Question 94 - The Enlightening Answer Across the Ether, Vol 2

Ahmed al-Hasan Response:

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, the Imams and the Mahdis, and grant them abundant peace. A god is the perfect one to whom one turns for the removal of deficiency and the attainment of perfection-that is, one turns toward and seeks him. A lord is one who removes another’s deficiency and perfects another. Divinity and lordship are not exclusive to Him, Glorious is He; what is exclusive to Him, Glorious is He, is absolute divinity and absolute lordship. The difference is clear between lordship in general-which includes even a father, who may be called the lord of the family on account of raising and perfecting his children-and absolute lordship, which includes only the Self-Sufficient One who is not in need of another. It is restricted to Him, Glorious is He, and the same is true of divinity. Indeed, Allah, Glorious and Exalted, created the human being to be His perfect vicegerent, and he can be so only if he takes on all the attributes of divinity and they manifest through him-that is, as narrated from the Messenger of Allah (s): ‘He enumerated the names of Allah.’ This is in brief. A detailed treatment appears in The Interpretation of Surat al-Tawhid, which you will read in the future, Allah willing. I am a servant of the believers and of you. Answering your questions does not burden me; rather, I am honored to answer them, and answering them is one of Allah’s blessings upon me. When many questions are asked with the intention of drawing near to Allah, they mean that the believer is concerned with his religion and is turning toward Allah. I came for this: so that the people would turn toward Allah. I ask you to excuse me and overlook my lapse if I have fallen short toward you in anything.