Can a Muslim call God, Father?

[Many Sages One Truth]

I don't mean in the sense of saying you're the literal offspring of God. I mean can a Muslim say God is their Father in the sense of being their creator or caring about them very much?

 

[Mohamed]

no,ofcourse not
god named himself 99 name (father) is not one of them

 

[Sahar]

God is not a father or a mother or a grandfather whether in a literal or in a symbolic sense. He is Allāh, other than whom there is no deity, Knower of the unseen and the witnessed. He is the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
He is Allāh, other than whom there is no deity, the Sovereign, the Pure, the Perfection, the Bestower of Faith, the Overseer, the Exalted in Might, the Compeller, the Superior. Exalted is Allāh above whatever they associate with Him.
He is Allāh, the Creator, the Inventor, the Fashioner; to Him belong the best names. Whatever is in the heavens and earth is exalting Him. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.

Calling Allah "father" is outright disbelief.

 

[AgreeToDisagree]

I don't mean in the sense of saying you're the literal offspring of God. I mean can a Muslim say God is their Father in the sense of being their creator or caring about them very much?

"Father" is a good name. Unfortunately it can be misleading. So it is better to refrain from calling him that. To God belongs the most beautiful names.

 

[RS1346]

It does say in the Qur'an, “…by whichsoever (name) ye will, invoke Him: He hath most excellent names” (17:110)

And it is evidently true that God is exalted above all names; that all the names and attributes of God are created by Him. So, none of them are describing Him in His Essence.

But, the Manifestations of God have indeed revealed names and attributes of God. And, although infinitely limited, we can become closer to Him by reflecting on these names. In fact, in Islam there are 100 names of God - 99 and one secret name. Baha'is believe this to be the name "Baha" which means in its closest English equivalent "glory". But this is the Islam DIR, so I won't go into this one too much

However, this specific question must take into account the religion where this name appears most commonly. That is, we must take Christianity into account.

Since Islam acknowledges Christianity - and, in the Gospel, God is referred to as Father, then it is appropriate.

It is true that some have claimed that the Gospel has been changed etc... - However, it is clear that if it was changed so much that Christians had no access to the true teachings of Christ, then they could not possibly be judged on the Day of Judgement according to God's justice nor would God's favour have been complete unto those who accepted and followed Christ. As such, the complete loss of the true Gospel is something that cannot be the case since amongst many other reasons, “No change canst thou find in God’s mode of dealing” (48:23).

So, if God is referred to as The Father in one Holy Book that has been brought down by a Messenger from God, then I would think that it is perfectly okay for a Muslim to call upon God by this name.

Let me know what you guys think!

 

[tariqkhwaja]

Assalamualaikum.

Please ... wasn't it enough Christians made that mistake once with regard to their God. And look where that led them.

Please ...

 

[A-ManESL]

You may find this article interesting. It is concerning the views of one of the most well known scholars of the Islamic world, namely, Imam Ghazali. I quote from it:

Al-Ghazali has argued that Jesus’ usage of some special metaphoric terms
for God, such as ‘Father’ and towards himself as ‘god’, ‘Son’ and ‘Lord’ is lawful
and acceptable. Every prophet has the right to use some special metaphorical
concepts to explain the will of God. But, at the same time, God can forbid these to
other believers, for example using these words was forbidden for Muslims.

Why has God named Himself as a ‘Father’? According to Al-Ghazali the word
Father in the Old and New Testaments does absolutely not refer to a biological
fatherhood, but directly to a transcendent God. Why Father? For Al-Ghazali there
exist some similarities between God’s kindness of God and that of a father's
kindness, love and will towards their servants and children. All fathers usually
want their children to be successful and to stay in a secure state continuously. This
tendency is similar to God’s will towards His obedient servants. The relationship
between God and His servants can be best explained by the relationship between a
Father and his son.[6] Naturally such a distinction has given rise to a new
problem: why did God name Himself as a Father and not a mother?

The use of the word ‘Son’ for Jesus may be the result of the similarities between
Jesus and a good son. A son, who submits to his father and respects him, will be
regarded as a lovely son. Jesus was a very good servant and submissive person; as
for his obedience, God has named Jesus and other prophets as God’s Son. Actually
the title of ‘Son’ originated from the Old Testament. This reality is expressed in
the Psalms as follows: ‘As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD
has compassion on those who fear him’ (Ps 103:13).[7]

 

[tariqkhwaja]

The reason why Jesus was the "son of God" (and why Muhammad peace and blessings of Allah be upon him is "God") is clarified somewhat by the parable below:

Matthew 21:33-46
33 "Hear another parable. There was a householder who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to tenants, and went into another country. 34 When the season of fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants, to get his fruit; 35 and the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first; and they did the same to them. 37 Afterward he sent his son to them, saying, `They will respect my son.' 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, `This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.' 39 And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" 41 They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons." 42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures: `The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? 43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it."

Here the difference becomes obvious. Whereby the "son" refers to the "son of God" i.e. Jesus Christ. A son who is similar to his Father but not completely in the Father's image. That is, in fact, the similarity between the son and the father. Similar but not identical. And that was the status of Jesus. He was up there in rank ... pretty high and respectable rank of a Prophet of God who was similar to God in image. But he was not "the owner of the vineyard".

Who was the owner?

 

[RS1346]

A-Man: That was quite an interesting quote! I tend to agree with much of it. However, where is it specifically forbidden that a Muslim may not use the specific term "Father"? Maybe there is a hadith for it?

 

[Villager]

Assalamualaikum.

Please ... wasn't it enough Christians made that mistake once with regard to their God. And look where that led them.

Where was that?

 

[Woodrow LI]

We are told in the Qur'an that Allaah(swt) is neither male nor female. the word Father is associated with a Male. In reference to the above comments that it is justified to usethe name father as it was what Jesus(as) called him, I tend to doubt that iswhat Jesus(as) actually used. In the Lord's Prayer, the original Aramaic still exists and the word that is translated as Father is the Aramaic Abwun. However Abwun does not mean Father. It has no exact English meaning and is a combination of the words for Father/Mother or Birther more accurately would correspond with the English word Creator. I suspect that the Aramaic Abwun would be what Jesus(as) used and was translated into the Koin Greek and from there to the English word father as Abwun would not have had a corresponding Greek word and Ab is father in Aramaic

 

[asa120]

it e huge probleme between critianity faith and islam
islam claifie that god is not our father and we re not hsi suns
islam teach us that god is one there is only one god he dos not have e sun or e wife and he does not apaire like his ceations including humans

 

[TruthSpeaker]

quran dont allow that