God's Signature

Danial Sutami Putra Director R & D Hawariyyin Research Centre ©2009



Every masterpiece in this world (e.g. paintings, musical instruments, carvings, etc) have a special mark, or signature inscribed on certain spot of it by the artists.

 It

was made as a legitimate proof of the artists, to show that the masterpiece really indeed created by them, so nobody could claim their finest work.

 It

also functions as a ‘memorial sign’

 One

of the most famous violin & guitar maker in the world

 His

masterpiece was worth average more than USD 300,000 sold in Christie’s auction

 He

always put an inscription “S” on every violin he made as his legitimate signature

Auction house Christie's in New York sold an original Stradivari Violin known as the "Lady Tennant" for US$ 2 million in April 2005

Source: http://www.conciertomusic.com/CONCIERTO%27S%20JOURNEY.htm

Stradivari’s “signature” on the guitar. Let’s take a closer look

A

famous painter in Indonesia

 Well

known for his unique technique of painting using only with both hands

 Most

of his paintings worth average USD 100,000-300,000

 Each

of his works contained letter “AF” inscribed on it as his special signature

This small selfportrait painting sold for US$ 5,000 in 2008 to an Indonesian auction house, Borobudur

Affandi’s “signature”

Let’s take a closer look..

Notice the “AF”stands for Affandi-signature and the year the painting was made in (1958)

 Each

and everyone of us have a special signature to differentiate one another

 We

use our signature to show that we’re in charge of something important (e.g. giving approval over some matters)

 Our

signature is also one of requirement needed in legal agreement



There are so many religions in the world, and each claims that they are the RIGHT ONE.

 For

this matter, many then decided not to believe and there’s no such thing as ‘GOD’.

 For

those who believe and involved in an established religious organizations, they attacked others for defending their dogma, and judged those outside group as ‘unbelievers’



Did God really do it in purpose to let us, His creatures, wandering in confusion and despair in order to know Him? Trapped in a such hostile situation among believers? Hated each other for defending religion?

 Did

He leave us here in the world without giving any sign, or leaving any trace for us, so we can follow the ‘right-path’ that leads directly and only to Him?

 How

do we know that the God we’re all currently worshipping are the one Who created us and the universe?

 God

is our CREATOR. He is The ONE and ONLY Who created the universe

 The

world we’re living is one of His ‘Masterpiece’

 Therefore

He must have left His ‘signature’ as the Legitimate Proof of His work of Creation

 The

“exclusive sign” that help us to identify that He really is the TRUE God, the Creator

 Genesis

chapter 1 told about the process of creation. It all finished on the sixth day.  Then in Genesis chapter 2 verse 2-3 : And on the Seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the Seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the Seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made

 Genesis

told us that God created heavens and earth in 6 days.

 Then

He rested, blessed, and sanctified His work of creation on the seventh-day.

 Three

verbs was emphasized on the seventh day somehow showed how important this day really was.

 Exodus

20: 3-17 1. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me 2. Thou shalt not make any images 3. Thou shalt not take the name of God in vain 4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy 5. Honour thy father and thy mother 6. Thou shalt not kill 7. Thou shalt not commit adultery 8. Thou shalt not steal 9. Thou shalt not bear false witness 10.Thou shalt not covet

 Exodus

20: 8-11 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work… For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

 QS.

Al-A’raaf :54

Your Guardian-Lord is God, Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days, and is firmly established on the throne (of authority)…

 QS.

Yunus:3

Verily your Lord is God, Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days, and is firmly established on the Throne (of authority)…

 QS.

Huud:7

He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days—and His Throne was over the Waters…

 QS.

Al-Furqaan: 59

He Who created the heavens and the earth and all that is between, in six Days, and is firmly established on the Throne (of Authority)…

 QS.

As-Sajdah: 4

It is God Who has created the heavens and the earth, and all between them, in six Days, and is firmly established on the Throne (of Authority)…

 QS.

Al-Hadiid:4

He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days, and is moreover firmly established on the Throne (of Authority)…

 Both

Genesis and Quran implied that Creation process finished in 6 Days.

 Genesis

told there’s still one more day, that is the 7th Day, the day where God rested, blessed, and sanctified as He finished His work of Creation.

 Quran

told us that after God finished the Creation process, then He firmly established on His Throne.

GENESIS

QURAN

Creation finished in Creation finished in 6 days 6 days On the 7th day rested, blessed, and sanctified

Firmly established on His Throne



Despite the seeming parallelism, Quran didn’t tell us about the 7th day, like Genesis.

 But

the term rest, blessed, and sanctified might somehow have the same meaning as firmly established on the Throne.

 One

thing we can be sure that both means God is doing something after He finished His work of Creation.

 The

7th Day in Genesis is called Sabbath, a Hebrew word

 Comes

from root sbt meaning to rest, to desist from previous work

 Interestingly,

many languages in the world have quite similar form when refer to number 7 or the seventh day (eg: sabbado, sabbaton, sapta, sabtu, sabti, sieben, etc)

And well ye know those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of Sabbath: We said to them: “Be ye apes, despised and rejected.” So We made it an example to their own time and to their posterity, and a lesson to those who fear God.

O ye People of the Book! Believe in what We have (now) revealed, confirming what was (already) with you, before We change the face and fame of some (of you) beyond all recognition, and turn them hindwards, or curse them as We cursed the Sabbathbreakers, for the decision of God must be carried out.

And for their covenant were raised over them (the towering height) of Mount (Sinai); and (on another occasion) We said: “Enter the gate with humility”; and (once again) we commanded them: “Transgress not in the matter of the Sabbath.” And We took from them a solemn covenant.

Ask them concerning the town standing close by the sea. Behold! They transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath. For on the day of their Sabbath their fish did come to them, openly holding up their heads, but on the day they had no Sabbath, they came not: thus did We make a trial of them, for they were given to transgression.

The Sabbath was only made (strict) for those who disagreed (as to its observance); but God will judge between them on the Day of Judgment, as to their differences.

 The

word Sabbath is mentioned 7 times in Quran, while Friday prayer only 1 time in AlJumu’ah (which literally means Congregation)

 History

of Islam told that before Hijra to Medina, Muhammad and his umma were Sabbath-keeper, and their qiblat was toward Jerusalem

 After

having quarreled with the Jew people in Medina, he changed the Sabbath to Friday, and the qiblat to Mecca



One friend once argued that the Israelites in Muhammad’s time were having different opinion about which one is the true Sabbath: the seventh day or the first day? And Quran provides the answer that the true Sabbath is the seventh-day.

 Another

friends argued that those verses about Sabbath were referred to the story of Israelites, then it’s no longer applied to the moslems. It’s just a history.

 The

command to keep Sabbath was given by God to Moses in Mount Sinai. Therefore the Israelites had been observing the Sabbath for about 3000 years before Muhammad’s time, even until now.

 It

really doesn’t make sense if there were differences among them about which day is the true Sabbath, while we know how close their community was and how fanatic they were especially about their religion.

 Their

Tanakh and Talmud are the only sources of their law. It’s impossible for the Jewish to ask about true Sabbath from Quran.

 Let’s

have a look on Quran verses:

No change wilt thou find in the practice (approved) of God. Al-Ahzab:62 No change wilt thou find in the practice (approved) of God. Al-Fath: 23

 If

God commanded the Russian ‘thou shalt not kill’? Would it be the same to the French? Of course!

 If

God commanded the Brazilian ‘thou shalt not steal’? Would He do the same to the Mexican? Absolutely!

 If

God commanded the Chinese ‘honor your father and mother’? What would be His command to the Japanese? No doubt it would be also ‘Honor your father and mother’!

“REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY AND KEEP IT HOLY”



Our God is not working by ‘trial-and-error’, always revising His Law and Commandment in order to make it more perfect. Everything that comes out from Him is perfect already.



Most well-known religions in the world including Islam, have observed at least some of the commandments of 10 Commandments, except for the 4th one. They seem forgetting about it.

 No

wonder God use the word ‘Remember’ in the 4th commandment, for He knew from the first time that most people would eventually forget about the Sabbath day.



A YEAR: You can count a year by knowing that earth revolving around the sun for one time

A

MONTH: Month is counted by moon revolving the earth

A

DAY: One day is when Earth rotating within its core

 There

is no natural phenomenon to explain scientifically why there are 7 days in a week

 It

is God Himself protected this ‘memorial of creation’

 Sabbath

is no doubt a legitimate proof of our Creator

 La

ila ha ilallah is implied in the First Commandment: Thou shalt have no other Gods before me



In order to do this, God--as the Sole Creator --put a bold distinction with other possible gods in His Fourth Commandment, to Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy.

 For

He blessed the seventh Day as He finished from the work of Creation.



The very basis foundation of true worshipping is that we define ourselves as creature, who bow down before our Creator

 How

do we recognize and be sure that the God whom we worship really is the one Who created us? By acknowledging the Sabbath Day as our Holy Day because the seventh-day is His Signature of Creation