Contradicting Allah

By: Bijla Singh

In Sikhi, description of Waheguru (God) is so unique that for many it goes beyond understanding. Many times what may appear as an apparent contradiction is only due to lack of knowledge and correct understanding of Gurmat teachings. Sikhi holds Waheguru as the absolute power, pure truth, the only creator, without fear, without hatred, beyond time and limitless. He is everywhere and nothing is without Him. He is within His creation and beyond. To Muslims this simple yet so elegant concept is hard to grasp since Allah in Quran has love only for selected individuals and hates “disbelievers”. According to them it seems impossible that Waheguru can be Nirgun (without attributes) and Sargun (with all attributes) at the same time. We shall explain this concept in details so that Muslims can see the truth and correctly understand who Waheguru really is. We shall also see in this section if the so-called ‘Universal Law of Non-Contradiction’ holds true in Islam.

Let’s begin with Nirgun and Sargun first. We (Sikhs) openly accept this concept to be true since every word of Gurbani is directly revealed from Waheguru. Therefore, Waheguru is Nirgun and Sargun.

saragun niragun nira(n)kaar su(n)n samaadhhee aap ||
He possesses all qualities; He transcends all qualities; He is the Formless Lord. He Himself is in Primal Samaadhi. (Ang 290)

niragun aap saragun bhee ouhee ||
He Himself is absolute and unrelated; He Himself is also involved and related. (Ang 287)

raaj joban prabh thoo(n) dhhanee || thoo(n) niragun thoo(n) saragunee ||2||
O God, You are my power, authority and youth. You are absolute, without attributes, and also related, with the most sublime attributes. ||2|| (Ang 211)

nira(n)kaar aakaar aap niragun saragun eaek ||
He Himself is formless, and also formed; the One Lord is without attributes, and also with attributes. (Ang 250)

There are many more quotes but the fact is that wherever Waheguru is mentioned as “Nirgun” word “Sargun” also appears. Both words appearing right after each other in the same line does not mean contradiction but a characteristic of Waheguru. Had the two words been separate one could raise doubts. Any rational person can see that since Guru Sahib mentioned both words together there must be hidden meanings to it. The problem with Muslims is that they do not understand why Waheguru is referred to as Sargun.

To explain the concept in simple terms, we go to the beginning of time. First Waheguru was only Nirgun as there existed nothing but Him. Then He created the entire creation i.e. solar systems, galaxies, planets, life forms, humans etc. In other words, anything to everything originated from Waheguru.

From the One Light, the entire universe welled up. So who is good, and who is bad? ||1|| (Ang 1349)

Guru Sahib taught that everyone came from the same source of light and it is the same light that pervades in the entire creation. While Waheguru has no particular form of His own, all forms originated from Him and therefore all forms belong to Him. Since Waheguru is omnipresent and all pervading nothing in the creation is without Him. Therefore, he is Sargun i.e. everything including all life forms and attributes belong to Him.

He is the life of the soul in each and every soul; He permeates and pervades each and every heart. (Ang 1273)

Thus, it is clear now that the word Sargun refers to creation of Waheguru. When in Gurbaani it says “He Himself is formless and also formed”, “creating Himself” or “fashioning Himself” it refers to creation because He is the creator and resides within the creation. It means that God Himself manifested Himself from His Nirgun (invisible) form, which forever existed, to his Sargun (visible) form.

people, O Siblings of Destiny, do not wander deluded by doubt. The Creation is in the Creator, and the Creator is in the Creation, totally pervading and permeating all places. ||1||Pause|| (Ang 1349)

This whole world which you see is the image of the Lord; only the image of the Lord is seen. By Guru's Grace, I understand, and I see only the One Lord; there is no one except the Lord. (Ang 922)

Guru Sahib saw Waheguru residing in every heart and in every form of creation. This is why He rejected empty rituals like hajj and facing a certain direction during prayers. God is not limited to one direction nor does He reside at one particular place. He is everywhere and everything belongs to Him. Now, it is clear that the word Sargun refers to the creation in which we can see and realize Waheguru and His wondrous miracles.

Words “Nirankar” and “Ik Oankar” are not contradictory at all. Here is why:

Nir (without) Akaar (form) – Waheguru is without any form.

Ik (One) Oan (Brahm or God) Kar (without changes) – One God who has stayed the same, is the same and will always be the same. In other words, He doesn’t change over time. His powers, characteristics and existence are beyond time and forever and ever.

Both words convey the same meanings. First word says that Waheguru is formless and has no particular form of His own. Second word means that He is One and has existed forever and does not change over time. He is One universal creator. Therefore, the contradiction does not exist. Muslims are simply confused or trying to find flaws in flawless path, Sikhi, which is an impossible feat.

Contradictory Allah

In this section we evaluate the same claim of Muslims on Quran and Islamic teachings. We list some of the following contradictions briefly without going into too many details.

1. According to Quran wine is haram i.e. forbidden. If this is the universal law of Allah then why is this haram served in heaven? Why do rivers of haram flow in heaven? If it is haram on earth then why is it permitted in heaven where one cannot go without giving up wine in the first place? Why does Allah require Muslims to believe in this ridiculous belief blindly?

2. Islam rejects the belief of reincarnation because events, memories and deeds cannot be passed on from one life to another. If this is true then how is it possible for a sin of Adam and Eve to be passed onto the entire humanity? It is ludicrous to propose that one person’s bad and good deeds cannot affect him in next life while one person’s bad deed is affecting the entire humanity and is the cause of suffering for the humans. How does universal law of non-contradiction apply here?

3. According to verses 10:3 and 11:7 God created the creation in six days but according to 41:9, 41:10 and 41:12 the creation was created in eight days accumulatively. This is a clear contradiction. Little did Mohammad know that a day is a measurement of time. Day means the time this Earth takes to revolve around its axis. So when there was no Earth, how is possible for the creation to come into existence in 6 or 8 days? The concept of time came with the creation. Before creation, there can be no concept of time. Muslims sure have twisted the interpretations and have come up with obscure explanation to clear this ‘misconception’. However, since clearing up the contradiction requires human intervention it is reasonable to say that Quran is not explained in clear terms which directly contradicts with verse 11:1 according to which “A Book, its verses have been perfected and explained by One (who is) all-Wise, Well-Informed”. If the book is perfect and explained then it need not human intervention and man-made theories to make sense of what Allah is saying.

4. According to verses 22:47 and 32:5 a day of Allah is equal to 1000 earth years but according to verse 70:4 it is equal to 50,000 earth years. Whereas Allah in Quran is not beyond time, God in Sikhi is called ‘Akal’ which means beyond time and physical world. Time applies to physical world only.

5. If we assume Allah created the creation in six days then whose day is it? Allah’s or man’s? According to Allah’s six days it adds up to 36000 earth years (1 day = 6000 years) or 300,000 earth years (1 day = 50,000 years). In either case, it is scientifically false. Since the message is not clear at all it contradicts with 11:1 verse which states that the “book” is “perfect and explained”.

6. In verses 39:73, 41:30 and 57:21 it is clearly stated that there is only one garden in paradise but verses 18:31, 22:23 and 78:32 mention many gardens in paradise. Clearly, Mohammad could not make up his mind and delivered a contradictory message.

7. On Judgment Day people will be divided into three classes according to verse 56:7. In 90:18-19 and 99:6-8 people will be divided into two groups. When will Judgment Day happen? What day and time? Keep in mind the time difference before addressing this point. If Muslims have no clear cut answers then obviously Quran’s message is really ambiguous.

8. According to verse 32:11 angel of death takes the soul. According to 47:27 angels take the soul while in verse 39:42 it is suggested that Allah himself takes the soul. Which is it? If any one of these is correct then what about Judgment Day? Let’s assume Allah takes away the souls then who waits in the grave? Once soul is taken where does it go? It cannot go to hell or heaven since that will be determined on Judgment Day and clearly it cannot have another life form since reincarnation is not an accepted belief in Islam then what is the resting place of the soul?

9. Quran permits Muslim men to have up to four wives because it is the law of Allah then why is Mohammad made an exception who had 12 wives and many sex slaves and concubines? Why was he allowed to have unlimited number of wives and slaves? Does law of Allah not apply to Mohammad? If the prophet himself won’t follow the ‘divine’ message then how can one expect humans to follow it?

10. Men have the right to beat their wives according to verse 4:34. Why is the same right not given to women? This cannot be a “universal law”.

11. Why are women not given 72 virgin men in paradise? This is injustice of Allah.

12. Why doesn’t a woman have the right to say “talaq” three times? This is not a universal law.

13. On one hand Allah is considered all loving and the creator and on the other hand is ordering Muslims to be ruthless and merciless to non-believers in verses 48:29, 2:193 and 9:73. Clearly Allah is full of hatred and does not have an iota of compassion or love for his own creation.

14. Allah is so full of hatred that he talks about “instilling terror into the hearts of the unbelievers” in verse 8:12. Therefore, Allah cannot be all loving and hateful at the same time. Some Muslims claim that this particular verse is applicable only when Muslims are fighting a defensive war. If this is true then two conclusions are drawn. First, Quran’s message is not applicable to all times, all situations and all places. Hence, Quran is only for some people on earth because many communities such as Buddhists do not believe in war and therefore the message of Quran cannot be applied to them. Second, if fighting defensive war is the case then what about Muslim invaders who attacked India numerous times and enslaved thousands of Hindu women? Their war was offensive. Did Allah instill terror into their hearts? If no because they were believer then clearly Allah doesn’t have a universal law. Instilling terrors only into the hearts of non-Muslims does not advocate universal law of non-contradiction.

There are many more contradicting laws of Allah stated in Quran such as inheritance laws, inequality laws, numerical and scientific contradictions. The list is endless. Once the above questions are answered we shall list more. Until then we shall await for Muslims to gather their thoughts and explain their flawed book. We appeal to Muslims to give up their belief in false, hateful, limited and contradicting Allah and start following all loving, omnipresent, and omnipotent Waheguru who is within His creation and beyond.