The Root
GOD — The Root
Who He is, why He is one, what He has made, and how to keep Him in mind.
O people, worship only your Lord—the One who created you and those before you—that you may be saved.
[2:21]Before anything can grow, it has to be rooted. Everything on this site grows out of one thing: who God is.
Get that part right and the rest follows almost on its own. Get it wrong, and nothing built on top of it holds.
That is not a figure of speech. God puts the knowing first and the asking after it: “You shall know that: ‘There is no other god beside GOD,’ and ask forgiveness of your sins.” [47:19] Knowing is commanded, and it is commanded first.
So this is the root. Four pages, each answering a different part of the same question.
What This Section Is Not
This is not a philosophy course, and the Quran does not set out to argue God into existence.
It does something else. It points, and keeps pointing, at things anyone can go and look at. The night turning into day. Rain falling on ground that was dead. The body reading this.
Then God names who will see what is there: “In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day, there are signs for those who possess intelligence.” [3:190]
Reverence grows out of that kind of looking. After naming the colours of the fruits, the mountains, the people and the livestock, God says: “This is why the people who truly reverence GOD are those who are knowledgeable.” [35:28]
So this section exists for two things. Looking properly at what is already in front of us. And finding out what God says about Himself, in His own words.
The Four Pages
Any of them can be read first. If the whole subject is new, start with Greatness of God.
Greatness of God
What God is like, in His own words. The names He gave us, and what being small in front of Him asks of us.
Read moreMonotheism
One God, and everything that rules out. The first commandment, the argument for one God and not many, and the idols that look nothing like statues.
Read moreGod's Creations
Everything He made, put forward as evidence. Water and rain, the animals the book names, our own bodies, and seven things stated long before they were found.
Read moreCommemorating God
How to keep Him in mind when the day is already full. What the remembering is for, which names to call on, and the prayers written out for us to use.
Read moreWhere the Root Leads
Nothing on this site stands on its own, and the root feeds the rest of it.
Knowing God is what turns Submission from a label into a decision. Once we know there is only One, choosing Him is the only move left.
It is also what makes the practices more than a routine. God attaches the reason to the prayer in the same breath: “observe the Contact Prayers (Salat) to remember Me.” [20:14]
And it is what the Quran section is for. Every verse quoted on these pages can be looked up and read in its place.
So read this section slowly, and come back to it. These four pages are what everything else on the site is standing on, and not a syllabus to get through.
Questions People Ask
Why are we here at all?
To worship God. He says so in His own voice: “I did not create the jinns and the humans except to worship Me alone.” [51:56] He also says what this life is arranged to sort out: “The One who created death and life for the purpose of distinguishing those among you who would do better.” [67:2] So it is short, and it is a test. And He tells us what worship does for us. It brings us closer to Him [73:8], and “by remembering GOD, the hearts rejoice” [13:28].
If God already knows everything, what is the point of a test?
The test is there so that what we chose is on the record, chosen by us. It was never there to inform God. He says the world was made to distinguish “those among you who would do better” [67:2]. The distinguishing is real even though the outcome is known to Him. He also gave us the answer to that objection in advance. Every human being was asked directly, and every one of them answered “Yes. We bear witness.” [7:172] The verse says why: so that nobody could claim afterwards to be unaware.
Why start with God instead of with what we are supposed to do?
Because a practice done for the wrong god counts for nothing, and God puts the knowing first. The order is His: “You shall know that: ‘There is no other god beside GOD,’ and ask forgiveness of your sins.” [47:19] Know, then ask. The warning that goes with it is severe. Works are nullified by idol worship, and God addresses that warning to His own messenger [39:65]. Getting the first thing right is what makes everything after it worth doing.
Where the Quran Starts With God
Eight verses that hold this section together.
You shall know that: "There is no other god beside GOD," and ask forgiveness of your sins and the sins of all believing men and women. GOD is fully aware of your decisions and your ultimate destiny.[47:19]
Knowing comes first, and it is a commandment.
Proclaim, ‘He is the One and only GOD. The Absolute GOD. Never did He beget. Nor was He begotten. None equals Him.’[112:1-4]
The whole of it, in four short lines.
Such is GOD your Lord, there is no god except He, the Creator of all things. You shall worship Him alone. He is in control of all things.[6:102]
Who He is, and what follows from it.
I did not create the jinns and the humans except to worship Me alone.[51:56]
Why we are here, in one line, in His own voice.
In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day, there are signs for those who possess intelligence.[3:190]
Where to look for Him.
We created the human, and we know what he whispers to himself. We are closer to him than his jugular vein.[50:16]
How near He is, stated by Him.
When My servants ask you about Me, I am always near. I answer their prayers when they pray to Me. The people shall respond to Me and believe in Me, in order to be guided.[2:186]
And He answers.
The One who created death and life for the purpose of distinguishing those among you who would do better. He is the Almighty, the Forgiving.[67:2]
What this life is for.
Learn, then live it
Every page on this site follows the same five steps, so reading always turns into growing.
Growth Prompt
Pause before going further, and write the answer down. This is where the growth starts.
When did I last think about God out of love rather than need?
Keep growing
Every topic on this site connects to the others. Here is where this page leads next.