelter, kindness, etc. etc. it is created mercy, not the attribute of Allah. But if the eternal mercy of Allah never interacts with us, only some kind of created mercy, in what sense does the mercy of Allah deserve to be called mercy if it never does anything merciful? According to Zawadi’s reasoning, we are left with every act of mercy coming from the created kind of mercy, not from Allah’s eternal attribute. The only effect of the uncreated mercy seems to create a created mercy which then is merciful! However, the only problem with this assertion is that no verse or hadith ever make this differentiation between the mercy which Allah made from the attribute which he possesses.

This leads me to my next point. None of the passages which Zawadi mentioned provide support for the assertion that there are two types of mercy, one created and the other eternal. Zawadi is again forced to read this distinction within these particular verses.

Here is what Q. 7:156 says:

Now compare that with the following passages:

Here is another verse which identifies rain as Allah’s mercy:

Now can the reader see any difference or distinction in the mercy which is being spoken of in all of these passages? Isn’t it obvious that these texts are all referring to the various aspects or manifestations of Allah’s attribute of mercy? Isn’t it apparent that these verses are speaking of how Allah’s own mercy manifests itself to his creation? Would anyone reading these verses walk away with the understanding that the passages in question are speaking of two different kinds of mercy, one created and the other uncreated?

Moreover, the Quran itself explains why rain is called Allah’s mercy:

We see here that rain is an effect or manifestation of Allah’s mercy, thereby explaining why it is said to be his mercy.

However, this now creates a problem for Zawadi. According to the ahadith, rain would have to be an effect or manifestation of that part of mercy which Allah sent down to the earth. Yet all of these Quranic verses identify rain as Allah’s very own mercy, or a manifestation of Allah’s attribute of mercy. They do not differentiate between Allah’s attribute and some other type of mercy which he created.

In other words, these verses establish that the mercy which Allah created is the same as Allah’s own attribute of mercy which he possesses!

More on this point later.

Zawadi denies that the hadiths explicitly refer to the creation of Allah’s own attribute of mercy.

Notice how Zawadi tries to subtly shift the burden of proof. It is not for me to show that the hadiths refer to Allah creating his own attribute of mercy since that is the plain reading of the texts. It is up to Zawadi to establish that the mercy which these narratives claim was created DOES NOT refer to Allah’s own attribute but to something else. The problem with this blatant misreading of the reports is that one has to first assume that there are two types of mercies, one created and the other eternal, and then proceed to read this back into the plain reading of the ahadith. Unfortunately for Zawadi, however, that is NOT the plain and natural reading of the narrations.

Furthermore, Zawadi is twisting what the hadiths say since rain and paradise are not additional mercies which Allah created but manifestations of his mercy which he made and divided into 100 parts. Rain would be an effect or manifestation of that one single part of mercy which Allah sent down to creation, whereas paradise is an effect of the other 99 parts of Allah’s attribute of mercy. After all, if Zawadi claims that rain, paradise etc., are not manifestations of the mercy which Allah divided into 100 parts then he would be contradicting Muhammad and implying that his prophet was mistaken, since this means that Allah actually sent down more than one part of the mercy which he created and that mercy was divided into more than 100 portions.

In other words, either Zawadi is right that rain and paradise are additional mercies which Allah created, and Muhammad was therefore wrong for claiming that Allah divided his mercy into 100 parts since Allah created more than that. Or, Muhammad was right and Zawadi is therefore wrong since rain, paradise are not separate and different mercies which Allah made but manifestations and effects of the 100 parts of Allah’s own mercy which he created.

Moreover, notice Zawadi’s desperate appeal to the Arabic text in order to avoid the obvious and plain meaning of the hadiths. The reason why Allah has one hundred mercies is because the hadiths tell us that Allah created mercy and divided it into one hundred mercies. There is therefore, every reason to read these reports as referring to the origin of mercy as well as the actual number of mercies which Allah divided his own created attribute of mercy into.

To illustrate just how silly Zawadi’s arguments are, imagine someone arguing that just because the Quran and ahadith say that Allah is one that doesn’t mean that he isn’t more than one. How many Muslims would buy this line of reasoning?

By the same token, why do dawagandists like Zawadi want us to accept their logic that just because the hadiths say that Allah divided his created attribute of mercy into 100 parts that doesn’t mean that Allah only has 100 mercies?

Finally, we are glad that Zawadi admits that Allah has reserved 99 parts of his mercy for the Day of Judgment since this will now come to backfire against him. Here, once again, are the hadiths which mention the creation of Allah’s mercy into 100 parts:

Notice the correlation between Allah creating mercy into 100 parts and Allah’s statement that his mercy prevails over his wrath. This conclusively proves that Allah’s attribute of mercy is the same as the mercy which he created and divided into 100 parts. It is apparent that, by placing these narratives in proximity to each other, and under the same section or category, the compiler wanted us to see a correlation between them, e.g. Allah’s mercy which prevails over his wrath is that which he created and divided into 100 parts. And:

According to these reports, Allah only sent down one part of the mercy which he created and has kept the rest of the 99 parts for the day of resurrection.

The reason why this is significant is because the Quran says that the mercy which encompasses all creation, the mercy which Allah bestows both now and on the day of judgment, is actually his very own attribute of mercy!

Compare the following verses from the Quran:

Here is the explanation of this verse from one of Zawadi’s leading a Salafi scholars:

The mercy which embraces all things is Allah’s own mercy, which the hadith says is the mercy which Allah created! Again:

Here is what al-Uthaimin wrote in regards to Q. 7:156:

Other verses state:

In this text, Allah’s mercy which he bestows upon the faithful is the reward of paradise. This is brought out more clearly in the following passage:

Yet according to the ahadith Allah’s mercy which he bestows on the day of resurrection must be part of the 99 portions which Allah created and reserved for the last day. Here is another text:

Again, the ahadith teach that Allah’s mercy which he grants both in this world and in the hereafter is the mercy which he created and divided into 100 parts!

We, therefore, see that the Quran and the hadiths make no distinction between Allah’s attribute of mercy and the mercy which he created. The evidence from both of these sources conclusively proves that the mercy which Allah created and divided into 100 portions is his very own attribute.

This also raises another issue. According to Islamic theology, Allah is called as-Samad, al-Ahad and al-Wahid, names that supposedly refer to his indivisibility:

Al-Ahad: Absolute Oneness

As-Samad: The Everlasting Sustainer of All

And:

Since Allah’s essence is said to be indivisible then this, by extension, would have to include his attributes as well.

If this is the case then how could Muhammad even talk of Allah not only creating, but also dividing his mercy into 100 parts when this shows that the Islamic deity is anything but indivisible? Could it be that Muhammad erroneously reasoned that Allah could divide his attribute of mercy –unlike his other attributes– because it is a created attribute, not an eternal one? Just another problem for Zawadi to chew on and think about.

Now there is a very easy way for Zawadi to prove that my interpretation is mistaken and that his is correct. All he has to do is quote one single verse or hadith which says that Allah’s attribute of mercy is different from the mercy which he created. Zawadi simply needs to provide one text which says that the mercy which Allah created is distinct from the mercy which Allah eternally possesses.

Until he does provide such evidence, Zawadi’s explanation is nothing more than a desperate and feeble attempt of trying to disprove that his god is an imperfect and mutable being.

Zawadi also takes issue with my argument that Allah cannot be perfect if the Quran says that Allah needs to perfect his light.

Zawadi needs to stop defending the indefensible and actually start learning how to address the points being raised. If my argument is garbage it is only because Zawadi doesn’t have the mental capacity to comprehend basic logic. The Quran can speak of the spread of Islam without having to refer to Allah perfecting his light since such language ends up undermining the alleged perfection of the Islamic deity.

Since Muhammadans like Zawadi have been led to believe that the Quran is the speech of Allah, one which they believe to be unmatchable and unsurpassable, then couldn’t Allah have figured out a more eloquent way of describing the spread of Islam? Couldn’t Allah refer to Islam’s spread without speaking of his light being perfected seeing that such language implies that Allah’s light is imperfect?

Seeing that Zawadi has a hard time comprehending basic logic I will break this down for him so he can see why the Quran is anything but eloquent in its depiction of the Islamic deity.

According to the Quran, Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth.

In fact, “the light” (al-nur) is one of the names of Allah according to Islamic tradition:

An-Nûr: The Light

And:

Islamic theology teaches that Allah is perfect in all his ways and attributes.

Therefore, since light is one of the names and characteristics of Allah this means that Allah’s light must be perfect, complete.

However, the Quran in two places says that Allah will eventually perfect his light:

Since Allah has to perfect his light this means that he (or at least one of his characteristics) is imperfect. After all, something which is perfect is already complete and cannot be improved upon.

Therefore, according to both the Quran and Muhammad’s sunna, Allah is a finite being who is imperfect and changes as time goes by.

Hopefully, Zawadi gets it this time.

Zawadi thinks that my objection against his imperfect deity can be turned against me.

There are several problems with Zawadi’s claim. First, my argument didn’t hinge on how Allah chose to spread Islam, despite all the problems this raises, i.e. Allah commanding his thugs to go around conquering, murdering, raping, enslaving etc, all the peoples they come up against. My problem is with a book which is supposed to be supernatural in its eloquence and grammatical structure. My problem is also with a false prophet who claimed to always speak by inspiration and to have been given the most expressive and eloquent words to utter:

In light of such assertions, couldn’t Allah and his messenger refrain from using terminology which would call into question the supposed perfection of the Islamic deity? Couldn’t either of them have expressed themselves in such a way so as to avoid portraying the Muslim god as an imperfect and mutable being? (This assumes, of course, that Muhammad actually believed that his god was perfect. The fact is that Muhammad may have not believed this about Allah. The evidence seems to support that he didn’t.)

Secondly, we challenge Zawadi to find a verse which says that Yahweh is going to perfect his light in the same way his false prophet said about his god. Can he quote a verse which says Yahweh created mercy? He can’t since the Holy Bible doesn’t use such language to describe the one true God of all creation.

And notice the irony here. The Holy Bible, which Muslims claim is corrupted, avoids using language which demeans the glory and perfection of God, whereas the Quran and the sunna employ terminology which end up depicting Allah as an imperfect, mutable deity!

Thirdly, the Quran presupposes that the God I worship is the same God that Zawadi’s false prophet believed in:

Moreover, the Quran permits Muslim men to marry Christian women but forbids them from marrying disbelieving ones. It also permits Muslims to eat the food of Christians even though it says not to eat any food which does not have the name of Allah pronounced over it:

In light of this, isn’t it obvious that Muhammad actually thought that he was worshiping the same God that I and other Christians worship and adore?

Thus, if I am serving a false god then this only proves that Muhammad was a liar and deceiver, a charlatan who tried to deceive the Jews and Christians into believing that not only was their God the only true Deity, but that he is also the same God whom Muhammad worshiped.

So much for Zawadi’s false analogy.

In conclusion, we want to once again thank Zawadi for helping us establish that Muhammad was a false prophet who didn’t know much about theology, philosophy or logic. This explains why Zawadi’s messenger ended up saying things about god that were so grossly mistaken that they have become a major source of embarrassment for Muhammadans like Zawadi.

I want to thank Jochen Katz for contributing a couple of ideas to this article.