Quran; Path to Knowledge of God’s Attributes
Since it is among issues that are on the age of faith and Kufr (disbelief), a mistake about it could lead one to go astray and that is why knowing the viewpoint of the revelation about attributes of God is very important.
There are some verses in the Quran that point to the names and attributes of God. For example Verse 11 of Surah Ash-Shura:
“He is the Originator of the heavens and the earth. He has made you and the cattle in pairs and has multiplied you by His creation. There is certainly nothing like Him. He is All-hearing and All-aware.”
Imam Ali (AS), in Sermon 91 of Nahj al-Balagha, introduces a general rule about knowing the attributes of God: “Then look on, questioner; be confined to those of His attributes which the Quran had described and seek light from the effulgence of its guidance.”
According to this rule, one should confine his search about the attributes of God to what the Quran and the Infallibles (AS) have said and refuse to g o beyond that.
That there is such a limitation here is because we, humans, have a limited capacity to know even about the material world, let alone about God’s attributes.
The attributes of God are infinite and we can never fully grasp them or define a limit for, for example, His justice or His mercy. One cannot even truly comprehend the very fact that God’s attributes are infinite (because the concept of infinity is beyond our understanding).
So how can one talk about the attributes of God without the guidance of the Quran and the Infallibles (AS)? One danger in this is that we may fall into the trap of comparison and compare God’s attributes, which are infinite, to people’s attributes, which are finite.
Or some may wrongly consider attributes for God that necessitate having a body and being limited in space.
But according to the rule introduced by Imam Ali (AS), we realize that such ideas about God are incorrect.
As the Holy Quran says, “There is certainly nothing like Him.” (Verse 11 of Surah Ash-Shura)
So, based on this rule, we should study the attributes of God only as far as the Holy Quran and the Infallibles (AS) have taught us.
