Recognizing God in Self-Development: Who Is the One Who Inspires Us?

We have talked about self-development and being naturally inspired by Allah, who inspires all of this desire for growth and evolution. But who is God?

The Universal Tendency to Worship

Every traditional culture has had a concept of God. Even those who reject God often end up devoting themselves to something else, whether wealth, ego, or fame. So every human has a tendency to worship something or someone. This is an inborn trait. In the Islamic paradigm, it was instilled in all the children of Adam by Allah before their creation, when He asked, "Am I not your Lord?" and they said, "Yes, we testify" (Qur'an 7:172). This is the fitrah, the natural disposition upon which Allah created people (Qur'an 30:30). The Qur'an also warns about the one who takes his own desire as his god (Qur'an 45:23).

One Concept, Many Names

Every traditional culture has a concept of a Great God: a Creator, a Sustainer, and a Master who guides all creation, whether it is Zeus of the Greek gods, Brahman of the Hindus, or the Father of the Christian faith. The Qur'an tells us that a messenger was sent to every nation (Qur'an 16:36). Some ways of life, like Confucianism and Buddhism, do not put an emphasis on God and are more a code of living. Still, even they carry a sense of the sacred and of a higher moral order.

Allah: "The God"

In Arabic, the word for god with a small "g" is ilah. When an Arab talks about God Almighty, they call Him Allah, from Al-Ilah, which means "The God." This is true whether the Arab is a Muslim, Christian, or Jew. Allah is thus the Arabic name for the One God Almighty, the One the Bible calls the Alpha and the Omega and the Qur'an calls the First and the Last (Qur'an 57:3). He is the All-Powerful and the Lord of the Worlds (Qur'an 1:2), the Regulator of the universe.

Seeking His Inspiration

Thus, for self-development, we need to seek inspiration from Him, whatever we call Him in our language, whether Allah or some other name. Allah says, "Call upon Allah or call upon the Most Merciful. Whichever you call, to Him belong the best names" (Qur'an 17:110). We then develop our goals and pursue them with His help: "You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help" (Qur'an 1:5).