IN THE BEGINNING

 IN THE BEGINNING

      At first there was nothing in exis­tence except Almighty God (Allah).  There were no people anywhere.  There were no animals or trees.  There was no air to breathe or water to drink.  There was no rain or even any snow.  There was no planet called earth and not even a twinkling star.  Nothing existed except God Al­mighty, all by Himself.

      Allah Almighty (God) existed alone, complete­ly by Himself.

THEN

      Back then, Allah (swt) wanted Himself to be known.  He created Angels to serve Him and glorify Him.  The angels did their duty well and worshiped Allah and glorified Him.

     Allah (swt) wanted more, much more.  He wanted something very special.  Therefore, Allah created a very special thing, through a brilliant design and a magnificent plan.

      Allah created the universe.  He made millions of stars, all twinkling

in the sky.  Then Allah made the earth, and on the earth He made trees and all kinds of plants.

      Allah made Earth to go around the sun to give warmth and light.  He made Earth spin so there will be days and nights.  He also created the air to breathe and the water to drink, and from the water came the clouds, and from the clouds poured the rain and the snow.

      Plants grew abundantly long ago, yet there were no people around to enjoy them. There were no animals or people, there were not even insects or bugs, and hardly any noise; the plants lived happily by themselves.

ALLAH WANTED TO BE KNOWN 

      Allah (God) wanted to be known.  He wanted to make something very special.  So Allah Almighty created animals, a big number of animals, thousands upon thousands, if not millions upon millions.  There were all kinds of animals, be they cats, dogs, dinosaurs, cows, camels, birds, or fish among others.

      Some animals had to be in water such as fish, whales, alligators, and crabs.  These animals swam in the oceans and the rivers and enjoyed being there.

      Other animals had to be on earth, on dry land.  There were so many of them, tigers, lions, elephants, giraffes, birds, rodents, and many, many others.

      Some animals had four legs, but others had a good many, such as the centipede, yet others did not need legs such as the snakes and worms.  Allah (swt) also made the birds to fly, sing, and fill the air with music.  He made insects, colorful and attractive, such as the butterflies.  Allah the Creator made everything in sight, the oceans, beaches, mountains, and rivers.  He thought of everything, small and big, all to live togethe­r, to eat and sleep and have tiny babies.

      Allah (swt) made all this in six long periods. (Holy Quran, Surah  10:  Ayah  3.  Also Surah  11:  Ayah  17)

Even then, Allah wanted to do more, He wanted to make man.  He wanted to make a people with minds to think and decide.

       So, Allah Almighty created the first man and He called him Adam.  He created him from the elements of the earth (clay)  (Surah  22:  Ayah  7.  Also Surah  3:  Ayah  58.  Also Surah  23:  Ayah  12.).  Isn't it amazing how Allah made a man from the elements of the earth?  He gave Adam two eyes to see, two ears to hear, a nose to smell, and a mouth to eat!

      Above all, Allah gave Adam a mind with which to think, so Adam would be different and superior to animals.  It was truly amazing how Allah created Adam and made him so perfect.

      But Adam was all alone.  There were no people to talk to or live with.  There were no clothes to wear, houses to call home, towns as ours, cars to ride, or even bicycles to ride.  As a result, Adam felt very lonely.

ALLAH'S HELP COMES TO ADAM

      Allah (swt) knew that Adam was lonely, therefore, He decided to make another person like Adam but shaped somewhat differently.  He created a woman to be Adam's companion and He called her Hawwa (Eve).

      Hawwa was a good companion to Adam, and the two enjoyed living together.  Adam and Hawwa (Eve) ate and talked together and enjoyed each other's company.  They helped each other and played with each other, and they were happy together.

WILL YOU TELL ME ABOUT ALLAH? 

      Allah the Almighty is the creator of everything, and He is, was, and always will be.  Allah (swt) is the greatest, far superior to everything.  Allah (God) is so great that we must worship Him, love Him, admire Him, fear Him and ask for His forgiveness.

      Allah does not look like any of us, and He does not need anything like we do.  He made us the way we are, yet He does not look like us.  He is different from us.

► Allah (God) sees each of us constantly, all the time, but He does not have eyes the way we do.  He sees us wherever we are, inside and out, and He sees what we do all the time.  He does all of this yet He doesn't have eyes like ours.  See how great Allah is!

► Allah (God) hears each of us all the time and He hears everyone all over the world at the same time, yet Allah does not have ears like ours.  He can hear us if we whisper or shout, wherever we are, yet He does not have ears like our ears.  See how incredible Allah Almighty is?!

      No one knows how Allah (God) looks, it is simply too great and powerful for us to see Him.  This knowledge belongs only to Allah and only He knows about it.

► Allah (swt) does not rest or sleep as we do, because He never gets tired or sleepy.  He made us in such a way that when we become tired we have to rest or sleep.  Allah never gets tired and He does not need sleep or rest.

► Allah does not eat and He does not drink because He does not need to, He does not become hungry or thirsty.  He made us in such a way though that we need to eat and drink, because if we don't we die of starvation.

► Allah will never die, He is and will always be alive since He is eternal.  Everything needs Allah's help because without Allah and His help, all would perish.  The whole universe, the earth, the moon, the sun, and the stars need Allah's help to be the way they are, otherwise they will perish. (Surah  2:  Ayah  255.)

DOES ALLAH (swt) HAVE PARENTS? 

      Almighty Allah does not have a mother or father, and He does not have any children.  Allah made us in such a way that we must have parents, and perhaps brothers, sisters, and children, but He is so very different from us that He has no parents or children. (Surah  112:  Ayah  1-4.)  There is none who is like Allah or equal to Him because He is the Almighty, the Creator, the Originator.

      Allah (swt) loves us very much.  He wants us to be good people and very good Muslims.  Allah is merciful and He helps us a lot.  He wants us to be nice and kind, and not to be bad, mean, or mischievous.  He wants us to be good to our parents, brothers, sisters, friends, and neighbors among others.

HOW DO WE KNOW THAT?

      Allah (swt) does not show Himself to us but He can always see us and hear us.  That is because Allah's power is beyond the capacity of any of us to see, hear, or bear.

      Therefore, Allah Almighty chose certain people to become Prophets.  A Prophet is called Nabiy in Arabic; which means the elevated one or the chosen one.  The Nabiy (Prophet) receives commands from the Almighty and gives them to the people.  The Nabiy (Prophet) receives Messages from Allah (swt) by way of angel Jubra'eel, Jibreel (or Gabriel).  Angel Jubra'eel is a very great angel, and he is the only angel from among others who revealed all Messages from Allah to the Nabiys (Prophets).  Therefore, from the time Allah (swt) created Adam until Muhammad (pbuh), Angel Gabriel took Allah's Messages to each and every Prophet.

WHO ARE PROPHETS? 

      Prophets were very noble, pious, and righteous people.  They were the ones whom Allah Almighty chose; and of course He would choose only the best.

      The first Nabiy (Prophet) was Adam himself, then there were numerous Prophets after him.  The last Nabiy was our beloved Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

      The Prophets were honest and sincere, they never lied, and they never cheated.  The Prophets were trusted by their own people, and they loved the people when they believed in the message of Allah.  The Prophets were patient and strong, not only in their minds but also in their will.  They struggled hard for the sake of Allah with all their might.

WHAT DID THE NABIYS (PROPHETS) TEACH? 

      The Nabiys (Prophets) were much more than teachers.  They were the Divinely privileged leaders of the people, the Elevated Ones.  They taught people Allah's Directives and Guidance.  Allah's Directives are the same with no changes, all through the ages.  The Prophets learned through Angel Gabriel about Allah and His Directives, and they tried their best to teach people the Directives.

►  The Prophets taught and preached about Allah (God), His presence and existence.  They taught about how Allah is fair, just, kind, forgiving, and merciful.  They taught people that they should know about Allah and keep Him in their hearts and minds all the time, and to worship Him and follow His Directives.

►   The Prophets taught people goodness:  to be nice, behave well, to speak the truth, be kind and fair.  They taught people to be helpful, loving, con­siderate, and be good to parents, brothers, sisters, friends, and neighbors, as well as others.  They also taught people to be dependable, sincere, honest, and to have good thoughts about others among other things.

►  The Prophets also warned that after we die Allah will ask us about what we had done when we were alive, and that He would reward us very well if we were good Muslims and had obeyed Him.

►  The Prophets taught us to heed Allah, appreciate Him, love Him and fear Him, perform good deeds, and avoid mischief.  They taught us to worship Allah and to submit to Him and obey the rules of the religion for our own good.  So, we as Muslims are to follow Islam our religion.

►   Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was the last of the Prophets because Allah (swt) perfected and finished His message when He revealed it to Muhammad.  The last Message from Allah is our religion, Islam.  We are very privileged and honored to be Muslims.

QUESTIONS 

1. Who existed in the beginning?

2. Describe what Allah created first?

3. What was the duty of the angels?

4. Who has made all the oceans and lakes?

5. In the beginning Allah (swt) created the angels.  What did He create afterwards?

6. How long did it take Allah to create the earth?

7. Why does Allah need no sleep?

8. Does Allah need rest?

9. From what did Allah Almighty create Adam?

10. Who is Hawwa?

11. Allah sees us, but does He have eyes like ours?

12. Allah hears us, but does He have ears like ours?

13. Allah is one, does He have parents like we do?

14. Does Allah eat?

15. Who was the first man created?

16. Who is Jubra'eel?

17. Who is the first Nabiy?

18. Who is the last Prophet?

19. What did the Prophets teach?

20. What did the Prophets warn about?