1.1.5 Knowing Allah

Knowing Allah

The Meaning of Knowing Allah

To know Allah is the highest knowledge a human being can seek. It is not just information about a distant creator. It is a living relationship with the One who made you, sustains you, and will return you to Him. This knowledge is called maʿrifah or ʿilm of Allah in the Islamic tradition.

Allah created human beings so that they recognize Him, single Him out, and worship Him. Without knowing Allah, life loses its true direction. Allah says:

“I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.”
(Qur’an 51:56)

Worship in Islam is built on knowledge. A person cannot truly worship Allah without knowing who He is. The more a believer knows Allah, the more their heart submits, loves, fears, and hopes in Him. Because of this, the Qur’an constantly calls people to reflect on the reality of Allah and His perfect attributes.

Allah commands the believers:

“So know that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and seek forgiveness for your sin.”
(Qur’an 47:19)

This verse shows that knowing Allah and affirming His oneness is the starting point for every believer.

Knowing Allah Through His Names and Attributes

The most direct way to know Allah is through His names and attributes that He revealed about Himself. These names are not empty labels. Each name teaches us something real about Him, and how we should relate to Him.

Allah says:

“Allah, there is no deity except Him. To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names.”
(Qur’an 20:8)

And He says:

“And to Allah belong the Most Beautiful Names, so call upon Him by them.”
(Qur’an 7:180)

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“Indeed, Allah has ninety-nine names, one hundred minus one. Whoever enumerates them will enter Paradise.”
(Bukhari, Muslim)

Scholars explained that “enumerates them” means more than memorizing. It includes understanding their meanings, believing in them, living according to them, and calling upon Allah through them.

When you learn that Allah is Ar-Raḥmān, the Most Merciful, you understand that His mercy is vast and incomparable. You become hopeful and do not despair. When you learn that He is Al-ʿAlīm, the All-Knowing, you realize that nothing is hidden from Him, and this affects your choices even when you are alone.

Knowing Allah through His names brings your heart closer to Him. It turns abstract belief into a personal, lived faith. This knowledge transforms your character. A person who knows that Allah is Ash-Shakūr, the Most Appreciative, will perform good deeds even when people do not notice, trusting that Allah certainly does.

Knowing Allah Through His Actions and Lordship

Another way of knowing Allah is to reflect on His actions in the universe. Allah is Rabb, the Lord, who creates, owns, controls, and manages all affairs. Understanding His Lordship, called rubūbiyyah, deepens your recognition of His greatness.

Allah invites people to reflect:

“Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is, over all things, Disposer of affairs.”
(Qur’an 39:62)

“Unquestionably, His is the creation and the command. Blessed is Allah, Lord of the worlds.”
(Qur’an 7:54)

Seeing that Allah alone creates, provides, gives life, causes death, and controls benefit and harm, leads the believer to rely only on Him, fear only Him, and seek from Him alone. When you recognize that every breath, every movement, and every blessing in your life comes from Him, you begin to feel constant need and gratitude.

The Qur’an describes how Allah cares for His servants:

“And whatever blessing you have, it is from Allah. Then when adversity touches you, to Him you cry for help.”
(Qur’an 16:53)

This verse reminds you that both ease and hardship are managed by Allah. Knowing His actions teaches you to see His wisdom behind changes in your life. You understand that nothing is random, and that His plan is always perfect, even when you do not see it immediately.

The Heart’s Knowledge: Presence, Love, and Awe

Knowing Allah is not only an intellectual exercise. It is primarily knowledge of the heart. The heart that knows Allah feels His nearness, reveres His greatness, and feels shy to disobey Him.

Allah says:

“And He is with you wherever you are. And Allah, of what you do, is Seeing.”
(Qur’an 57:4)

This verse does not mean that Allah is physically mixed within His creation. It means His knowledge, hearing, and seeing encompass everything. For the believer, this creates a sense of watchfulness. You feel that Allah is aware of every word and thought, so you become careful about your speech and actions.

The Prophet ﷺ summarized this presence of heart in the famous hadith of Jibrīl when he defined iḥsān:

“It is that you worship Allah as if you see Him. And if you do not see Him, then indeed He sees you.”
(Muslim)

This is a deep level of knowing Allah. Even though your eyes cannot see Him in this world, your heart becomes so aware of His nearness that you worship with sincerity, humility, and concentration.

As knowledge of Allah increases, so do three essential feelings in the heart. Love, fear, and hope. Allah praises the believers:

“But those who believe are stronger in their love for Allah.”
(Qur’an 2:165)

He describes them also:

“…They call upon their Lord in fear and hope.”
(Qur’an 32:16)

And He says:

“Indeed, those who fear their Lord unseen will have forgiveness and a great reward.”
(Qur’an 67:12)

These feelings are not contradictions. They come together naturally when someone truly knows Allah. You love Him because He is perfect, merciful, and generous. You fear Him because He is mighty, just, and severe in punishment for those who persist in rebellion. You hope in Him because His mercy overcomes His anger, and because He promised paradise to those who believe and repent.

When love, fear, and hope are balanced, the believer walks a straight path. They are not deceived by overconfidence, and they are not destroyed by despair. All of this flows from knowing Allah correctly.

Knowing Allah Through His Speech: The Qur’an

Allah has spoken to humanity through revelation. The greatest way to know Him is to listen to His own words, the Qur’an. Each verse reveals something about His being, His names, His actions, His wisdom, His compassion, or His commands.

Allah introduces the Qur’an as guidance:

“This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for the God-conscious.”
(Qur’an 2:2)

He also says:

“A Book We have revealed to you so that you may bring mankind out of darkness into the light, by permission of their Lord, to the path of the Exalted in Might, the Praiseworthy.”
(Qur’an 14:1)

The darkness here includes ignorance of Allah. The light is the clarity of knowing Him and walking towards Him.

Reading the Qur’an is not only reciting Arabic words. It is listening to your Creator addressing you. When Allah says:

“Indeed, I am Allah. There is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance.”
(Qur’an 20:14)

He is not merely telling a story about Mūsā. He is speaking to every believer, declaring His oneness and calling them to worship. Knowing Allah through the Qur’an is an ongoing journey. The more you engage with it, reflect on its meaning, and act upon it, the deeper your knowledge becomes.

The Prophet ﷺ linked closeness to Allah with learning His Book. He said:

“The best of you are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it.”
(Bukhari)

People who devote themselves to the Qur’an learn not only laws and stories, but the character of Allah as He revealed it. Their hearts soften and their lives change.

Knowing Allah Through His Creation and Signs

The universe around you is full of signs that point to Allah. The Qur’an calls these signs āyāt, the same word used for its verses. Both the created world and the revealed words guide you to the same truth. They show you the existence, wisdom, and power of Allah.

Allah commands:

“Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of the night and the day, are signs for people of understanding.”
(Qur’an 3:190)

He then describes how such people respond:

“Those who remember Allah while standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and who reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth, [saying], ‘Our Lord, You did not create this aimlessly; exalted are You, so protect us from the punishment of the Fire.’”
(Qur’an 3:191)

Reflection on creation is not a separate activity from worship. It leads directly to remembrance, humility, and dua. When you see the order of the stars, the complexity of life, the cycle of water, or the balance of ecosystems, your heart recognizes that this cannot be meaningless.

Allah challenges people:

“Were they created from nothing, or were they themselves the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Rather, they are not certain.”
(Qur’an 52:35–36)

These verses invite you to think. If you did not create yourself and you did not create the universe, then there must be a Creator who did. That Creator cannot be weak, limited, or dependent. He must be powerful, knowledgeable, and independent. This reflection is a doorway to knowing Allah as the only true Lord.

Even the details of your own body are signs. Allah says:

“And on the earth are signs for the certain in faith, and in yourselves. Then will you not see?”
(Qur’an 51:20–21)

Your hearing, sight, mind, and emotions all testify to His creativity and care. Every breath you take is a reason to recognize Him more and more.

Knowledge of Allah and the State of the Heart

The more a person knows Allah, the more their heart becomes purified. Knowledge of Allah is the root of sincerity, humility, and reliance. Ignorance of Allah is the root of arrogance, heedlessness, and sin.

Allah criticizes those who turn away:

“They did not appraise Allah with true appraisal.”
(Qur’an 22:74)

Not giving Allah His true worth begins with not knowing Him. When someone thinks Allah is distant, unaware, or weak, they find it easy to disobey or to attach their hearts to created things.

On the other hand, Allah praises those whose hearts are alive with His remembrance:

“The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts tremble, and when His verses are recited to them, it increases them in faith, and upon their Lord they rely.”
(Qur’an 8:2)

This trembling is not mere fear. It is sensitivity. It is the response of a heart that truly knows who Allah is. Such a heart finds rest in remembering Him. Allah says:

“Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts find rest.”
(Qur’an 13:28)

As knowledge of Allah increases, the believer’s priorities change. The world becomes a place of passing tests, not a final home. The Hereafter becomes more real than what is in front of the eyes. Sin becomes heavy, worship becomes sweet, and dua becomes intimate conversation.

The Prophet ﷺ reported that Allah says in a hadith qudsi:

“I am as My servant thinks of Me, and I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me to himself, I remember him to Myself. If he remembers Me in a gathering, I remember him in a gathering that is better than it…”
(Bukhari, Muslim)

This hadith shows that how you know and think of Allah shapes your relationship with Him. If you think of Him as merciful, generous, and near, you will turn to Him more and experience more mercy and nearness.

The Limits and Perfection of Knowing Allah

In Islam, knowing Allah has two important sides. On one side, Allah made Himself known through revelation and signs, and He commanded us to know Him. On the other side, His reality is so great and perfect that no created mind can fully grasp Him.

Allah says:

“Vision does not encompass Him, but He encompasses all vision, and He is the Subtle, the Aware.”
(Qur’an 6:103)

This means that no eye or understanding can completely surround His reality. Yet He surrounds everything in knowledge and power. A believer accepts both. You know Allah truly, based on what He revealed, but you do not claim to know everything about Him or to understand His essence.

The Prophet ﷺ used to say in dua:

“I cannot enumerate praise of You. You are as You have praised Yourself.”
(Muslim)

If the best of creation ﷺ could not fully describe Allah’s perfection, then every other human being is even more limited. This does not reduce the value of knowing Allah. Instead, it makes the journey of knowing Him endless and precious. Every day you can learn more about Him, love Him more, and draw closer to Him.

Because human knowledge is limited, Muslims must not speak about Allah without knowledge. Allah warns:

“And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight, and the heart about all those [one] will be questioned.”
(Qur’an 17:36)

And He condemns:

“…and that you say about Allah that which you do not know.”
(Qur’an 2:169)

The safe path is to know Allah through His own words and through the authentic teachings of His Messenger ﷺ, not through guesses or imagination.

Practical Ways to Grow in Knowing Allah

Knowing Allah is not a one-time event. It is a lifelong path. Several daily practices nurture this knowledge and keep it alive in the heart.

The first is to recite and reflect on the Qur’an regularly. Allah encourages reflection:

“[This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, that they might reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded.”
(Qur’an 38:29)

When you read verses about Allah’s names, mercy, power, and wisdom, pause and let them shape your understanding of Him.

The second is to remember Allah often with your tongue and heart. The Prophet ﷺ said:

“The example of the one who remembers his Lord and the one who does not remember his Lord is like the example of the living and the dead.”
(Bukhari)

A heart that remembers Allah is alive and sensitive to Him. Remembrance (dhikr) keeps the knowledge of Allah fresh, not theoretical.

The third is to study the authentic hadith and the seerah of the Prophet ﷺ, because he is the one who knew Allah best and taught others about Him.

“Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example for whoever hopes in Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much.”
(Qur’an 33:21)

By seeing how the Prophet ﷺ trusted Allah, feared Him, loved Him, and turned to Him at every moment, you learn how a heart that knows Allah truly behaves.

The fourth is to reflect on your own life experiences. When you notice how Allah helped you at times of need, forgave you after sins, opened doors unexpectedly, or protected you from harm, you begin to recognize His care in personal ways. Allah says:

“And He has given you from all you asked of Him. And if you tried to count the favors of Allah, you could not enumerate them. Indeed, mankind is [generally] most unjust and ungrateful.”
(Qur’an 14:34)

Turning these observations into gratitude and humility deepens your knowledge of Him.

Finally, knowledge of Allah grows through obedience. When you act on what you know, Allah opens more understanding for you. The Prophet ﷺ said:

“Whoever acts upon what he knows, Allah will grant him knowledge of what he did not know.”
(Reported by Abu Nuʿaym; some scholars considered its chain acceptable in meaning)

Acting on knowledge cleanses the heart, and a clean heart can receive more light. Disobedience, on the other hand, darkens the heart and blocks deeper understanding of Allah.

This is the kind of knowledge that makes a human life meaningful and that prepares the believer to meet Allah in the Hereafter.