God’s attributes point to the fact that God alone deserves worship. He is One, without relatives; He has neither father, son, mother nor wife.
Only God should be worshiped because He is the Creator and sustainer of all that exists. This Great Universe and everything that is in it cannot be the product of chance, and could not have created itself.
Signs testifying that Almighty Allah is the only Creator can be seen throughout the earth and in the very soul of each person. God says in the Qur’an:
It is Allah who created the sky and the earth, and sent down from the sky water by which He brought forth fruits for your sustenance. He subjected for you the ships to sail upon the sea at His command, and He subjected for you the rivers. And He subjected for you the sun and moon in continuous cycles, and He subjected for you the night and day. And He gave you all you asked Him for. (Ibrahim 14:32-34)
In the Qur’an, God mentions Prophet Abraham’s search for truth as an example of how those who follow God’s signs will be rightly guided to the worship of Him alone; Allah says:
In this way I showed Abraham the kingdom of the heavens and the earth so that he would have faith with understanding and certainty. When the night covered him with darkness, he saw a star and said: ‘This is my Lord’, but when it set, he said: ‘I don’t like those that set.’ When he saw the moon rising up, he said: ‘This is my Lord’, but when it set, he said: ‘Unless my Lord guides me, I will certainly be among the people who went astray.’ When he saw the sun rising up he said: ‘This ismy Lord, this is the greatest of all.’ But when it set, he said: ‘O my people! I am indeed free from what you join as partners with Allah. Verily, I have turned my face towards Allah who created the heavens and the earth and I reject those who associate partners with Allah (in worship). (Al-An`am 6:75-79)
Actually, in the Qur’an God calls people to continuously look at the Universe, as this will affirm the divine truth of His existence, His greatness and that He alone should be worshiped.
God alone deserves our worship because only He can answer our prayers. God says in the Qur’an:
And your Lord says: Call on Me and I will answer your prayer. (Ghafir 40:60)
Indeed, Prophets who are worshiped besides God did not tell people to worship them. Instead, the Prophets warned their people against doing just that. For example, Islam teaches that Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) was a human being who was created by God in a miraculous way. He was born of a mother, Mary, without a father and he worshiped God. He was not God, nor was he the son of God. He was neither one of three manifestations of God as Christians say, nor was he the son of a prostitute as the Jews say. He told his people (the tribes of Israel) to worship God alone. He did not tell people to worship either himself or his mother. Furthermore, Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) did not worship himself when he worshiped, rather he worshiped God.
However, those who claim to be the followers of Jesus Christ today worship Jesus himself, claiming that he is God, and others also worship his mother calling her ‘the mother of God.’! God says in the Qur’an that He will ask Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) on the Day of Judgment:
And [beware the Day] when Allah will say, “O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, ‘Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah ?'” He will say, “Exalted are You! It was not for me to say that to which I have no right. If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is within myself, and I do not know what is within Yourself. Indeed, it is You who is Knower of the unseen. I said not to them except what You commanded me – to worship Allah , my Lord and your Lord. And I was a witness over them as long as I was among them; but when You took me up, You were the Observer over them, and You are, over all things, Witness. (Al-Ma’idah 5:116-117)
God emphasizes in the Qur’an that Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) was neither killed nor crucified, but God raised him up into the heavens in body and spirit and he will be returned to the earth before the end of the world. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) stated that Prophet Jesus would rule the earth according to the Islamic law, then he will die on earthlike other human beings and will be buried and resurrected like them on the Day of Judgment. Hence, Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) who was given life, was born from a woman’s womb and circumcised, ate, slept, went to the toilet, grew up, prayed, and will die, should never be taken as God as all these characteristics are not the attributes of God, but of His creatures.
The New Testament states that Jesus Christ taught his followers to pray to God saying: “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Luke 11:2 / Matthew 6:9-10) Also, he taught that only those who submit to God would inherit paradise: “None of those who call me ‘Lord’ will enter the Kingdom of God, except one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”(Matthew 7:21) Prophet Jesus also pointed out that he himself submitted to the will of God: “I cannot do anything of myself. I judge as I hear and my judgment is honest because I am not seeking my own will but the will of Him who sent me.” (John 5:23)
In fact, there are many reports in the Gospels that show that Prophet Jesus made it clear to his followers that he was not God. For example, when speaking about the final hour, he said: “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, not the Son, but only the Father.” (Mark 13:32)
Buddha, was a reformer who introduced a number of humanistic principles in the Hindu religion practiced in India. He did not claim to be God, nor did he suggest to his followers that he be worshiped. Yet, today most Buddhists have made him their God and they prostrate themselves before idols representing his likeness. In brief, from the perspective of the object worshiped, all religions today [except Islam] invite people to the worship of creation!
God’s attributes point to the fact that God alone deserves worship. He is One, without relatives; He has neither father, son, mother nor wife. He is the Eternal Absolute. He neither gives birth, nor is He born, and there is nothing like Him. He is perfect in His knowledge, in His power, in His will, in His mercy and in all His other attributes. God is all-powerful and perfect, while human beings are weak and imperfect. That is how He defined Himself and how all prophets defined Him.
Another proof that God alone deserves to be worshiped can be found within the human soul. Islam teaches that all human beings have imprinted on their souls an awareness of God and a natural inclination towards worshiping Him alone imprinted on their souls. In the Qur’an, God explained that when He created Adam He caused all of Adam’s descendants to come into existence and then He took a pledge from all of them saying:
Am I not your Lord? To which they all replied: Yes, we testify to it. (Al-A`raf 7:172)
God then explained why He had all of humankind bear witness that He is their Creator and only true God worthy of worship:
That is in case you, humankind, may say on the Day of Resurrection: Indeed we were unaware of this. (Al-A`raf 7:172)
God further elaborated on this point saying:
It is also in case you may say: It was our ancestors who made partners with Allah, and we are only their descendants, will you then destroy us for what those liars did? (Al-A`raf 7:173)
Hence, people who associate partners with God in worship cannot claim on that day that they had no idea that Allah was the only god who deserved to be worshiped.
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) reported that God said: “I created my slaves upon the right religion, but devils made them go astray.”(Muslim) He also said: “Each child is born in a state of Islam. Then his parents make him a Jew, Christian or a Zoroastrian.” (Al-Bukhari)
Thus, Islam is the birthright of every human being, since every child is born with a natural belief in the existence of God and an inborn inclination towards worshiping Him alone. Just as the child submits to the physical laws which God has imposed on the physical world, in the same way its soul also submits naturally to the fact that God is the only Lord and Creator. But if their parents are following a different path, the child is usually not strong or aware enough to recognize the truth or resist the will of the parents. In such cases, the religion which the child follows is one of custom and upbringing. But God, the Most Merciful and Compassionate, will not hold him to account or punish him for following a false religion before he reaches the age of reason and is exposed to the pure message of Islam.
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Source: Taken from a book entitled Islam Is Your Birthright.