Voice of British Muslim Women

Tooba Ali

“Allah” means “God”, “Haq” means “Truth”—these two words most often used to speak of the Divine in Islam encapsulate the very heart of this faith. That God is all that is true, the centre and orb of the universe.

The Holy Qur’an enumerates many of the Divine Attributes, the “Asmaa al Husna” (lit. beautiful names). Al Quddus, the Holy One, al Wali, the Friend, al Haleem, the Forbearing. Through study of these names, we can build a picture of Islamic ethics and values that illumine our understanding of both our past and present selves.

English Romantic poet William Blake struggled to come to terms with the ills of racism and child poverty that so plagued Britain in the late 18^th century. In “The Little Black Boy”, he seems to want to rise against a culture that saw holiness and whiteness as inseparable.

However, the painting that accompanies the poem in his 1789 collection, ‘Songs of Innocence’ depicts a fair featured God embracing two boys, a white blond-haired boy, and a dark-skinned boy with black curls. Indeed, in the iconographic traditions of various faiths, God is usually portrayed in the guise of a fair-skinned man.

However, in the Islamic tradition, where iconography doesn’t feature, it is words that map our path to the Divine. Namely, the words of our Holy Book, the Qur’an. In contrast to the Torah, which invokes “the God of the Hebrews” in verses of prayer, the Qur’an never once describes the Divine in such a way. In fact, in the opening chapter Allah is declared as “Lord of all the worlds”. This is the chapter that forms the core of Muslim daily worship. So, in our religious practices, we are constantly re-affirming that God’s Mercy is an endless river, that ebbs and flows in the hearts of men. It is a tree whose shade gives shelter to all of creation.

Our God is “ar Rahman”, the Most Gracious. This, alongside an attribute from the same root in Arabic “ar Raheem” the Ever Merciful, is the attribute we invoke before reciting any Quranic verse. His Mercy therefore wraps every other Divine Utterance in its fold. In the Holy Qur’an we read of this Divine Attribute, “…My Mercy encompasses all things…” (7:157).

Humans are the microcosm in which Divine Attributes are illumined. The Gentle conceals itself in every gentle heart. The Merciful is veiled in every merciful soul. The universal nature of the Divine Names means that holiness can inhabit any human heart, on the condition that it is pure.

History is testament to mankind’s obsession with hierarchies. From the caste system in the Indian Subcontinent, to serfdom in Europe and beyond. Even the Greeks thought it perfectly natural that some men were born “free” and others, “slaves”.

However, in sharp contrast to all that seeks to divide, the Holy Qur’an teaches us that God is One. That equality and oneness are rooted in the Divine Essence. That the Divine Names are vast and take all within their fold. That the Divine Spirit can dwell within any human soul. That the Merciful looks to nothing at all, but the state of one’s heart. And that it is this very heart that holds the key to its Creator.