Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

LESSON EIGHT: ATTRIBUTES OF GOD

Introduction

In the previous lessons we have discussed arguments for proving the necessary existent. By subordinating other arguments we will now prove the negative and positive attributes of this existence. This is so we can recognise the Creator distinctively from His creation. It is not sufficient to merely know Him as the necessary existent, because some may conceive of energy or matter as being the referent -of a concept- (misdāq) for this necessary existent.

The following discourse is from two standpoints:

By establishing the negative attributes so that the necessary existent is glorified from anthropomorphic temperaments and not compared to His creation.

By establishing the positive attributes so that the Creator will be recognised as being worthy of worship, and for laying the ground to prove other principles such as prophethood, resurrection and their branches.

From the previous arguments we have realised that the necessary existent does not require any cause and that He is the cause for the possible existent.

We have thus already established two attributes of the necessary existent:

Not being dependent on any other existent.

The necessary existent is the first cause of the possible existent.

By application of these two results we would like to further illustrate and establish the negative and positive attributes of the necessary existent through arguments, which are familiar and related to the previous arguments.

The eternal nature of God

If an existent is an effect of, dependent or in need of another existent, this needy existent will come after the cause. If the cause is annihilated or not actualised then there will be no effect (existence). In other words, for an existent to be non-existing in an interval of time, indicates that it is a dependent and possible existent. As the necessary existent exists by means of its essence and does not require any existent for its being, it will always exist and is therefore unlike the possible existent.

By means of the above argument one can prove two more attributes of the necessary existent:

God was without beginning, meaning that He never had an antecedent of non- existence.

God is without end, meaning that He will never be non-existent.

Occasionally these two attributes are brought together under the epithet of (eternity) sempiternity (sarmadi). Therefore every existent that has a past of non-existence or has the possibility to become extinct will never be a necessary existent. This very fact will prove the assumption of material (māddah) as being the necessary existent as wrong.

a. Negative attributes

Another essentiality of the necessary existent is to be separate and invisible, because every composite thing is a synthesis or in need of parts to

be complete. The necessary existent is glorified and independent from needs.

The necessary existent is not made up of parts. This is because a thing, which has the potential to be divided, intellectually then has the possibility of being annihilated. It has already been established that the necessary existent cannot be annihilated. As the distribution of parts in potency (bi-l-quwwah) and in actuality (bi-l-fi’l) is peculiar to corporeality, the necessary existent will be established as being non-corporeal and immaterial. This will therefore imply that the necessary existent cannot be seen with the corporeal eye and cannot be sensed through the corporeal senses.

By disassociating bodily existence from the necessary existent, several other possibilities are also nullified. Necessary existence is thus not limited to or subjected to time (zamān) and space (makān). This nullification is because space is imagined for a thing, which has a body, and on the other hand every temporal object has the potentiality of being divided at intervals. As temporality is not attributed to the necessary existent, transition, growth and movement can also be invalidated because there is no movement without time and space.

Based on the above, those who believe that God sits on a throne, descends from heaven to earth and can be seen by the naked eye are thus regarding Him as being subjected to space, growth and movement. This indicates that they have failed to fully grasp true recognition of Him.

Generally speaking every concept that indicates an imperfection, need or limitation is negated from the Almighty and is classified as His negative attribute.

b. The cause that bestows existence

The second result to emerge from the above argument is that the necessary existent is the reason or cause for the possible existent. We now intend to specify the different types of cause and the specialties of the cause that bestows existence.

Cause in the regular sense means that every existent is dependent on another existent, and includes the conditions and circumstances as-well. God not having a cause means that He is not dependent on any existence, nor requires a condition for Him to come into being. God is the cause of creation and has the attribute of bestowing existence.

This is known as a special type of efficient cause (‘illiyyah fā’iliyyah). Before explaining this cause it is necessary for the reader to become acquainted with the different types of causes, which are mentioned in detail in the books of philosophy.

In order to cultivate a seed, we know that their must be factors such as the seed, soil, water, a conducive environment and an active factor (man or nature) that can plant the seed and nurture it. All of these referred agents are regarded as different reasons and causes that help the plant to grow.

These various causes can be classified into distinctive categories, for instance the cause, which is constantly needed for the existence of an effect is known as the real cause (al-’illah al-haqīqiyyah).

The subsistence of the existence of an effect is not dependent upon the subsistence of that cause (like the farmer for the plant), this type of cause is known as the preparatory cause (‘illah mu’iddah).

The causes, which have a possible alternative, are known as the substitute causes (‘illah inhisāriyyah).

However there is another type of cause, which is quite distinct from the above example and can be discovered through our soul and its functions. When an individual imagines something or intends to carry out an act, he will have a configuration in his mind called an ‘image’ (sūrah dhihniyyah), which is actualised by the means of ‘will’, which is dependent upon the existence of the soul. As it is dependant it will be known as an effect, but this effect is an effect, which is not independent from the cause at all and cannot have any existence by itself.

The activity of the soul with regards to the ‘will’ and ‘idea’ is conditional upon the limited elements, which manifest from the possible existent. When this activity is compared to the activity of the necessary existent, we realise that the latter is exalted and sublime and that there is nothing comparable to Him and all effects are totally dependant upon Him.

c. Peculiarities of the cause that bestows existence

Taking into consideration what has just been mentioned we can classify a few of the unique features of the cause that bestows existence:

a. The ‘cause that bestows existence’ must be complete in the perfection that exists in the effects to its absolute sense. This is so that the cause can provide the existent with its required need as opposed to those material or preparing causes, which only create an environment. It is not necessary for these causes to have the relative perfection of the effects; for example it is not required for the soil to have the perfections of the plant or the parents to have the perfections of the child.

Hence the God that bestows creation must be absolutely perfect in essence.

b. The ‘cause that bestows existence’, brings its effect from non-existence to existence, it creates, by the intermediacy of which, it (the cause that bestows existence) is not deprived from and does not lose anything from its existence.

c. The ‘cause that bestows existence’ is the real cause upon which the effect is completely dependent for its subsistence as opposed to the preparatory cause, upon which the subsistence of effect is not dependent.

On this basis we can refute the claims made by some of the Sunni theologians who state that the universe does not require God for its subsistence, as-well as those western philosophers who claim that the (natural) world is like a clock that has been wound up and left to operate free from God.

On the contrary the universe is dependant on God in its entirety, and if He were to withhold His grace for one moment, the whole of creation would be as nothing.

Questions:

1- Why should one be familiar with the attributes of God?

2- How can you establish that God possesses sempiternity?

3- How could one prove that the essence of God is absolute and not comprised of parts, whether actively or potentially?

4- How can you prove that God is not a corporeal being?

5- Why is God not visible?

6- Why is God not subject to time and space?

7- Can we assign mobility and immobility to God? Why?

8- Explain the different types of cause.

9- Explain the peculiarities of the cause that bestows existence.

LESSON NINE: ATTRIBUTES OF ESSENCE

Introduction

God is the primal cause and the Bestower of existence. He contains the utmost perfection and is responsible for all the perfection that we witness in existence, without any deprivation from His essence. This can be compared for example to a teacher who teaches his students from knowledge he has without losing any of it.

However the ontological perfections of Almighty God are superior to the example compared. A more accurate description would be to say that creation is nothing but the manifestation and dissipation of the sacred essence of God. The Qur’an has mentioned:

“Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth”. (al-Nūr:35) As God’s perfection is eternal, then every concept that holds perfection without representing any deficiency or limitation can be true for God as well. Furthermore in the verses of the Holy Qur’an, the sacred narrations and the supplications of the Infallible Ones (ma’sumīn) (a), concepts like Light (nūr), Perfection (kamāl), Beauty (jamāl), Love (hubb), and Bliss (bahjah) etc are all related to Him.

The books of philosophy and theology have categorised the attributes of God into two groups (attributes of essence and attributes of action). We will provide a brief explanation of these two groups, followed by a discussion and proofs for establishing the most important one.

Attributes of essence and attributes of action

Attributes related to God the Supreme, are either concepts which are abstracted from the divine essence by focusing on a kind of ontological perfection, such as life, knowledge, and power or they are concepts abstracted from a kind of relationship that exists between God and His creatures, such as being the Creator, and Sustainer. The first group of concepts is called the attributes of essence and the second group is called the attributes of action.

The essential difference between these two groups of concepts is that the first group concerns the qualities of the sacred divine essence, whereas the second group relates the relationship and connection between God and His creatures. These attributes are additional concepts abstracted from the relationship between God and His creatures.

Such concepts abstracted from the creature’s dependence on the Creator are: the Creator, the Sustainer and the Originator.

The most important attributes of the essence of God are Life, Knowledge and Power.

However if hearing and seeing are taken as having the power (ability) to see and hear or to be being aware of hearing and seeing they will return to the attributes of essence.

If the meaning of these attributes are with an activity that is abstracted because of a relationship between the viewer of an object and a hearer of a sound then they will be regarded as the attributes of action.

Occasionally the attribute of Knowledge is used in the mentioned manner and is regarded as active knowledge (al-‘ilm al-fi’li).

Some of the theological scholars have regarded Speech and Will as attributes of essence, this will be discussed later.

Proofs for the attributes of essence

The simplest way of proving that God is Life, Power and Knowledge is to first realise that when these concepts are used for creatures, it is the ontological perfections, which are referred to. The ultimate and perfect form of these ontological perfections must then be within the cause that has bestowed existence. The Creator has to have full possession of all perfection that is in creation, since it is not possible that the provider or giver of life is void of it, or the bestower of knowledge and power is Himself ignorant and helpless.

The existence of these ontological perfections in creatures thus indicates their presence within the Supreme Creator without any limitation or deficiency. In other words God the Supreme, has the eternal attributes of life, power, and knowledge. We will now provide a brief explanation regarding these attributes.

a. Life (Hayāt)

This concept (living) is used for defining two groups of creatures: for vegetation, which is characterised by growth, and for man and animals, which are characterised by possession of will and consciousness.

The first meaning cannot be associated with God because it is limited and imperfect, as vegetation requires external factors for development and growth in order to reach perfection, and this pertains to the negative attributes of God as mentioned in our previous lesson. However the second meaning of life although it comprises of limitation and defects, could be applicable to God but with the consideration of it being infinite and unlimited.

Fundamentally, life is an essential characteristic of immaterial existence. Likewise knowledge and activity, which are also implied by life, are immaterial. Although life is related with living material creatures, in reality it is the spiritual attribute of a material creature and the material body in effect of it (the spirit), which is regarded as living (application of attribute of life to the material existence is accidental). In other words, just as progression is essential for the material existence, similarly life is essential for immaterial existence. By focusing on this subject another argument can be established, that as the sacred essence of God is immaterial and all of the immaterial existents have the essential attribute of life, therefore God has the attribute of essence of life.

b. Knowledge (‘ilm)

The concept of knowledge is the most apparent and self-evident of all concepts, but the referents of this concept within the creatures are limited and deficient, and with these peculiarities it is not possible to generalise it for God the Supreme. However, it has previously been indicated that the intellect, for this ontological perfection could suppose a referent, which does not have any limitation or deficiency (ontological perfection) and be the essence of knowledge itself. This is knowledge of the essence of God the Exalted.

God’s knowledge can be proven from different angles. One such way is the same employed method used for proving all the attributes of essence. Since knowledge exists within the creature, verily the ultimate and perfect form of it must exist within the Creator.

The second way to prove God’s knowledge is through the argument of ‘order’:

The orderly and perfect presentation or manifestation is clearly an indication of a precise and perfect knowledgeable manifestor. An intellectual book, eloquent poetry and outcome of all arts are the signs of wisdom, taste and qualification of the artist, it could never be supposed that such work could be produced by someone dull and ignorant. Therefore how could someone presume that this great universe with all its secrets and perplexities is an effect of an existent, which is un-knowledgeable (ignorant)?

The third way to establish God’s knowledge is through the premises of speculative philosophy, which are not self-evident, such as the principle ‘that every immaterial existence is self-contained with knowledge’, as has been proven in the related books (of philosophy and theology).

Focusing upon the knowledge of God, plays an important role in self-building (purification of the soul), and from this standpoint it has been mentioned in the Noble Qur’an:“He knows the treachery of the eyes, and what the breasts hide”. (Ghāfir:19)

c. Power (qudrah)

When an agent produces an action with an intention and free-will of its own, it is said that this individual has the ability and power of performing an act. Therefore power means a living voluntary agent being the origin (mabda’) of its action.

The level of power is dependent upon the level of perfection of an existent; therefore an existent with infinite perfection will have infinite power.

“Indeed Allah has power over all things”. (al-Baqarah:7) However one must be mindful of certain points:

1. An action that comes under the surveillance of power must have the possibility of actualisation, thus a thing that is essentially impossible or necessarily absurd will never have any connection or relation to the power. The fact that God possesses power does not mean that He will create another God or that He will make the number two greater than the number three, while the value of two remains at two, or create a son before father while the son is supposedly after father.

2. The fact that God possesses the power to perform everything, does not necessarily mean that He will perform everything, but whatever He intends He will execute, and God who is all Wise cannot perform an act which is unwise, even after having the power to performing an indecent act. In the following lessons we will explain more about God’s Wisdom.

3. Power in this sense includes the quality of free-will. God the Supreme has infinite power, which implies He has perfect free-will, which is uninfluenced by anything.

Questions:

1. Which types of concept are applicable to God the Supreme?

2. Explain the attributes of essence, the attributes of action and the difference between them.

3. What is the simplest way to prove the attributes of essence?

4. Life has how many meanings and which one can be posited to God?

5. Give a specific argument for establishing the attribute of Life for God.

6. Establish the knowledge of God in three ways.

7. Explain the concept of power, and how one can prove the infinite power of God?

8. What are the things, which even God’s power would not achieve?

9. Why does God not perform indecent actions?

10. Explain the meaning of the free-will of God.

LESSON TEN: ATTRIBUTES OF ACTION

Introduction

We are now aware that the attributes of action are concepts, which are abstracted by the intellect that makes a special comparison between the divine sacred essence of God and His creatures and considers the relationship that exists between the two. In this context, the Creator and the created engender a bilateral relationship from which the very concept of creating is itself abstracted. If this bilateral relationship is not considered then this concept will not be realised.

Consideration of the relationship that exists between God and His creation does not have any boundaries or limits, however it can be classified into two general groups:

1. The direct relationship that exists between God and His creation (such as direct creation, initiation and origination).

2. Relationships that are consequent upon immediate relationships (such as the relationship that is due to the sustenance provided by God for His creatures).

Before abstracting an attribute of action for God it is sometimes necessary to first abstract several forms of relationship. It is also possible that a relationship is further based upon several bilateral relationships between God and His creatures. An example is forgiveness, which is based upon the lordship of divine legislation, where the rulings issue from God and transgressions issue from the servants.

The substance of matter for the realisation of the attributes of action is through the comparison between God the Supreme and His creatures.

As already indicated, it is possible that the actualisation of an attribute of action is with the consideration of its origin, which will allow it (attributes of actions) to return to the attributes of essence. For instance if the Creator is defined as someone who has the power to create, then it returns to the attribute of Power, the attribute of hearing and seeing is interpreted as the knowledge of audible and visible, and will return to the All-Knowing (‘alīm).

It is possible that some of the concepts of the attributes of essence are regarded as relational or actively related. In this case they are known as attributes of action. The concept of knowledge for instance has been used several times in the Noble Qur’an as an attribute of action.

It must be noted however that when an attribute of action for God is abstracted from the relationship that exists between God and a material existent, it is conditional upon time and space. However this condition is limited to the material side, the other side being free from and exalted far beyond such limitations. For example, to provide sustenance for a need, which is confined to time and space, is a characteristic attributed to the need and not to the Sustainer.

The Holy Divine essence is beyond any frame of time or space. This point requires special attention and is the key for many difficult issues and problems, which arise between the scholars of polemics, when trying to understand the attributes of essence and action.

a. Creatorship (khāliqiyyah)

Having established necessary existence as the first cause for the appearance of possible existents, the concept of creatorship can be abstracted and applied to the necessary existent, and the concept of creation applied to the possible existents. The concept of creator, which is abstracted on the basis of the existential relationship, is equivalent to the cause that bestows existence. All of the possible existents, which are in need of this cause, are thus regarded as the creation.

The word ‘creation’ can at times be used in a limited way, such as when it defines material existence as compared to the concept of ‘primordial innovation’ (ibdā’) where the existents, which are prior to matter are also considered. To bring into existence can be divided into primordial innovation and creation.

The ability of God to create can never be compared to human activity, which requires movement and the utilisation of equipment, which pertains to action. The achievement of this action is known as the result of this action.

It is not the case that ‘creating’ is one thing and ‘being created’ is something else, because God transcends motion and the peculiarities of bodily existence. If God’s ‘creating’ has a real referent of a concept (misdāq ‘ayni) in addition to His essence, it would have been counted as possible existence and the created thing from among His creation and the discussion of creation would have been repeated (in relation to it).

Rather attributes of action are concepts abstracted by a special comparison between God and His creation and consistence of it due to the intellect.

b. Lordship (rubūbiyyah)

The relationship that exists between God and His creation is not only because of the creation being the effect of God, but the creation from all its existential aspects needs God the Supreme. The creation is entirely dependent upon God, and He can intervene and manage affairs in whichever way He wishes.

When this relationship is considered in a general form, the concept of Lordship is abstracted. The management of affairs is the necessary factor here, from which several other referents for this concept can be derived: maintenance and protection, giving life and causing death, providing guidance and sustenance, etc.

Stations of Lordship can be divided into two general groups:

i.Metaphysical lordship, which includes the managing of affairs of all the existents and provision for their needs - thus engendering the universe.

ii.Legislative lordship, which is peculiar to those existents, which have intelligence and free-will. It includes issues such as the deputising of the prophets (a), sending heavenly books, prescribing responsibilities and discipline and the making of rules.

The absolute lordship of God means that all creatures depend upon God. The dependency that exists between creatures also returns to dependence upon God.

He is the one who manages His affairs through His creatures, and guides the intelligent existents (through intellect and other perception) and assigns responsibilities, rules and regulations for them.

Lordship is similar to Creatorship in its being a relational concept, however with the difference that sometimes the relationship between the creatures is also considered, as mentioned in earlier while discussing sustenance.

c. Divinity (ulūhiyyah)

With regards to the concept of the Divine (illah) and divinity (ulūhiyyah), several discourses have been discussed, which are recorded in the books of commentaries of the Qur’an. The meaning preferred by us for the divine is: the One who is worshipped (ma’būd), or the One worthy of being worshipped. This is in the same manner as which, ‘a book’ means a thing written and a thing, which has an eminence of being written.

According to the mentioned meaning, the attribute of Divinity must be abstracted through the relation of responsibility, obligation and worship. Although those who are misguided have recognised a false deity for themselves, the only one who deserves worship is the one who has created them and that is the Lord of the universe. Apart from recognising God as the Necessary Existent, the Creator, the Omnipotent and the Originator, every individual must know that He is worthy of being worshipped. Hence this very aspect is acknowledged in the testimony of Islam, ‘There is no God (divine) but Allah’ (La ilāha illa Allah).

Questions:

1. Explain the relationship between the attributes of essence and the attributes of action, and how they return to each other.

2. From which aspect are the attributes of action conditioned to time and space?

3. Give an explanation for the concept of Creatorship.

4. Can we imagine that creatures possess an additional separated form of existence from the action of creating by God?

5. Define Lordship?

6. Explain the general stations of Lordship.

7. Explain the necessary connection between Divinity and Lordship.

8. What is the meaning of Divinity? And why should it be combined with Creatorship and Lordship?

LESSON ELEVEN: ADDITIONAL ATTRIBUTES OF ACTION

Introduction

The issue of Divine Will is a matter, which has been frequently debated. Various views have been discussed and disputed over, such as whether it is to be considered as an attribute of essence or action, whether it is pre-existent (qadīm) or temporal (hādith) and is it singular or multiple, etc.

These elements and peripheries of the will and especially of the Divine Will are discussed in philosophy. This topic is quite extensive and cannot here be discussed in detail, but we will provide a concise definition of the concept of ‘Will’, followed by a brief discussion on the peripheries of Divine Will.

Will

The expression ‘Will’ in common use (‘urf) is employed in at least two senses: one is wishing or desiring, and the other is deciding to perform an action. The first meaning is more extensive compared to the second meaning because the first meaning includes desiring one’s own actions, the actions of others and desiring things in the external world. The second meaning however includes only one’s own actions.

Will in the first sense is equivalent to loving (mawaddah) to whatever degree. In the case of man it is from the accidental and psychical quality (kayf nafsāni) and can be abstracted in an unlimited sense (as a general concept) through the assistance of the intellect. This general concept can be applied to the substantial existents (mawjūdāt jawhariyyah) and even for God, the Supreme, as was discussed previously with regards to knowledge. From this standpoint we can consider love (hubb), which can be applied for God’s loving in relation to His own essence (or in other words God loving His own essence) as an attribute of essence. Hence the Divine Will means love of ontological perfections, which on the initial level is directed towards the infinite perfection and on the subordinate level is directed towards the perfections of existents, which overflow from the perfections and goodness of the Divine essence.

However the second meaning of Will, which requires the making of decision in order to perform an action, is an attribute of action as it is relate to a temporal decree which has a spatial qualification. Furthermore the Noble Qur’an has also utilised this meaning on several occasions, such as:

“All His command, when He wills something, is to say to it ‘Be’, and it is” (Yāsīn:82).

It is important to remember that by relating an attribute of action to God, it does not mean that a change has occurred in the Divine essence or that an accidental quality has happened to evolve for God. On the other hand it can be considered as a relational attribute of action applied to God, which is abstracted by comparing the actions of creatures to the divine essence.

Concerning Will, the relationship, which is taken into consideration, is that the created things have been created from the aspect of having goodness, perfections and benefit (maslahah). Their existence is in a special

time and space and is associated with Divine knowledge and love. He created them out of His own desire and not because He is forced into doing so. Observation of this relation becomes the reason for the abstraction of a relational concept called Will, which in relation with a limited and restricted thing becomes limited and restricted. Hence this relative concept (mafhūm idāfi) is given the attribute of temporality and multiplicity.

a. Wisdom

It becomes clear by the explanation given with regards to Divine Will, that Divine Will is not to be associated with creating things absurdly; rather it is to be fundamentally associated with the aspect of goodness and perfection of a thing.

Nevertheless due to the fact that the collision of matter, results in its own destruction and deterioration, the determination of Divine love for the perfection is that their overall production (creation) is in such a fashion that they receive as much goodness and perfection as possible. By pondering upon this type of relationship, we come to grasp the concept of benefit, which does not exist independently from the existent of creations, and therefore will not cause their production, far from being an effective agent for the Divine Will (irādah).

We can conclude that as the Divine actions find their source in the knowledge, power, and love towards perfection and goodness, which are the attributes of essence, they will always be realised as being beneficial. This type of Will (which desires to deliver the ultimate perfection and goodness) is known as the wise Will (irādah hakīmah). Another attribute of action can here be abstracted, by the name of Wise (hakīm), which also like other attributes of action returns to the attributes of essence.

One should remember that just because the benefit fulfills a task it does not mean that that benefit is the ultimate cause (‘illah ghāi’yyah) for God the Supreme. Rather it is counted as a type of branch or adherent for the purpose. The fundamental final cause for the accomplishment of a job is love towards the essential infinite perfection, which is also subordinately related to the perfections of the creation. Hence it is from here that it has been said: that the final cause for Divine actions is that very active cause (‘illah fā’iliyyah) and God the Supreme does not have any other extra purpose other than essence. However this subject does not contradict the understanding that the perfection, goodness and benefit of existents are counted as a secondary goal. For this very reason the divine actions in the Noble Qur’an are considered as the causation of affairs, which returns them all towards perfection and goodness for creation.

b. Speech

One of the concepts associated with God the Supreme, is the concept of speech. Discussions with regards to the speech of the Divine existed in the past among the scholars of philosophy and theology and it has even been said that this was the very reason why they named theology as the knowledge of speech (ilm al-kalām). The companions of this knowledge used to debate about whether Divine speech is an attribute of essence as the Asharites (ashā’irah) believed or whether it is related to the attributes of

action as believed by the Mutazilites (mu’tazilah). One of the strongest conflicts between these two schools of thought, was whether the Qur’an, which is the speech of God is created or uncreated. This sometimes led to the two groups damming each other upon this issue.

By focusing on the definition given for the attributes of essence and for the attributes of action it becomes clear that speaking is an attribute of action. In order to abstract this concept, one has to consider a person who is addressed (mukhātab) and who understands the purpose of the speaker through the means of listening to the sound, reading a text, or by understanding a concept in one’s mind. In reality this concept is abstracted from the relationship that exists between God and the addressed, whereby God intends to unveil the truth to the addressed, who realises the truth. To the contrary, if speaking is taken as the ability or power for speech, then it will become an attribute of essence. These types of occurrence have been mentioned earlier with regards to other attributes of action.

However the Qur’an in the sense of letters, words or concepts present in one’s mind is indeed created.

If someone regards the knowledge of God as the reality of the Qur’an, it will then become the attribute of essence. However this type of interpretation is far from common parlance and must be disregarded.

c. Truth

If God’s speech is referred with the structure of, or as a command (amr), prohibition or assertion, it charts out the practical responsibilities of servanthood, where it cannot be attributed as being true or false. However if it (speech) is in the form of a prophecy, then it will be attributed as the truth, because the Noble Qur’an has mentioned:

“And who is more truthful in speech than Allah?” (al-Nisā’:87).

Hence no-one would have any reason for not accepting it.

This attribute is considered as a foundation for different types of arguments (known as traditional and devotional), which are employed for proving topics relating to the worldview and ideology.

On the other hand, intellectual arguments for proving this attribute can be established, God’s speech is from the station of lordship, and the management of the universe and man is based upon knowledge and wisdom. In other words it means that guidance for the creation and means for the realisation of the truth for the addressed is provided.

Questions:

1. From which angle is Divine Will considered as an attribute of action and from what perspective is it known as an attribute of essence?

2. For abstracting the concept of Divine Will as an attribute of action, what relationship must be considered?

3. How can Will be associated with temporality and multiplicity?

4. Explain Divine Wisdom (hikmah).

5. How can one arrive at the concept of the benefit (maslahah)?

6. In which sense can benefit, perfection and goodness be considered as the purpose of creation?

7. Explain God’s speech (kalām).

8. What is the argument for the Divine Truth?

LESSON TWELVE: ANALYSING THE REASONS FOR DEVIATION

Introduction

As indicated in the first lesson, the worldviews can be divided into two groups; the divine worldview and the materialistic worldview. The major difference between the two is that the divine worldview accepts a wise creator as the fundamental principle, whereas this is rejected by the materialistic worldview.

In the previous lessons we have provided appropriate discourses for proving God’s existence, established the most important positive and negative attributes and given discussions pertaining to the attributes of essence and action.

In order to acknowledge belief with the fundamental principle we will give a brief criticism of the materialistic worldview by establishing the divine worldview, which will unveil the former as being baseless and impotent.

In order to realise this, we will be initiating the following discussion by providing the reasons for the departure from the divine view towards heresy, followed by an explanation of the weak elements in the materialistic worldview.

Reasons of deviation

Heresy, atheism, and materialism have a long past in human history. However there have always been traces in human societies of there being a belief in a creator.

Nevertheless the ubiquity of being irreligious started in Europe during the eighteenth century and gradually expanded to other regions of the world.

Although the advent of this irreligiousness was a response towards the system of the church and aimed at opposing Christianity, its waves nevertheless swept the other religions away with it. This anti-religious inclination, along with industry, art and Western technology was exported to other parts of the world. Furthermore in the more recent centuries this transformation and diffusion was with sociological and economical; Marxist thought, which was applied in many countries, the outcome of which was the fall of humanity.

The reasons and factors that necessitated the appearance and development of this distorted thought are numerous, an investigation into which would require a separate book. However they can be generalised into three groups:

a. Psychological reasons for deviation

Qualities such as irresponsibility, carelessness and desire towards pleasure seeking are all tendencies, which may delude an individual towards atheism.

For such an individual, from one side it means the pain of research and investigation is necessary, this is especially so when those issues, which provide no bodily or material pleasure, are concerned. So for those who are

lazy such an effort becomes a big obstacle in their way. From another angle man’s inclination towards animalistic freedom, carelessness, freedom from limitations and discipline will only act to distance him further from the divine worldview.

Acceptance of a divine worldview based upon belief in a wise creator, establishes a series of beliefs, which obligates responsibility upon man in all voluntary actions.

This responsibility requires sacrifice and discipline in many areas; the acceptance of discipline with carelessness is in itself contradictory. Hence the tendency towards the love of animalistic freedom, even though the individual may be unaware of it, becomes the very reason by which the roots of responsibility are cut, which leads more fundamentally to the denial in the existence of God.

There are other elements, that also incline man away from his religiosity, and these become more apparent once the other tendencies have been exposed.

b. Sociological reasons for deviation

When a deformity appears within a society, partially due to the custodians of the religion, then this occurrence can be classified as a sociological reason. The deformation of a society could force men to blame the caretakers of religion, resulting in the society becoming dissatisfied with the religion and doctrine itself. The reason behind this is that most men are intellectually weak, and are unable to analyse, interpret and realise the true reasons behind the corrupt events. They think that these confusions and chaos are because of the involvement of religious authorities and as a result of religion, they thereby form the assumption that religious beliefs are the reason for this deformity and distortion. They subsequently become dissatisfied with the religion and doctrine itself.

Obvious illustrations of the mentioned elements can be seen in the social order of Europe during the Renaissance. The inappropriate response of the church in the field of religion, politics, and law (civil rights) was one of the major reasons by which the people became tired and disinterested in Christianity, and more generally in religion as a whole.

Focusing upon this element of deviation indicates that it is necessary for all of the religious authorities and institutions to understand the sensibility of time and importance of responsibility, as their mistakes will result in the misfortune and deviation of the society.

c. Intellectual factors for deviation

Intellectual deviations can occur through the doubts and confusions that appear in one’s mind, or through things that one hears. As a man’s intellectual and rational capability may be weak, he may not be able to respond to these doubts, and thus he becomes influenced by them. This obstacle then becomes a hurdle in his way to achieving tranquillity and certainty.

However there are other factors, which can be divided into different branches such as:

doubts based upon sense perception, doubts emerging from legends and myths, doubts evolving from false explanations, doubts based upon weak arguments, doubts related to unexpected incidents and events, that are claimed as being against the wisdom (hikmah) and justice (‘adl) of God, doubts arising from scientific hypotheses which oppose religious belief, doubts associated with the practical laws, especially in the field of politics, jurisprudence and law (huqūq).

Occasionally two or more factors can together become the reason for confusion, doubt, disagreement and atheism. Distinctive psychological disorder can also sometimes create the grounds for doubts and confusion.

Campaign against the elements of deviation

With the understanding of the different reasons and elements of deviation, it becomes clear that campaigning and dealing with each one requires special conditions with a unique procedure. For example, psychological and ethical deviations must be cured by means of the correct training and also by focusing upon the disadvantages delivered through it, as was mentioned in lesson two and three, where the need for investigating religion was discussed. Likewise, in order to protect oneself from the effects of social disorder (sociological deviation) one must differentiate between a religion and its caretakers. However at least an individual is unaware of the influences of psychological and sociological deviations but for the intellectual influences one has to choose a special method. Such a method for instance could be by discerning between the differences of distorted beliefs and true beliefs, and by never proving the religious beliefs through illogical or weak arguments.

Questions:

1- What is the benefit of analysing and criticising the materialistic worldview?

2- What is the reason for the expansion of atheism in the recent centuries?

3- Explain the reasons behind psychological deviation.

4- Explain in detail the sociological reasons for deviation?

5- Explain the intellectual reasons and its branches for deviation?

6- How would legends and myths negatively affect faith?

7- How can one combat the elements of deviation?