A Closer Look at “lā ilāha illā Allāh”

lā ilāha illā Allāh
This statement of tawheed or “oneness” of Allah (monotheism) is the heart of Islam, a complete system of values, laws for their implementation, and worship/ devotion (faith) that does not claim to be a separate “religion” that came with the prophet Mohammad, but rather the very same such system (with some changes in the details but not the basic principles) sent to “al-aalameen,” “the worlds,” all people with minds, free will, and language since such people began to exist.

Jews and Christians can recognize in it the First Commandment, the basis for sacred law and faith. Other seemingly more divergent but major such systems, for example Taoism, Buddhism, and Hinduism, also reveal common ground if viewed more closely and in greater depth.

The statement is simple:

لا أله إلا الله
lā ilāha illā allāh
“There is no god (one to be worshipped/ higher authority) but God.”

Simple, but profound. And in the original Arabic, full of signs and wonders for those who care to see…and hear.

Ayat Al-Nur: Revealed in Ring Composition, and Black Holes

Ring Composition of Ayat Al-Nur, Surat Al-Nur 24:35

This illustration reveals the connection between light and knowledge, otherwise not quite so obvious, by comparing the sections highlighted with the same color which form corresponding pairs starting with the first and last, then pairing them in mirror fashion towards the middle section which is the center and focal point of the aya. There is an expression “knowledge is light” or Al’alm nur in Arabic, and if one contemplates this statement more deeply, one finds that knowledge must be truth, ie stands up to the light of scrutiny, and further, the infinite and complex nature of that which needs to be illuminated is such that only God can be Omniscient. This observation is highlighted in this aya, which the analysis of this form of composition helps us see more clearly.

The Circle of Time

One of the most important and yet illusory elements of human life is time. It begins for us when we are born and when time as we know it ends, this is signified by our death. So our concept of time is completely tied up, for us, with birth and death. But for Allah, who is neither born nor dies, time cannot be as we know it. For Allah, time has no boundaries. Many thinkers have thought of this as a circle.