Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Lesson 14: God’s Power and Will

Power and ability are among the attributes of existential perfections, and God who possesses all existential perfections has also the attribute of power (qudrah ). God, therefore, is All-powerful and All-mighty. There is no dispute that God possesses this attribute, but there are different views on the essence of power and the extent of God’s power.

The Essence of Power

There are two views about the definition of power and who the powerful (qādir ) is:

1.Qādir is He who has an attribute through which it is possible for Him to do or not to do a certain thing.1 This definition is acceptable to a group of the theologians.

2.Qādir is He who does something if He wants to and refrains from doing something if He wants to.2 This definition is acceptable to the philosophers and another group of the theologians.

The meaning of both definitions is that the powerful is not concomitant with an action or abandonment of an action. In other words, the powerful agent (fā‘il ) is he who is not compelled to do or not to do something; rather, he is independent. Power, therefore, is equal to or a concomitant of free-will (ikhtiyār ). The opposite of the powerful and independent agent is the compelled and unfree agent who has no ability not to do something and whose action is certain and determined. The differences between free and unfree agent are the following:

1. The free agent is aware of his action as making a choice necessitates awareness, but the unfree agent is not aware of his action.

2. It is possible to separate action, in terms of the essence of the agent, from the agent, but it is impossible to distinguish the action from the unfree agent.

3. Since power is the same with respect to doing or not doing something, the powerful and free agent wills for his action. Hence, free action is tantamount to willpower (irādah ), but the action of the unfree agent is not tantamount to willpower (as it is an involuntary action).

It becomes clear from what has been said that after the materialization of willpower, free action becomes incumbent and definite, but this incumbency is subsequent to willpower and free-will, and it has no contradiction with the independence of the agent.

It is to be noted that in philosophical parlance, God has eternal will and providence in creating every being with total ability and since they are creatures devoid of materiality - such as the intellects (‘uqūl ) - the essential possibility of their ability is absolute and not restricted by specific potential possibility, time, place, and relationship. Such beings are not temporally contingent and they constantly receive the grace of existence from God. As a result, this belief has no contradiction with the independence of God, for according to their belief, God constantly bestows existence to them by His eternal will. On account of this belief, therefore, the philosophers must not be thought to be against the independence of God, as this attribution can be seen in the remarks of many theologians.3

The Proof of God’s Power and Will

Agitation or compulsion in action can be imagined when the agent is overtaken and compelled by a superior being. In this case, the agent can be considered forced and agitated; that is, the superior being imposes the action to the agent and influences him to do so contrary to his desire.

In view of the fact that God is the most Superior Being and He is not compelled and overpowered by any being, agitation and compulsion in action cannot be imagined concerning Him. Therefore, He has created the universe with power and will.

In other words, power and will are among the attributes of existential perfection, and the human nature or disposition (fiṭrah ) which leads to the existence of God makes him recognize the Perfect and Supreme Being who possesses all existential perfections.

In addition, the order and stability of the universe are a clear tertimony to the power and will of a Creator, just as they indicate His knowledge and cognizance. As such, whenever referring to the creation of the heavens and the earth the Holy Qur’an calls to mind that their creation guides the human being to the power and knowledge of the Creator, as it has been stated, thus:

﴿ اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ وَمِنَ الأرْضِ مِثْلَهُنَّ يَتَنَزَّلُ الأمْرُ بَيْنَهُنَّ لِتَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَحَاطَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عِلْمًا ﴾

“It is Allah who has created seven heavens, and of the earth [a number] similar to them. The command gradually descends through them, that you may know that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah comprehends all things in knowledge.” 4

This argument has also been pointed out in the sayings of Imām ‘Alī (‘a ):

وَأَرَانَا مِنْ مَلَكُوتِ قُدْرَتِهِ، وَعَجَائِبِ مَا نَطَقَتْ بِهِ آثَارُ حِكْمَتِهِ.

“He showed us the realm of His Might, and such wonders which speak of His Wisdom.”5

وَأَقَامَ مِنْ شَوَاهِدِ ٱلْبَيِّنَاتِ عَلىٰ لَطِيفِ صَنْعَتِهِ، وَعَظِيمِ قُدْرَتِهِ.

“And He has established such clear proofs for His delicate creative power and great might.” 6

The Extent of God’s Power

The proofs of God’s power indicate the vast expanse of His power. The vast expanse of power has two meanings. One is that God is capable of creating any essence (dhāt ) or quiddity (māhiyyah ) which is a possible being (mumkin al-wujūd ) although He has not created every possible being according to His wisdom, knowledge and will.

Instead, He has created that which is necessitated by the system of what is best and most wholesome. Another meaning is that all creatures are linked with the power of God. From this perspective, there is no difference between the physical and non-physical beings, human and non-human. As a result, the human actions are also within the realm of the vast expanse of God’s power.

The term “universality of God’s power” contained in books of theology refers to the second meaning. This point is raised here because some

theologians have set limits on the scope of God’s power. For instance, some of them have said that the power of God has nothing to do with the undesirable actions done by human beings because they believe that such a link between God’s power and those actions necessitates attributing them to Him which is in conflict with the principle that God is free from evil acts.7

The reply to this is that the criterion for linking power to the creatures also exists in the human actions, and that is their being possible beings (mumkin al-wujūd ). No possible being could exist without the power of God. As Muḥaqqiq al-Ṭūsī has said,

وَعُمومِيَّةُ الْعِلَّةِ تَسْتَلْزِمُ عُمومِيَّةَ الصِّفَةِ.

“And the universality of the Cause necessitates the universality of the Attribute [of Power].”8

That is to say that the cause and criterion for linking God’s power to the creatures (their essential contingence) is general. The link of God’s power to the creatures, therefore, is also general and universal.

Meanwhile, an abominable act - on account of its being abominable - cannot be ascribed to God, but rather from the perspective of its existence and reality that it is encompassed by the power of God and in this perspective, it is not abominable.

From the cosmic point of view, for example, honesty and lying are the same and in this perspective, they are both ontologically ‘good’ but moral goodness and evil are derived after the materialization of speech (takallum ) and judging them with the dictates of reason and religious laws.

That which conforms to the laws of reason and religion is good, otherwise it is bad. And the basis of this conformity or non-conformity is indeed the freewill and desire of the human being; hence, moral goodness or evil can be traced back to his action.

Power and Potentiality

Power (qudrah ) is a characteristic of the agent (fā‘il ) while potentiality (imkān ) is a characteristic of action (fi‘l ). In other words, power is the attribute of the powerful (qādir ) while potentiality is the attribute of the possible (maqdūr ). There is a talk, therefore, about the link of power to action; potentiality (as opposed to obligatoriness (wujūb ) and refusal (imtinā‘ )) has been given as presumption on the issue or linkage of power, because the obligatory (wājib ) and impossible (imtinā‘ ) - on account of concomitance with necessity (ḍarūrah ) - cannot be subjected to or bound by power.

Necessity in the Necessary by Essence (wājib bi ’dh-dhāt ) means that theWājib is not in need of the link of an external power to His existence. And necessity in the impossible by essence (mumtani‘ bi ’dh-dhāt ) means that its absence it definite and its existence is impossible. As such, it is will not be bound by power because the role of power is to exert influence and bestow existence.

Reply to Some Misgivings

At this juncture, one can easily reply to some misgivings in relation to the universality of God’s power:

1. Can God create a being which He cannot annihilate after creating it? If He cannot, it follows that His power is limited and if He can, it follows that after creating it, His power is limited with respect to the continuity of its existence.

The reply is that such a being is impossible by essence, because the hypothetical being is possible by essence (mumkin bi ’dh-dhāt ) and necessary by essence (wājib bi ’dh-dhāt ) at the same time. Being a created one (makhlūq ) it is possible by essence and being perishable, it is impossible by essence. And this is contradiction in essence and essential impossibility.

2. Can God create something similar to Himself? If He can, it follows that the principle of His uniqueness is void and if He cannot, it follows that His power is limited.

The reply to this is that such a being is impossible by essence, because if he is similar to God, it follows that he is the Necessary Being by essence, but since he is created, he is tantamount to non-being and possible being by essence, and to be possible by essence and necessary by essence at the same time is contradiction in essence, and it is impossible.

3. Can God put the universe inside a chicken egg without making the universe become smaller or the egg becoming bigger? If He can, it follows that the law of proportionality of the container (ẓarf ) and the contained (maẓrūf ) is invalid and if He cannot, it follows that His power is limited.

The reply is that this assumption necessitates impossibility because as hinted in the misgiving itself, the proportionality of the container and the contained is a rational principle and denial of it necessitates contradiction. That is, the contained is proportional and at the same time not proportional to its container, and thus, not bound by power.

In reply to this question, Imām ‘Alī (‘a ) has said:

إنَّ اللهَ تَبارَكَ وَتَعالىٰ لايُنْسَبُ إلَى الْعَجْزِ، وَالَّذي سَأَلْتَني لايَكونُ.

That is to say that impotence or inability has no place in God, the Blessed and Exalted, and that which is raised in the question is impossible.9

Review Questions

1. State the concept of power and write down the two views in this regard.

2. State the difference between the free (mukhtār ) and unfree (mawjib ) agent.

3. State the proof of God’s power while considering His being the absolutely perfect.

4. Explain the proof of God’s power while considering the stable system of the universe.

5. Write down the reason for the vast expanse of God’s power along with its meaning.

6. What is the meaning of the term “universality of God’s power”?

7. Can the power of God be bound by things which are existentially impossible by essence? Why?

8. Can God create a being which He cannot extinguish after creating it?

9. Can God create a being like Himself? Why?

References

1. Talkhīṣ al-Muḥaṣṣil, p. 269.

2. Qawā‘id al-Murād, p. 82.

3. In this regard, see Talkhīṣ al-Muḥaṣṣil, p. 268; Qawā’id al-‘Aqā’id, pp. 49-50; Irshād al-Ṭālibīn, p. 183.

4. Sūrat al-Ṭalaq 65:12.

5. Nahj al-Balāghah, Sermon 91.

6. Ibid., Sermon 165.

7. This notion has been attributed to the Mu‘tazilah school of thought.

8. Kashf al-Murād, station (maqṣad) 3, chap. 2, issue 2.

9. Shaykh al-Ṣadūq, Al-Tawḥīd, section (bāb) 9, ḥadīth 9.

Lesson 15: Life, Pre-existence and Eternity

Divine Life

One of the Attributes of Perfection of God is that of Life (ḥayāh ), as the nameAl-ḥayy (the Ever-living) is one of the Most Beautiful Names of God. The nameAl-ḥayy has been applied to God in verses of the Holy Qur’an, and in most cases, it is accompanied by the name or attributeAl-qayyūm (the Self-existing). For example, it is thus said:

﴿ اللّهُ لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ ﴾

“Allah—there is no god except Him—is the Living One, the All-sustainer.” 1

In one verse, God has been described as the Living One who does not die:

﴿ وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى الْحَيِّ الَّذِي لَا يَمُوتُ ﴾

“Put your trust in the Living One who does not die.” 2

In a verse quoted earlier, the expression of praise (kalimah al-tahlīl ) -Lā ilāha illallāh (There is no god but Allah) - comes before the NameAl-ḥayy , but in other verses, the said Divine Name comes before the expression of praise:

﴿ هُوَ الْحَيُّ لا إِلَهَ إِلا هُوَ فَادْعُوهُ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ ﴾

“He is the Living One, there is no god except Him. So supplicate Him, putting exclusive faith in Him.” 3

This verse points to Eternal Life as exclusive for God, showing that except Him, no one is ever-living, just as Godhood (ulūhiyyah ) is exclusive to God. What is meant, therefore, byAl-ḥayy in the verse“He is the Living One” and the like is “the Living One by essence” (al-ḥayy bi ’dh-dhāt ). It means that there is no Living One by essence except God and other beings receive the bounty of life from Him.

As such, God is the Living One by essence and the Origin of the lives of other beings, and this is the meaning of His Self-existence (qayyūmiyyah ).Al-qayyūm (the Self-existing) means that God is the Ever-standing and the Subsistence-bestower to the creatures, and since His Life is essential and necessary, He knows no death and annihilation.

The Essence and Classifications of Life

Ḥayāh (life) has various functions:

1. It means existence and being. It is in view of this meaning of life that the absolute existence is called ‘ever-flowing life’ (ḥayāt al-sāriyah ).4 In the Holy Qur’an,aḥyā’ (to give life) is applied to creation and origination. For instance, it is thus stated:

﴿ وَهُوَ الَّذِي أَحْيَاكُمْ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُحْيِيكُمْ إِنَّ الإنْسَانَ لَكَفُورٌ ﴾

“It is He who gave life then He makes you die, then He brings you to life. Indeed man is very ungrateful.” 5

The phraseaḥyākum (He gave you life) is synonymous with the phrasekhalqakum (He created you) in this verse in which the opposite ofḥayāh (life) is non-existence:

﴿ اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ ثُمَّ رَزَقَكُمْ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُحييکُم ﴾

“It is Allah who created you and then provided for you, then He makes you die.” 6

2.Ḥayāh means derivation of the desirable effects from every thing, and the opposite ofḥayāh in this function is non-derivation of the desirable effects from every thing. For example, the revival of the earth means the growing of plants in it and its fertility and productivity, and the opposite is the ‘death of the earth’. The life of the human being lies in taking a step toward innate guidance and thus he must be a reasonable and religious person. For this reason, the Holy Qur’an has considered religion the human being’s life, for the true religion which is Islam is concomitant with the Divine disposition (fiṭrah ).7

3.Ḥayāh means a salient feature of the existent which is the source of performance of volitional acts. This kind of life can be found in the various types of animals and through scientific studies, it has been discovered that it also exists in plants (or at least some of them). This kind of life has some salient features such as self-protection, environmental adaptation, habit and disposition, nourishment, growth, reproduction, objective-setting and selection, awareness and potentiality. The last two features (awareness and potentiality) are the most important and they manifest more in the human being. For this reason, philosophers have defined life with these two salient features:

ألْحَياةُ هِيَ كَوْنُ الشَّيْءِ بِحَيْثُ يَصْدُرُ عَنْهُ الأفْعالُ الصّادِرَةُ عَنِ الإَحْياءِ مِنْ آثارِ الْعِلْمِ وَالقُدْرَةِ.

That is to say that life means the existence of a thing in the form of actions that emanate from living creatures - conscious actions on the basis of power and freewill that emanate from them.8

Let us elaborate [this aforesaid idea].. In studying the creatures, the human being has found them to be of two types. One type consists of the creatures which have only one state as long as they exist in terms of sensory observation. Stones and similar objects belong to this type. The second type consists of creatures whose powers and actions stop in many cases although they exist and in terms of sensory observation, no defect can be found in them. Examples of this type are the human beings and various types of animals and plants.

In many instances, although their physical faculties and senses are sound, they cannot make certain moves and turns. At this point, the human being has arrived at the conclusion that this kind of creatures - in addition to the sensory and physical faculties and powers - has a distinctive feature which is the very source of feelings, mental perceptions and actions anchored in knowledge and free-will. That feature is called ‘life’. Therefore, life means a kind of existence from which knowledge and power emanate:9

فَالْحَياةُ نَحْو وُجودٍ يَتَرَشَّحُ عَنْهُ العِلْمُ وَالْقُدْرَةُ.

The Essence of Life with Respect to God

From the previous analysis, it becomes clear thatḥayāh (life) - especially in its last meaning - is a degree of existential perfection which is realized in

every creature according to its capacity and level. Knowledge, power and will can be regarded as among its properties and effects. The essence of life with respect to God, therefore, is an attribute which is concomitant with the said features and effects.

Of course, these features and effects are proportionate to the existential level of God which is the very Necessity (wujūb ) and Pure Existence (ṣirf al-wujūd ). Hence, although the meanings of the Attributes and Names with respect to God - as well as to others - vary, their manifestations point to an Indivisible (basīṭ ) and Pure (ṣirf ) Being who is the very Life, Knowledge and Will, [and the ultimate source of all who have life, knowledge and will].

The Proof of Divine Life

Given the previous discussions, the proof of Divine Life also becomes clear, for once an attribute is from the existential perfections in the sense that it exists from the perfections of the Existent by Himself (and not from the perfections of a specific natural, partial or similar existent), no doubt, God is entitled to that perfection, for in the Necessary Being by essence, there is no room for deficiency and contingence. Any attribute which can be conceived for Him by general possibility (in the sense that its materialization for Him is not impossible), definitely exists in Him.10

In hisTajrīd al-I‘tiqād , after proving [the existence of] power and knowledge in God, Muḥaqqiq al-Ṭūsī has said:

كُلُّ قادِرٍ عالِمٌ حَيٌّ بِالضَّرورِةِ.

“Every powerful [and] knowledgeable [being] is necessarily living.”11

That is, every powerful and knowledgeable creature is definitely alive, and since God is Powerful and Knowledgeable, it follows that He has the Attribute of Life.

Pre-existence and Eternity

All religious and theist personalities recognize God as Pre-existent (azalī ), Eternal (abadī ), Everlasting (qadīm ), Abiding (bāqī ), and Immortal (sarmadī ). There are two viewpoints on the interpretation of these attributes:

The first viewpoint which is popular and acceptable within the circle of philosophers is that these attributes have been interpreted in relation to time. On this basis, pre-existence (azaliyyah ) and pre-eternity (qadam ) means that God has existed in all the past periods, nay even before any earliest period that could be conceived, while eternity (abadiyyah ) and subsistence (baqā ) means that God will exist at all times to come. And immortality (sarmadiyyah ) means that God’s Being will exist at all times - both past and present. It is worth mentioning that the scholastic theologians (mutakallimūn ) have divided time (zamān ) into implied (muqaddar ) and ascertained (muḥaqqaq ) [of the real and hypothetical time], and what they mean by time in interpreting the abovementioned attributes is its general meaning.

This viewpoint is not free from controversy, for it is true that no time does God not exist can be assumed but measuring pre-existence and eternity on the basis of time necessitates treating God as a temporal being. This is so while God is behind time as commonly acknowledged by the theologians

and theosophers. In reality, this interpretation stems from a superficial and ordinary understanding of the existence of God.

The second viewpoint which is adopted by the theosophers maintains that pre-existence and pre-eternity means that God’s Being is not preceded by non-existence - whether non-existence by separation (mafāriq ) or non-existence by combination (majāmi‘ ) - as He is the Necessary Being by essence, and eternity and subsistence imply that there will be no non-existence (‘adam ), posterior (lāḥiq ) and accidental states (‘āriḍ ) in God’s existence as He is the Necessary Being by essence. In other words, since God is the Necessary Being by essence, non-existence or non-being - prior or posterior - has no place in Him.

Whenever we refer to prior non-existence, it is called pre-existence (azaliyyah ) and pre-eternity (qadam ). Whenever we mean posterior non-existence, it is named eternity (abadiyyah ) and subsistence (baqā ). And whenever we imply both aspects, it is described as immortality (sarmadiyyah ). Sometimessarmadiyyah is used as synonym ofabadiyyah andbaqā , as in the following expression of Muḥaqqiq al-Ṭūsī:

وَوُجُوبُ الْوُجودِ يَدُلُّ عَلىٰ سَرْمَدِيَّتِهِ وَنَفْيِ الزّائِدِ.

“And being the Necessary Being implies immortality and the negation of added qualities.”12

That is, being the Necessary Being proves that God is immortal and that His immortality and subsistence are identical with His Essence and not through the medium of a quality separate from His Essence (in contrast to Abū ’l-Ḥasan al-Ash‘arī’s notion of God’s subsistence as separate from His Essence).

The expression quoted above shows that the late Ṭūsī has measured immortality on the basis of God’s being the Necessary Being by essence and not on the scale of lack of temporal beginning and end.

Review Questions

1. State God’s Attribute of Life while keeping in view verses of the Qur’an.

2. Explain briefly the different usages ofḥayāh (life).

3. Write down the definition ofḥayāh by the philosophers with elaboration.

4. Explain the essence of life with respect to God.

5. Write down the proof of God’s life.

6. State the theologians’ viewpoint on pre-existence and eternity.

7. Write down the pre-existence and eternity of God from the viewpoint of the theosophers.

References

1. Sūrat al-Baqarah 2:255; Sūrat Āl ‘Imrān 3:2.

2. Sūrat al-Furqān 25:58.

3. Sūrat al-Ghāfir (or al-Mu’min) 40:65.

4. Ḥakīm Sabziwārī, Sharḥ al-Asmā’ al-Ḥusnā, p. 238.

5. Sūrat al-Ḥajj 22:66.

6. Sūrat ar-Rūm 30:40.

7. ‘Allāmah al-Ṭabāṭabā’ī, Al-Mīzān fī Tafsīr al-Qur’ān, vol. 1, pp. 51-52.

8. Ṣadr al-Muta’allihīn, Al-Asfār al-Arba‘ah, vol. 6, p. 417.

9. ‘Allāmah al-Ṭabāṭabā’ī, Al-Mīzān fī Tafsīr al-Qur’ān, vol. 2, pp. 328-329.

10. Ṣadr al-Muta’allihīn, Asfār al-Arba‘ah, vol. 6, p. 418.

11. Kashf al-Murād, station (maqṣad) 3, chap. 2, issue 3.

12. Kashf al-Murād, station (maqṣad) 3, chap. 2, issue 7.