No Similarity and No Escape

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Why can’t our intelligence reach His real Essence and Attributes?The Conclusion

The discussion about the attributes of God in recognizing Him is one of the most difficult discussions. Each group involved has taken a new route and they have all fallen prey to errors of omission and commission.

Some have drowned in the sea of escapism by saying that “we do not understand anything about the attributes of God excepting the few negative thoughts that we have in our minds.

 When we say God is knowledgeable we understand that He is not ignorant; when we say that he is authoritative we understand that he is not helpless but we do not know exactly what His knowledge means. This behavior or ideology is called escapism (The escape from understanding His attributes).

2. The second group drowns itself in the sea of similitudes and says that they have accepted the contingent attributes and they have created the body, hand s, legs, and face for God. They have assumed God to have the form of humans containing all overt and covert attributes of mankind. Such a God has a possibility of being visible to them for he has a station and a place and is subject to changing conditions. They have fallen into the worst pit of polytheism.

To understand how far they have sunk into the pit of polytheism and disbelief we can read what Muhaqiq Dawani has said about this group that creates similarities. He says, “One group believes that God has a body. One group among them believes that His body consists of flesh and blood. Others contend that He is like silver light and his height is equal to seven measures of hands.

One group opines that He has the form like humans and they too are splintered in other smaller groups that say that he is young and has not grown a beard as yet. His hair is soft and curly. Some say He has the form of an old man wheatish in complexion and there are other such frivolities.”(1)

What we understand from the Qura’n is that neither escapism nor belief in allegory is correct because the Qura’n enjoins us to understand Him. Many verses speak of His essence and his attributes but this recognition will be scant and the belief in allegories is wrong. Qura’n denies all similitudes for God and declares Him to be free from all partners. This proves that creating similitudes is wrong. The best is the middle path and that is that our knowledge of God will be scant and superfluous and this is suffice for us.

 It is impossible to understand Him thoroughly with regard to His Essence or His attributes.

 


 

1.Behar-ol-Anwar Vol.3 Page 289

 

Why can’t our intelligence reach His real Essence and Attributes?The Conclusion
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