The Light of Monotheism:

Searching for the Creator Without an Intermediary 

A true story of faith in dialogue form, with some modifications.
Dr. Raji Redha-Allah

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The hands of the clock were about to reach the appointed time of Friday prayer at one of the congregational mosques of the Namibian capital, Windhoek; and in the midst of the journey, Dr. Raji was occupied inside the car with reviewing the verses of his Friday sermon and reflecting on their objectives, while the young driver, Peter was driving along the road in his vehicle in calm and quiet. Peter had grown up in a Christian environment, but he remained attached to the traditional beliefs that he had inherited from his ancestors.

Dr. Raji turned to Peter, seeking that Allah might open a door of goodness for him, and said:

Raji: To which tribe do you belong, Peter? And what are your religious beliefs?

Peter: I am from the people of the Owambo tribe; and although I grew up Christian, I have never been convinced that the Messiah Jesus Christ is the son of God, and I do not believe in the doctrine of the Trinity and its three hypostases; rather, I still feel a strong attachment to those beliefs that we inherited from our ancestors.

Raji: And what was the most important thing your ancestors believed in?

Peter: They believed in the existence of a Supreme Creator of the universe, and they called Him Kalunga, and they held that the Creator is greater than human beings and that He is not like created beings.

Raji: And did they imagine that the Creator had a child or a partner?

Peter: No. Our traditional conception of the Creator was that He is the Supreme Deity who created the world, and that He has no wife and no child. And when European Christianity reached our region, our ancestors found that some of what they heard about Christ differed from what they knew about the Creator in their traditional belief; so it was not easy for them to accept the idea that Christ is the son of the Supreme Creator of the universe. For it was not in their traditional conception that the Supreme Creator, whom they called Kalunga, would have a child or a partner in His dominion. And they held that the Creator is exalted above the attributes of created beings, and that He is not like human beings, who marry and reproduce.

Dr. Raji’s face lit up, and he said:

Raji: A person’s acknowledgment that the universe has a Creator, and his glorifying Him and declaring Him exalted above the attributes of created beings, is consistent with what the innate disposition (fiṭrah) calls for—knowing the Creator and glorifying Him; but this alone is not enough to realize monotheism (Tawhid); for Islam came with the command to single out Allah alone for worship, so nothing of worship is to be directed to anyone other than Him.

Then Raji said: Did your ancestors turn in worship directly to “Kalunga”?

Peter: In the traditional religious heritage of the people of the Owambo tribe, our ancestors held that the spirits of the ancestors who had died had an important standing in their beliefs; and it was believed that they had an influence on the lives of their families, and so people would turn to them for refuge and offer sacrifices to them in some practices and rituals.

Raji: So you used to believe in the Supreme Creator, but you placed intermediary created beings between yourselves and Him to whom you would turn?

Peter: Yes, that is how we were taught. We used to see that the Creator is exceedingly great, and that the spirits of the ancestors are closer to the human world, and so we would resort to them in some of the affairs of our lives.

Dr. Raji said gently: Here, Peter, the great difference appears between knowing the Creator and singling Him out for worship. A person may know that the universe has a Creator, and then fall into directing something of worship to other than Him. That is why the foundation of the call of all the prophets was the worship of Allah alone. And Islam does not teach a person to place between himself and Allah an intermediary in his worship and supplication in this worldly life. Allah the Exalted said:

"And your Lord says, 'Call upon Me; I will respond to you.'" [Surah Ghafir: Verse 60] (Sahih International)

And He, Glorified is He, said:

"And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me." [Surah Al-Baqarah: Verse 186] (Sahih International)

Peter pondered the verse, then said:

Peter: But why do I not need an intermediary between me and the Creator? Is the Creator not far greater than me?

Raji: Yes, Allah is greater than everything, and He, Glorified is He, is your Creator and the Creator of the entire universe. But His greatness does not mean that you need a created being to carry your supplication to Him; rather, Allah, Glorified is He, has called you to call upon Him directly. Imagine that you are in the darkness of the night, and there is no one around you; you can call upon Allah directly. You do not need a priest, nor the spirit of a grandfather, nor any created being to convey your need to Allah; for Allah, Glorified is He, is the All-Hearing of your supplication, the All-Knowing of your condition.

Peter was silent for a little, then said: But does Allah hear a person’s supplication no matter how far he is from Him?

Raji: Yes, Allah, Glorified is He, hears the supplication of His servants; nothing is hidden from Him. And Allah, Glorified is He, said:

"And Allah will be sufficient for you against them. And He is the Hearing, the Knowing." [Surah Al-Baqarah: Part of Verse 137] (Sahih International)

And He, Glorified is He, is near to His servants as He has informed, and He does not need any material means or created being to convey their words to Him. And this is the beauty of monotheism (Tawhid); you do not enter Islam in order to replace one intermediary with another, but in order to worship the Creator alone and call upon Him alone.

Peter looked at Dr. Raji and said:

Peter: And what does Islam say about the Messiah Jesus Christ? I have always found it difficult to understand the idea that Christ is a son of God.

Raji: Islam is very clear on this matter.

First: The Messiah Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) is the servant of Allah and His messenger, not the son of Allah. Allah the Exalted said:

"They have certainly disbelieved who say, 'Indeed, Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary' while the Messiah has said, 'O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.'" [Surah Al-Ma’idah: Verse 72] (Sahih International)

And He, Glorified is He, said:

"Say, 'He is Allah, [who is] One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, Nor is there to Him any equivalent.'" [Surah Al-Ikhlas: Verses 1–4] (Sahih International)

Second: The birth of Jesus (peace be upon him) is one of the miracles of Allah. Allah created Jesus from a mother without a father, just as He created Adam without a father or a mother. Allah the Exalted said:

"Indeed, the example of Jesus to Allah is like that of Adam. He created him from dust; then He said to him, 'Be,' and he was." [Surah Aal ‘Imran: Verse 59] (Sahih International)

So the existence of Jesus without a father does not mean that he is a god or the son of Allah; rather, it is proof of the power of Allah, Glorified is He.

Third: The miracles of Jesus (peace be upon him) were by the permission of Allah. Allah the Exalted said, on the lips of Jesus (peace be upon him):

"...And I cure the blind and the leper, and I give life to the dead - by permission of Allah..." [Surah Aal ‘Imran: Part of Verse 49] (Sahih International)

So the miracles were not proof that Jesus is a god; rather, they were signs with which Allah supported him to prove his message.

Fourth: The Messiah Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) was not killed and was not crucified. Allah the Exalted said:

"And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him ... but [another] was made to resemble him to them..." [Surah An-Nisa: Part of Verse 157] (Sahih International)

And He, Glorified is He, said:

"Rather, Allah raised him to Himself..." [Surah An-Nisa: Part of Verse 158] (Sahih International)

And we believe that the Messiah (peace be upon him) will descend at the end of time; he will break the cross, kill the swine, abolish the Jizyah (tribute), and defeat the Antichrist (Al-Massih ad-Dajjal).

Silence fell over Peter while he took in the words, then he said, asking: So, Islam does not require me to worship the Messiah Jesus Christ, and does not ask me to believe in the doctrine of the Trinity and its hypostases?

Raji: Rather, Islam commands you to worship Allah alone, and to believe in the Messiah (peace be upon him) as a prophet and messenger from Allah, and to love him and revere him, but not to worship him. And Islam is not a new religion in terms of the foundation of the call; for all the prophets called to one single foundation, which is the worship of Allah alone and singling Him out with monotheism (Tawhid), even though their laws differed in some rulings and details. Noah (peace be upon him) called his people to worship Allah alone, and Abraham (peace be upon him) was inclining toward truth, a monotheist, and Moses (peace be upon him) called the Children of Israel to the worship of Allah, and the Messiah Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) called to the worship of Allah, his Lord and the Lord of the Children of Israel; then Allah sent Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as the Seal of the Prophets and a mercy to the worlds.

Peter: And who is Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam?

Raji: Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets. He was born in Mecca, and he was a human being, a servant of Allah; he is not worshipped, and nothing of worship is directed to him. Allah sent him to all people, calling them to the monotheism (Tawhid) of Allah, and teaching them goodness, mercy, and justice.

Peter: And what is your holy book?

Raji: Our book is the Noble Qur’an, the speech of Allah revealed to Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) through Gabriel (peace be upon him). Allah the Exalted said:

"Indeed, it is We who sent down the Qur'an and indeed, We will be its guardian." [Surah Al-Hijr: Verse 9] (Sahih International)

And the Noble Qur’an affirms the monotheism (Tawhid) of Allah, relates to us the accounts of the previous prophets, corrects what people fell into of distortion and false belief, and calls the human being to worship his Creator alone.

Peter was listening with great attention. Then Dr. Raji said:

Raji: Peter, you say that your ancestors knew that the universe has a Supreme Creator, but you now face a greater question: should we worship the Creator alone, or place between ourselves and Him created beings to whom we turn?

Peter remained silent, then looked from the car window at the sky and said in a faint voice:

Peter: If Allah is the Creator, and if He hears me directly, then why do I need an intermediary?

Raji: You do not need an intermediary in your worship and your supplication to Allah. Call upon Him yourself. Then he said to him: If you are seeking the truth sincerely, then call upon your Creator now in your own words; you do not need to memorize a particular supplication. Say: “O Creator of the universe, guide me to the true religion.”

Peter bowed his head and was silent for a few moments, then raised his eyes to the sky and said: “O Creator of the universe, guide me to the true religion.”

Silence settled inside the car, and after a few moments, Peter said: I feel a strange comfort; I feel as though I have begun to think about the matter in a completely different way.

Dr. Raji smiled and said: What matters now is that you search for the truth with your mind and your heart, and that you come to know what Islam is calling you to.

The car arrived at the courtyard of the mosque, and the sound of the call to prayer (adhan) filled the place. Peter looked at the mosque, then turned to Dr. Raji and said:

Peter: I want to know how a person enters Islam.

Raji: Islam is based on the Testimony of Faith (the Shahadah), which is a commitment to the two greatest truths in existence: 'I bear witness that there is no god but Allah' — meaning no one truly deserves worship except Him, glorified is He; and 'I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah' — confirming with absolute certainty that he is the seal of the messengers.

The testimony of faith (the shahadah) in Arabic language:

(أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله، وأشهد أن محمدًا رسول الله)

The transliteration of the testimony of faith (the shahadah): Ashhadu an lā ilāha illā Allah, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasūlullāh.

So if you believe that Allah alone is deserving of worship, and you believe that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and you pronounce the two testimonies believing in their meaning, you have entered Islam.

Peter said firmly: "Ashhadu an lā ilāha illā Allāh, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasūlullāh."—meaning: "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is His Messenger." Then he added with devotion: "And I bear witness that Jesus is the servant of Allah and His Messenger."

Dr. Raji said the takbir and praised Allah, and congratulated Peter on embracing Islam. Then he guided him to the ritual bath (ghusl) and ablution (wudu’), and taught him how to pray. For the first time in his life, Peter stood in the rows of the Muslims, shoulder to shoulder with Dr. Raji. He entered the prayer with the opening takbir, then prostrated to Allah, the One, the Unique. There was no intermediary between him and his Lord to whom he would direct worship; he was calling upon Allah alone.

And after the prayer, Dr. Raji turned to him, smiling, and said:

Raji: And now, Peter, what did you find in the prayer of the Muslims?

Peter looked at the tightly packed rows of worshippers, a smile filling his face, then turned toward Dr. Raji, the signs of tranquility and relief clearly visible on his face, and said, his eyes overflowing with joy and serenity: The prayer is wonderful! The burden of intermediaries has been lifted from my shoulders; here I found the sweetness of worshipping Allah alone, the Great Creator who hears me directly. In my prostration I tasted the sweetness of faith and the delight of nearness to Allah, which filled my soul with serenity, and I felt among these men the true, sincere brotherhood that my soul had long yearned for and that hearts seek sincerely.

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