Someone from India sent the following questions to Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa:
1. Who is Allah and what is His nature?
2. If the universe started with the Big Bang and has been expanding on its own ever since, does that mean that the entire universe is God?
3. It is said that after we die, we go to Allah. How does this happen? What is the reality of the soul, and can it travel between different parts of the universe where heaven and hell exist? In other words, can the soul move from one place to another?
Huzoor-e-Anwaraa, in his letter dated 10 March 2022, provided the following response to these queries:
“According to Islamic teachings, in which we have complete faith, the entity that is guiding and sustaining the entire universe is the divine Being of Allah the Exalted. Therefore, when we state that everything has been created by some entity or being, it is important to acknowledge that science also recognises that nothing in the universe is self-created, but has a creator behind it. Science may refer to that entity as ‘nature’, but according to the teachings of Allah the Exalted and His messengers, we regard that entity as the Being of God Almighty.
“Furthermore, it is essential to acknowledge that God Almighty’s infinite Being transcends human comprehension and knowledge. Our faith regarding this matter is derived from the Holy Quran, which affirms:
قُلۡ هُوَ اللّٰهُ اَحَدٌ۔ اَللّٰهُ الصَّمَدُ۔ لَمۡ يَلِدۡ وَ لَمۡ يُوۡلَدۡ۔ وَ لَمۡ يَكُنۡ لَّهٗ كُفُوًا اَحَدٌ۔
“‘Say, ‘He is Allah, the One; Allah, the Independent and Besought of all. He begets not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.’’ (Surah al-Ikhlas, Ch. 112: V. 2-5)
“The Promised Messiahas states about the Being of Allah the Exalted:
“‘God is One in His being and His attributes and His glory. He has no partner. All are dependent upon Him. He bestows life on every particle. He is the source of grace for everything and is not in need of grace from any. He is neither a son nor a father for He has no equal and no one is like unto Him.’ (Islami Usul Ki Filasfi, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 10, p. 417)
“‘Your God is One in His Being and in His attributes. No one is eternal and everlasting like Him, nor does anything possess attributes similar to His. Man depends upon a teacher for his knowledge, yet his knowledge remains incomplete, but God needs no teacher, for His knowledge knows no bounds.’ (Lecture Lahore, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 20, pp. 154-155)
“‘It is not within the power of Man to comprehend all the activities of the Divine, as they are above [human] reason, intellect and imagination. A man should not be proud of his pittance of knowledge that he has to some degree comprehended the system of cause and effect, inasmuch as that knowledge of his is very limited, as if it were a millionth part of one drop out of the ocean. The truth is that as God Almighty Himself is unbounded His activities are unbounded also. It is beyond and above human power to reach the reality of every activity of God. […]
“‘We do not believe in a god whose powers are limited by our reason and speculation and there is nothing beyond. We believe in the God Whose powers, like His Being, are unlimited, unconfined, and unending.’ (Chashma-e-Ma‘rifat, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 23, pp. 280-282)
“‘As I mentioned earlier, philosophers merely state, upon observing the heavens, the earth, and the most well-ordered, and perfectly sustained arrangements of other creations, that there must be a Creator, but I elevate this [argument] to a higher level and say, based on my personal experiences, that there is a God.’ (Malfuzat [2016], Vol. 2, p. 352) […]”