Matter
By Mahmoud Andrade Ibrahim
What’s the Matter ?
What is matter ?
Matter is everything around you. Atoms and molecules are all composed of matter. Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space. It can be solid, liquid, gas, plasma or condensates. The point is that matter is ‘something’ that has physical characteristics. It can be measured, seen and weighed.
Allah is the Creator of all things. All created things are made of 'matter'. But what is essential to know and remember is that Allah is NOT in anything that He has created. Allah is not in ‘matter’. As Muslims we reject the notion that Allah is ‘in’ any of His Creation. Allah cannot be in anything physical. He is not in any molecule. Not in any atom, not in any electron, He is not in the trees, or the mountains or the rocks or in any person. Why ? because all of these things are made of matter. Allah created matter and He is not in anything He's made.
The only difference between a rock and a tree, for example, is the way in which the atoms and molecules are arranged. The difference between a cat and an elephant is the way in which the atoms and molecules are arranged for those particular animals. The difference between a bird and a human being is the particular order or sequence in which the atoms, molecules, electron and neutrons are arranged.
In Christianity, they go so far as to say that Almighty God has placed Himself in the atoms and molecules of a person named Jesus, or that Jesus is the Son of God, this time implying that the Creator is sharing His atoms and molecules with another created being. It is a Christian expression to say that 'God is in you', because they believe that Almighty God can be contained within atoms and molecules that make up you. Christians believe that Almighty God can be inside a person, which is the same as believing that God can be inside rocks, or trees, or elephants, because the only difference is the particular order in which these atoms and molecules are arranged. So, as Muslims, we see very little difference between those so-called primitive people who worship rocks or trees and people today that worship a person as God or the son of God. This would also mean, if He is sharing space inside of them, He God, is also created (astaghfirullah). Again, that makes as much sense to us as to say that Almighty God has a slightly different atomic and molecular arrangement than that of a Dixie-cup.
So the question is, given the way in which Christians understand that Almighty God (Allah) is in the atoms and molecules of human tissue, as in the person of Jesus, if you were able to go back in time and say to Prophet Isaac or Jacob, ‘What do you think about a religion that believes that Almighty God can be inside human tissue ?’, would they recognize that as a valid religion ? Or if you were able to speak to Prophet Solomon and say to him that the God you believe in is inside a particular person, would he recognize this as a valid religion. Or ask Prophets David or Samuel if the God they believe in has a son, would they recognize it as valid. I think that if you put that same question to Prophet Musa, he would say that he’s heard of that before because that seemed to be Pharaoh’s religion. But none would recognize it as the religion they received from Allah Almighty.
But if we were able to go back in time and ask Prophet Muhammad (pboh) the same question, he would say of Allah Almighty ,’He begets not, nor is He begotten, and there is none like Him’, and this would be recognized by all the previous prophets.
The whole point of Prophet Ibrahim smashing the idols of his father was to drive home the idea that Allah cannot be in anything that has form or substance, in other words anything made of matter, as in his case, idols made of stone.
So when we think of matter, as in rocks and stones and trees, or people, it is all the same to Allah because He Created them in every sequence of molecular and anatomic arrangement. Anything or everything that takes up space, has weight and is composed of atoms and molecules can never be worthy of our worship, because they are created things, only Allah, Almighty God, is to be be worshiped.
So the next time someone asks you, ‘ what’s the matter ?’........ tell ‘em.