Here is another example from Al-Anfal Chapter:(Allah is Knower of all things)8;75.
This next Verse clearly refers to comprehension of the knowledge of Allah, Praised Be His Name:(And that Allah surroundeth all things in knowledge)65;12.
However, the following Verse proves the opposite, that is, creatures cannot cover the knowledge of the Almighty Allah:(And they encompass nothing of His knowledge save what He will)2;255.
In this regards, Imam Ali (PBUH) also says:“He is Aware of the uproar of the wild animals in the wilderness, the wrongdoings of the mankind on the sly, the diversity of whales in overwhelming seas, the clash of water with violent wind, …”.
Anwar:Very Good! I hope we can continue this same subject next time, Inshallah.
Hasan:Inshallah!
Symposium 14
More on Qualities of the Glorious Allah
The Omnipotent
Anwar:How about we move on to the next quality of the Glorious Allah, namely ‘the Omnipotent’?
Hasan:Gladly! Omnipotence is the ability of a doer to do something or to stop doing something. Omnipotent is the one who takes action and stops one whenever he wants so, with a sense and knowledge of what is good whether he takes that action or not.
Anwar:What are all these restrictions for?
Hasan:This is because we want to exclude the Almighty Allah from the state of acting without awareness,
knowledge and/or choice, like a burning fire that is capable of burning but without all of the above conditions. What comes out of a human being or any creature with awareness needs to carry preference which also requires knowledge and awareness – two principles of acting and leaving.
Anwar:Will you mention some evidence to Omnipotence of Allah, Praised Be His name?
Hasan:Yes!
· Omnipotence is perfection, and because He is the absolute perfection, then He is the source of it.
· The strength we have is from the Almighty Allah; He wouldn’t be able of giving us power unless He is the ultimate source of power.
· These results and the way they are organized is another proof to His Omnipotence.
Anwar:Why is choice paired with the omnipotence?
Hasan:Because the Doer with no choice cannot have any kind of intervention in any on action. It is like nature powers; they act with no choice. Moreover, this choice
is part of the perfection the Glorious Allah is characterized with, that is why He is the Absolute Perfection.
Anwar:So, is there any scrutiny in His choice in order for Him to give preference to one party against the other?
Hasan:Not at all! His choice is not like ours. He does not need to scrutinize in any way because His choice is eternal corresponding to His knowledge of good and evil since eternity, that is, His Choice is linked to His Omnipotence.
Anwar:I know that the Almighty Allah is capable of everything, that is, His power is general and not concerned with one specific thing without the other. However, how can we explain or respond to those who talk suspicions?
Hasan:Give me an example.
Anwar:Some ask ‘would the Glorious Allah be able to create an equal match of His?’ or ‘would He be able to create a stone He can’t lift?’, and this kind of suspicions.
Hasan:This kind of suspicions is raised by some ignorant and biased people who want to fill the believers with
doubt for their beliefs, and these suspicions are nothing but trivial and empty bubbles with a lot of contradictions or fallacies.
Anwar:Tell me more. God bless you!
Hasan:As a response to such people, we can ask them first if they believe that there is a God, essentially in existence with absolute perfection. If they answer with no, then we’ll have to have a debate on the omnipotence of the Glorious Allah; this debate, of course, needs to prove what was preceded on His absolute richness, power and knowledge.
If he is convinced, all will be good, otherwise we have to continue with introducing the Almighty Allah; the words of Imam Ali (PBUH) prove this point:“The priority in the religion is knowing Him…”. So, we have to come to a conclusion concerning the knowing the absolute perfect God.
When they accept this fact, we are going to tell them that this God with absolute perfection cannot be impotent. This way their suspicions and empty talks are fully refuted. In case they just needed answers for their
inquiries concerning God’s power and strength, then we should focus on the impossibility of perfection going along with imperfection. From a philosophical point of view, the deficiency exists in the taker and not the doer.
Anwar:This requires more clarification.
Hasan:Next time, Inshallah.
Symposium 15
More on Qualities of the Glorious Allah
Anwar:Salam ‘Alaykom! I am still waiting for more explanation!
Hasan:‘Alaykom As-Salam! I am at your service. I will start with the example from our last session. So, if we ask ‘would God be able to create an equal match of His?’, We have to answer that this creature would not be like God, because God is not in need to anyone in his existence but that creature is. It is impossible for the creature to be like Him because that would mean turning a needy and poor creature that is possibly in existence to absolute perfection who is essential in
existence, and this is impossible!
Here we must mention another important point, which is that an impossible is actually false, untrue and null i.e. it has no existence at all. This is because nothingness cannot have any power, as power and strength are concerned with things in existence. That is why the Glorious Allah says in the Noble Quran:(and Allah is able to do all things)33;27.
Anwar:Thank you very much indeed.
Hasan:All thanks to God!
The Alive
Anwar:Now, will you explain another quality of the Almighty Allah, namely ‘the Alive’?
Hasan:Yes, of course! Theologians agree that the Alive is one of the qualities of Allah, Praised Be His Name, but we first need to know the reality of life which is based on two things:
· Action and being affected which can be referred to by ‘the effectiveness'.