Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

References

1. - The philosophical basis of this reasoning is that knowledge and understanding require a type of encompassment of knowledge by the scholar and because a limited being cannot encompass an unlimited essence, no limited being can gain knowledge of an unlimited essence.

2. - به كنه ذاتش خرد برد پي اگر رسد خس به قعر دريا

3. - Sūrah Ṭāhā 20:110. This interpretation is based upon the assumption that the Arabic pronoun “ه” (him/it) in the compound “بِهِ” (about him) refers to God.

4. - Alḥuwaīzī, Tafsīr-e Nūr u-Thaqalaīn, vol. 3, p. 394, Tradition 117.

5. - Sūrah Ḥashr 59:23-24.

6. - Utilization of the Qur’an in order to understand the attributes of God necessitates basic acceptance of several issues including the prophethood of Muḥammad (ṣ), his being chosen by God, and proof of several attributes of God, including truthfulness—upon which the veracity if the Qur’an is based.

7. - For examples see: Sūrah Nisā’ 4:82; Sūrah Muḥammad 47:24; and Sūrah Ṣād 38:29.

8. - Sūrah Dhārīyāt 51:56.

9. - Sūrah An‘ām 6:100.

10. - Nahj ul-Balāghah, sermon 49.

11. - Sūrah Anbiyā’ 21:25.

12. -“ لا إِله إِلّا الله ” (Sūrah Ṣāfāt 37:35; and Sūrah Muḥammad 47:19)

13.- “ لا إِله إِلّا هو ” (Sūrah Baqarah 2:163 and 2:255; and Sūrah Āli ‘Imrān 3:2, 3:6, 3:18)

14.- “ لا إِله إِلّا انا ” (Sūrah Naḥl 16:2; and Sūrah Anbīyā’ 21:25)

15. - Sūrah Ra‘d 13:36.

16. - It must be said that by deeds and actions we intend a more general meaning than external actions. This meaning also includes internal states and behaviors such as love and faith.

17. - In favor of brevity, we shall refrain from further elucidation in this book.

18. - Sūrah Mulk 67:14.

19. - Rhetorical questioning is a sort of questioning in which the speaker propounds a question in such a way that its answer is in the negative.

20. - Sūrah Baqarah 2:282.

21. - Sūrah Ḥadīd 57:4.

22. - Sūrah Āli ‘Imrān 3:29.

23. - Nahj ul-Balāghah, sermon 198.

24. -“ الحَمدلله مُنتَهى عِلمِهِ ” This statement presupposes that there is an extent or boundry for God’s Knowledge whereas in fact there is no limit to His Knowledge [editor].

25. -“ لا تَقُل ذلِكَ فَإِنَّه لَيسَ لِعِلمِهِ مُنتَهى ” (Shaīkh Ṣadūq, At-Tawḥīd, chap. 10, Tradition 1).

26. - Contradiction is the contemporaneous existence and nonexistence of an object—with the preservation of conditions that are set in logic and philosophy. According to many thinkers, the impossibility of a contradiction is the most axiomatic intellectual principle, whose refutation would cause the collapse of all human knowledge.

27. - The miracles of divine prophets are considered normal impossibilities. Through contemplation of the nature of these events, it can be realized that these occurrences oppose the normal workings of nature and the causal system of the world, but they are realized through unknown specific supernatural causes. Thus, it may be stated that normal impossibilities are not truly impossible; rather, our lack of knowledge regarding their specific causes, result in them being considered as a division of impossibilities.

28. -﴿اِنَّ اللهَ على كُلِّ شىءٍ قَديرٌ﴾

29. - According to philosophers, the ability of the subject—i.e. God—in performing the act is absolute, whereas the acceptant—i.e. logical impossibility—is not capable of undergoing the act.

هر چه هست از قامت ناساز بي‌اندام ما است ورنه تشريف تو بر بالاي كس كوتاه نيست

All problems arise from our lack of understanding;

You are All-powerful and All-encompassing.

For further elucidation, contemplate this example: Consider a master of potter who can fashion the most beautiful of pots from clay. Instead of clay, some water is given to him and he is asked to make a pot. It is self-evident that the potter will not be successful in the least in making a pot. Clearly, this cannot be attributed to his inability or inexperience and his status as master cannot be doubted because, essentially, what he has been provided with does not have the capability of being altered into a pot. Naturally, we admit that this example and similar examples are inherently different from the issue of our discussion—the power and ability of God. Nonetheless, because of its similarity, it can be considered as an analogy in order to understand better the subject under discussion.

30. Shaīkh Ṣadūq, Al-Tawḥīd, chap. 9, Tradition 6.

31. -﴿إِنَّ اللهَ على كُلِّ شىءٍ قَديرٌ﴾ (For examples see: Sūrah Baqarah 2:109, 2:148, 2:259, etc.)

32. - Sūrah Aḥqāf 46:33.

33. - Shaīkh Ṣadūq, Al-Tawḥīd, chap. 9, Tradition 15.

34. - Sūrah Baqarah 2:255, and Sūrah Āli ‘Imrān 3:2.

35. - Sūrah Ghāfir 40:65.

36. - According to Arabic grammar, if the predicate of a substantive sentence is definite it demonstrates the exclusivity of the predicate for the subject.

37. - For example, see: Sūrah Rūm 30:19, and Sūrah Ḥajj 22:66.

38. - Sūrah Furqān 25:58.

39. - Shaīkh Ṣadūq, Al-Tawḥīd, chap. 11, Tradition 6.

40. - Of course, this attribute can also be designated as an apophatic attribute [ṣifat-e salbī] and thus we can declare that God is a ‘non-temporal’ entity.

41. - This issue will be explained in further detail in the discourse on cosmology.

42. - For a more comprehensive analysis of this discussion, issues that are more complex must be brought up, which would exceed the brevity of the current discourse.

43. - Sūrah Ḥadīd 57:3.

44. - Nahj ul-Balāghah, sermon 91.

45. - Kulaīnī, Uṣūl-e Kāfī, Chapter of Definition of Names [Ma‘ānī ul-Asmā‘], vol. 1, Tradition 6.

46. - Sūrah Qaṣaṣ 28:88.

47. - Nahj ul-Balāghah, sermon 91, p. 76.

48. - Nahj ul-Balāghah, sermon 191, p. 208.

49. - Sūrah Mu’minūn 23:115.

50. - Sūrah Dukhān 44:38.

51. - Allāmah Majlisī, Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 5, p. 313.

52. - Sūrah Sharḥ 94:5-6.

53. - Nahj ul-Balāghah, letter 45, p. 318.

54. - For more information, see: Sūrah Anbiyā’ 21:35.

55. - Sūrah Baqarah 2:155.

56. - Nahj ul-Balāghah, sermon 143, p. 138.

57. - Sūrah A‘rāf 7:94.

58. - Sūrah A‘rāf 7:130.

59. - This is a Farsi proverb:“ قدر عافيت كسي داند كه به مصيبتي دچار آيد ”.

60. - Allāmah Majlisī, Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 3, p. 139.

61. - Sūrah Baqarah 2:216.

62. - آنكه پر نقش زد اين دايره مينايي كس ندانست كه در گردش پرگار چه كرد

63. - This is a Farsi proverb:“ خودكرده را تدبير نيست ” .

64. - Sūrah Rūm 30:41.

65. - Nahj ul-Balāghah, wise saying 437.

66. - It is worthy of note that divine legislative and compensational justice do not solely pertain to humans; rather, they include all responsible beings. Even so, usually the main stress of this discussion is the justness of God regarding humanity. Additionally, according to the genetic relationship of retribution in the afterlife with humankind’s deeds, it can be declared that, ultimately, the compensational justice of God is a subdivision of His genetic justice.

67. - Sūrah Yūnus 10:44.

68. - Sūrah Āli ‘Imrān 3:108.

69. - Sūrah Mu’minūn 23:62.

70. - Sūrah Anbīyā’ 21:47.

71. - Sūrah Isrā’ 17:15.

72. - Theodicy is the philosophic science of vindication of divine justice in view of the existence of evil. [Trans.]

73. - Sūrah Baqarah 2:115.

74. - ديدن روي تو را ديدة جان‌بين بايد

وين كجا مرتبة چشم جهان‌بين من است

75. - Sūrah An‘ām 6:103, also see: Sūrah A‘rāf 7:143.