QUR\'AN: the Lord of the worlds, the Beneficent, the Merciful, the Master of the Day of Judgement:\"ar-Rabb\"(( الرب is the Master Who manages the affairs of His servant. The word, thus connotes the idea of ownership. Ownership (in our social structure) is a special relationship of one thing with another - a relationship that allows the owner to do with the owned thing as he wishes.
When we say, \"This thing belongs to us\", it shows that it has a special relationship with us that allow s us to do with it as we wish; had it not been for this relationship, we would not have had this authority over it. In this social context, it is an idea which the society has laid down but which has no existence outside imagination. This idea is derived from another real and positive concept, which too is called \"ownership\": Our limbs and faculties, like the sight, the hearing, the hands and the feet, belong to us - they exist because of our own existence, they have no independent existence, they depend on us for their existence and continuity, and we use them as we like. This is the real ownership.
The ownership that may be attributed to Allah is the real one, and not that which is based on subjective outlook. Obviously the real ownership cannot be disjoined from management of the affairs of the owned thing. The owned thing depends on the owner in its existence, as well as in all affairs related to its existence. Allah is \"ar-Rabb \" the Lord of everything because the Lord is the owner who manages the affairs of, and looks after, the owned thing - and only Allah has this attribute.
God’s Action is not dependent to Time
God’s Action is not dependent to Time The Verb and Its Three Tenses A notable point is that in our language, as in many other languages, in respect to the verb, we observe its main tenses, the past, the present and the future. Now, if we wanted to speak of something which is not connected to time, what verb should we use? Suppose we want to say that Allah, who is non-temporal, had created a being which is also non-temporal, what verb could we use to denote creation? If we- said \"created\" we would be using the past tense, that is, a time in the past. But our supposition was that neither the creator nor the created belongs to time. So, how can we express such an idea? We know of no vocabulary in our language to express it, because all the tenses denote a certain time. Every act must be related to time. So, how are we to tell that a non-temporal being had been brought to existence by the non-temporal Allah? We lack such a word. We have but to use the ordinary words used for temporary acts. The Timeless Verb Men of literature use a noteworthy expression in this respect. They say that verbs ascribed to Allah are timeless.For example: and Allah is ever Knowing, Wise\". [Suratun-Nisa\'/17] They say that this \"is\" is timeless [the English commentator had added \"ever\" to denote this meaning, although it is not in the original Arabic text. Trans.]. Probably those who are acquainted with the Arabic syntax and grammar know this expression to mean so. That is, the verb, as it is, and according to its position, requires to denote time. But in this very instance it is timeless.No time is observed in respect to Allah\'s acts. The indication of time is to be omitted from them. When we say that this verb is timeless we mean that time has been omitted from it, i.e. past tense minus its past time. What is observed here is its relation with the subject, disregarding time, since it has no place, too, for the simple reason that neither its creator nor the created is temporal.Consequently, the relation is also not temporal. But when Allah creates a temporal thing, it is created with the limits of time, while Allah, who is non-temporal and who encompasses all times, His relations to the past, the present and the future are equal. He is not subject to any time - dimension to be bound by a certain limit of time. He encircles all times.When we want to ascribe a temporal verb to the non-temporal, what kind of a verb must we use? Will it denote time or not? Being ascribed to the non-temporal Allah, it should be non-temporal, too, and being ascribed to a created thing, it should be related to time. To throw more light on this, imagine a piece of a string or a rope, of which one end is connected to the supernatural which has no time, and its other end is connected to the temporal nature. It seems that this example cannot incarnate the truth, yet it will do as an example. Or you may imagine a cone whose base is in the infinitive and whose head is placed on a concrete thing. It is possible for man to imagine such a thing.The base which is in the infinitive has no limit, no distinct point and no time, but the cone\'s head connected to the world of limits must inevitably rest on a particular spot, where the limits, time and place are distinct. Similar are the acts of Allah. They are of two ends, one is connected to the limitless Allah, while the other end is connected to the, created which is captured by the bounds of time and place.At one end it is connected to the world of constancy, eternity, infinity and divinity, and at the other end it is connected to the world of the limits, bounds, time and place. Allah\'s Timed Acts Consequently, it can be said that Allah\'s acts which are connected to temporal and material things, have two aspects, one is that which is connected to Allah, it is non-temporal. The act that is issued by Him does not happen in a frame of time.The other aspect connection to this world would be temporal. As a matter of course, this connection is an abstract one. We imagine the existence of such a connection between Allah and the creation, and say that the end with Allah is timeless, and the end with the creation is timed.Such an act, therefore, is, on the one side, untimed and not gradual, while, on the other side, it is timed. Why? Because it is issued by Allah who is beyond gradualness, since gradualness is twin to time. Because of this we say that all things, even the materialistic ones, are created by Allah without time.On His part, He just says: Be! It is a will of Him. When Allah\'s Will decides that there should be a world and human beings, this Will happen in no time. He, of course, does not need to move, as it were, any hand or limb to \"make\" something. So, when Allah wants to create something, He has but to will, and there the thing is. But the created thing is governed by time. Time as a Dimension of a Corporeal Being It had already been proved that length, width and size are dimensions of the material being, likewise is time. It is another of its dimensions. Everything has its particular time, as it has its particular length, width and size.This had been proved by Sadrul Muta\'allihin of Shiraz (may Allah be pleased with him). This is other than that problem which Albert Einstein said to have solved concerning time being the fourth dimension. The former idea is much wider than the latter.However, we are not to discuss it at this instance. If it is solved to us that time is originally the dimension of the very world, not a vessel in which the world is placed, and that it appeared simultaneously with the appearance of the world itself, we will very well understand that Allah\'s act does not happen in time, since there was no time yet.It was with the creation of the world that time appeared, just as-the world\'s length, width and depth, which also appeared together with its creation. If we could understand that time is another dimension of this being, we would come to the conclusion that to create a thing means creating its time, since time is not something separate from the things.Therefore, Allah\'s acts, so far as connected to Him, are not characterized by time. When He creates a temporal thing, its time is also created with it, because time is one of that thing\'s dimensions, just as when a table is made its size is simultaneously made, too. The size is not made separately. Wherever there is a table there is its size, too. Similar is time.Therefore, as the world is temporal, its creation is temporal, too, but as it had been issued by the non-temporal Allah its creation is non-temporal, too. But how? Like this: It is Allah alone who, when willing to create the world, says: Be! and there it is. But what kind of a world it would be? A world of a billion years old, and of, say, a billion km. long. When Allah wanted to create the length of the world, had He to go along the length while creating it? Had He to be present in the place? When He wants to create a being with length or size, has He, like an architect, who wants to draw a line on the ground, to walk along the line? Is He to be with the length? Certainly not! Allah is non-spatial.Likewise, He need not go along the time when He creates a temporal creation, since He is never simultanious with time. Neither Allah nor His act, as far as it is ascribed to Him, has time, but if the act is ascribed to a temporal creation, it will be temporal, too.Therefore, if we consider an act as relevant to Allah, none of His acts are temporal: \"His command, when He wills anything, is only to say to it: Be! so it is [Surat Yasin/82] What command? No matter what it is. Material or non-material \"when He intends anything\".The opinion of some commentators that this a yah belongs to non-material thing is not in conformity with the a yah\'s generalization. The Qur\'an does not say that when Allah wants to create any non-material thing, He says to it \"Be!\". It says \"When He intends anything He says to it `Be!\' so it is.\" . This is because Allah is non-temporal, and similar is His act.But what about the created? All the material creations have temporal and spatial dimensions. We say that the creation of the earth and the heavens was completed in six periods: \"And he it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six days\" [Surat Hud/7. (In Suratul Hajj/471 it is Said that \"...a day with Allah is as a thousand years of what you reckon\" -translator)] or the creation of man which takes nine months. But it does not mean that Allah accompanies these events along the time of their fulfillment and development, such as to be present at the time of ejaculating the semen, then at the time of its becoming a clot, then a lump of flesh, and so on. No, Allah does not move along time. All the times are in Him.So, how is it that a human being is created in nine months, i.e. He creates something whose temporal dimension is nine months, and it has, at the same time, its particular length, width and depth?Taking these facts into consideration, the ayah, in its generality, comes true in respect to all things. Even in respect to a thing whose creation requires billions of years, we can say that Allah tells it to be, and there it is. What does it mean to say to something: \"Be!? It means: \"O you whose age is six million year, come to existence!\" What is it? It is a being which had been continuous for six million years, but not that Allah had been moving along those six million years, from one point to another (temporal point). A million light year or a single minute makes no difference to Him. Similarly being spatial is the characteristic of the created, not the Creator.In short, Allah\'s acts, taken as issued from Him, are non-temporal because Allah Himself is non-temporal, but taken as belonging to material and temporal beings. They have their temporal dimension, as well as the acts issued from them..
God’s Attributes of Action
Firstly, we must say that Allah\'s attributes are divided into two groups: the Attributes of Essence, and the Attributes of Acts. The Attributes of Essence are those which the mind independently comprehends, without having to consider any of His creations.For example, life is of Allah\'s Attributes of Essence: Allah, there is no god save Him, the ever living.\"[Suratul Baqarah/255] The divine life is a divine attribute, and it has nothing to do with the existence or non-existence of any other living being. Allah is a living Being. He is not a dead thing like stone.Life is an attribute which we ascribe to Allah\'s Essence as far as the very Essence is concerned, not that something comes forth from the Essence. Similarly Allah\'s Knowledge of Himself is an attribute of Essence. Allah is Knowing. Allah\'s Knowledge of Himself is nothing but His Essence:Similarly the attribute of power, which means He is a powerful being. Even if we take the concept of power to include the concept of free will and explain power as to be something that can be used whenever wanted. He is not compelled, and no one can force Him to do anything. However, power is an abstract concept extracted from His sacred and divine state.On the other hand, there are attributes which are ascribed to Allah only with connection to a creature. Such attributes are called \"Attributes of Acts\", or the attributes abstracted from the divine acts, such as: The Creator, the Provider, the Manager, and the like, which denote Allah\'s acts. Without thinking of a created thing we cannot say: Allah is the Creator, or He is the Provider without there being someone needing to be provided for.This is unlike the Attributes of Essence, such as life. When we say: Allah is alive, no object is needed here. Yet, if we consider the concept of \"the Creator\" to include \"Power\", i.e. the one who has \"Power\" to create, then it would be referring to an Attribute of Essence. Allah is the potential Creator of the world before its appearance. That is, in Him is the \"Power\" to create it. But when there is no creating, there can be no attribute as Creator. The existence of the two is simultaneous. Whenever there is a created there is a creator, too. When there is no creator there can be no creating and created, and the concept of Creator cannot be abstracted, too, unless our intention is directed to His \"Power\" of creating, in which case it means an Attribute of Essence. That is why the divine and theological books divide the attributes into Attributes of Essence and Attributes of Acts. .......................Refrence:
Glorious Qur\'an، Misbah yazdi
Qualities of Action
Qualities of Action In addition, qualities are also divided into qualities of essence and qualities of action. A quality sometimes depends only on the qualified itself, such as life, knowledge and power, which depend on the person of a living, knowing and capable human being. We can conceive of man in himself possessing these qualities without taking into consideration any other factor. At other times a quality does not depend only on the qualified in itself, but, in order to qualify, it also requires the existence of something external as in the case of writing, conservation, desire, and the like. A person can be a writer if he possesses ink, pen, and paper, and he can converse when there is someone with whom to speak. In the same way he can desire when there is an object of desire. The sole existence of man is not sufficient to bring these qualities into existence. From this analysis it becomes clear that the Divine Qualities which are the same as God\'s Essence, as already pointed out, are only of the first kind. As for the second kind, whose actualization depends upon an external factor, they cannot be considered as Qualities of the Essence and the same as the Essence, for all that is other than God is created by Him and so, being situated in the created order, comes after Him. Qualities that pertain to God after the act of creation such as creator, omnipotent, giver of life, giver of death, sustainer, etc., are not the same as His Essence but are additional to it; they are Qualities of Action. By Quality of Action is meant that after the actualization of an act the meaning of a quality is understood from that act, not from the Essence (that performs the act), such as \"Creator\", which is conceived after the act of creation has taken place. From the creation is understood the quality of God as Creator. That quality depends upon creation, not upon the sacred Essence of God, the Most Exalted, Himself, so that the Essence does not change from one state to another with the appearance of that quality. Shiism considers the two qualities of will (iradah) and speech (kalam) in their literal meaning as Qualities of Action (will meaning wanting something and speech meaning conveying a meaning through an expression). Most of the Sunni theologians consider them as implying knowledge and thereby take them to be Qualities of Essence. .
Providing Sustenance
Providing Sustenance Another branch or dimension of At-Tawhid in Rububiyyah which has been greatly emphasized in the Holy Qur`an is that the Almighty Allah is the Only One Who provides sustenance to His creatures and provides for their needs. The Holy Qur`an says: يا ايها الناس اذكروا نعمت اللّه عليكم هل من خالق غير اللّه يرزقكم من السماء و الارض لا اله الّا هو فأني تؤفكون“O\' men! Call to mind the favour of Allah on you; is there any creator besides Allah who gives you sustenance from the heaven and the earth? There is no god but He; whence are you then turned away ... (35:3)?”As is observed, in the above ayah of the Holy Qur`an, being the Creator and being the Giver of sustenance have been regarded as being necessarily accompanying each other. The Holy Qur`an says: “Is there any creator besides Allah who gives you sutenance?” This contains a very delicate point. As a rule, it might seem that the question should have been put in the following way: \"Is there a giver of sustenance who gives you sustenance?\" However, the Holy Qur`an puts the question in this way: \"Is there any creator besides Allah who gives you sustenance? This ayah of the Holy Qur`an points out the fact that giving sustenance is one of the prestigious matters of creation; namely, means of sustenance (including food) should have been created in the world so that when a creature needs any means of sustenance, for example food, he can have access to it, use it and continue his life.So, in reality, it can be said that the One Who has created him in need of means of sustenance and Who has put the means of sustenance, including foodstuffs within his reach, is the same One Who gives sustenance to him and in fact giving sustenance is nothing but the fact that he can use the foodstuffs which have been created and which have been put within his reach. Of course the word \"rizq\" (sustenance) is sometimes applied in a more extensive sense which also includes non-material sustenances. For instance, it is said that the sustenance for the sould is knowledge or even about the angels there is a riwayat that: و طعامهم التسبيح \"and their food is praising (Allah)\". But By sustenance which is discussed here, material sustenance for the continuation of worldly and perfectional life is meant which depends on sustenance. One of men’s reproachable characteristics is that as long as they fell in need and sense their hunger, thirst, and their other material needs, they stretch out their hands towards Allah, but when their needs are met, they become neglectful of Allah, particularly if they have themselves made an effort or applied their mental and scientific capabilities (in connection with meeting the needs). In this connection, the Holy Qur`an says: فاذا مس الانسان ضر دعانا ثم اذا خولناه نعمة منا قال انّما اوتيته علي علم بل هي فتنة و لكن اكثرهم لا يعلمون“So when harm afflicts a man he calls upon Us, then, when We give him a favour from Us, he says: \'I have been given it only by means of knowledge. Nay; it is a trial, but most of them do not know (.39:49).” The Almighty Allah showered His blessings on some of His creatures, but they imagined that these blessings have been achieved as a result of their own endeavours, cleverness, sagacity, knowledge and intelligence.One of the distinguished examples of such persons is Qarun (Korah, Croesus). About the wealth of Qarun there are many stories. The Holy Qur\'an says about his wealth: ... و آتيناه من الكنوزما ان مفاتحه لتنوأ بالعصبة اولي القوة ...“... And we had given hint of the treasures, so much so that his hoards of wealth would certainly weigh down a company of men possessed of great strenght ... (28:70).” The pious people admonished Qarun and said to him: و ابتغ فيما اتيك اللّه الدار الاخرآ و لا تنس نصيبك من الدنيا... “And seek by means of what Allah has given you the future abode, and do not neglect your portion of this world ... (28:77(The pious people advised him not to become proud of these riches, not to make them means of mischief on the earth and to try to use the bounties Allah had given him for his life in the Hereafter. But in reply to them, Qarun said: ... انما اوتيته علي علم عندي ... “... I have been given this only on account of the knowledge I have ... (28:78).” So, Qarun’s response was: “Which wealth has Allah given me? I myself have endeavored and acquired the wealth with my knowledge and industry and no one has any right in my wealth. The poor and the subdued should themselves go and get money.”Such attitude, namely, to think that what we achieve is due to our own endeavors and efforts, and that our achievements are of our own is the very polytheistic attitude and a Muwahhid (monotheist) should know that his being is from Allah, his physical power, his intellectual power and all the matters in which he brings about changes are all from Allah, and still more, using the same is also depending upon Allah’s planning and it is not the case that anybody who gathered a wealth and acquired some riches, will be able to use that wealth well in this world. There might be many who amassed lots of wealth (whether in a Halal (lawful by Islam) or in haram (unlawful by Islam) way), but did not succeed in using this wealth. Qarun was also rated among such persons. He could not use the immense wealth he had amassed, because Allah’s torment fell upon him and both him and his wealth were swallowed up by the earth (at Allah’s command). Those who desired to have Qarun’s wealth, when saw this event, became conscious of the fact that merely possessing wealth and worldly riches is not sufficient for felicity in this world. و اصبح الذين تمنوا مكانه بالامس، يقولون و يكأن اللّه يبسط الرزق لمن يشاء من عباده و يقدر ...“And those who yearned for his place only the day before began to say: Ah! (Know) that Allah increases and straitens the means of subsistence for whom He will of His servants\' ... (28:82(. They saw that all that wealth sank in the earth and nothing of it was won by Qarun and that even he himself perished. They said that: \'Ah! It seems that it is Allah who increases the means of subsistence for anybody he wills and straitens it for any body He wills\'. This matter, (namely, the increasing and straitening of the means of subsistence) has been clearly stipulated in over ten ayat of the Holy Qur`an, including the following ayah: الله يبسط الرزق لمن يشاء و يقدر ...“Allah increases and straitens the means of subsistence for whom He wills ... (13:26).” The planning of the means of subsistence, increasing it or straitening it is all in Allah’s hand. Allah’s predestination in Men’s Sustenance Of course it is not the case that Allah decreases or increases anybody’s means of sustenance without expedience and wisdom, and if some persons’ means of subsistence are increased or decreased, it is on the basis of Allah’s wise rules and principles. The Holy Qur\'an says: و لو بسط اللّه الرزق لعباده لبغوا في الارض، و لكن ينزل بقدر ما يشاء انه بعباده خبير بصير.“And if Allah should amplify the provision for His servants they would certainly, revolt in the earth; but He sends it down according to a measure as He pleases; surely He is Aware of, Seeing His servants (42:27).” The Holy Qur`an says that if Allah amplified men\'s means of subsistence to such an extent that there would be no need for them to endeavor and try, these men would become rebellious, so Allah sends down the means of subsistence to the extent He knows advisable and It is He Who is Aware of the situation of His creatures and knows all that is expedient for each.
The Connection Between Ability and Will
Date: 2009 Dec 29
When we say that Allah is able to do everything, we mean that if He willed He would do it, if not He would not do it. So, when we compare the concept of ability with the concept of will, we realize that the scale of will is more limited than the scale of ability.
A simple example: you can talk or keep silent in a given moment, that is, you have the ability to do both. If you want to speak you speak, and if you did not want to speak you keep silent. So, your power covers both. But which one do you will? You will one of them. You either will to speak or to remain silent. So, your power is wider than your will, because ability covers both action and non-action, while the will covers only one of them, either action or non-action. Man has the ability to do something or not to do it in the same moment, but he cannot will the existence and non-existence of a thing in the same time. Thus, if we compare between ability and will, we realize that the range of will is more limited than that of ability.
Similarly, Allah does not will all that He is able to do. So many thing He is able to do, but He does not want to. Here one may ask: what is it that limits Allah\'s Will such that He does not will everything? Sometimes it happens that the will has nothing to do with doing or not doing an act, for the simple reason that to put these two together would produce a contradiction and an impossible, such as to will the existence of the sun and to will it not to exist at the very same time. It is obvious that such a thing is impossible. Yet, there are other things, which though not impossible, Allah would not will them. Why? What prevents Allah\'s Will from willing certain things?
Probably you had already heard that some scholars of theology say that \"The issuance of ugly acts from Allah is impossible\". This is exactly what we have been saying. But the principal question is: \"Is Allah unable to produce an ugly act?\" We do know that His ability is unlimited, and that He is able to do whatever is possible to do. But not all that is within the ability is willed. Allah\'s will does not cover particular things. He does not want to do certain acts. He does not want to send the wrongdoers to Paradise. Why? If He did what would happen? Why Allah\'s Will does not cover this act? There are many other things which are not willed by Allah.
The simple answer given in this respect is that reason says that this act is bad, therefore Allah would not want to do it, nor would He will it. As a matter of course, an obvious objection can be raised here: Does Allah take orders from reason? Reason is one of His creatures; did He create it to issue its orders to Him, and to write down a list of instructions for Him?
Does Reason Rule Allah?
Some say that, in order to stop this problem, we claim that by reason we do not mean the human intellect, but it is Allah\'s intellect itself that tells Him not to do this. So, He is not ruled by a created being, but by His own mind. This answer can, to some extent, be acceptable to the layman and convincing. But upon a deeper thought we realize that it cannot be a correct answer, firstly because Allah is a Simple Being in whom there is no entity called mind so that another entity may obey it.
Knowledge, power, life and all the Attributes of Essence are His very Essence - a single and simple one and with only a single entity. But to say that Allah\'s mind issues orders to Him would mean that there are two entities in His Essence: a commanding mind and an obeying one, while such a thing is impossible in respect of Allah.
Furthermore, mind\'s function is\' to understand the concepts through acquiring knowledge. The mind which understands the good and bad, and enjoins what to do and not to do, is a mind which understands the concepts, and the concepts are of acquired knowledge, while Allah\'s is intuitive; not acquired knowledge. In other words, to use the word \"mind\" in respect to Allah is a mistake. What are we to say, then? What does it mean to say that the act which is disapproved by the mind is impossible to be done by Allah? It neither means that the act in itself is impossible, nor that there is a ruler whose orders Allah is to obey, nor that there is a power which stops the act, as in which case Allah would be affected by a factor which blocks His act, preventing Him from willing. Whatever the factor may be, it would mean that Allah is under the effect of that factor, while Allah is a Being who would not be under any effect. Actually it is He Who has His effect on everything, and will never be effected at all.
By way of answering this question, we must first study the \"will\". What does it mean to say that somebody \"wills\" to do something? When we want to carry out an act,, how do we will it? Inside us there are factors that attract us. They crystallize through our desires and change into special forms, such as the desire for food, for talking, for self-assertion and many other desires known of man. These desires and inclination take shape under certain material conditions and interactions. When we feel hungry a strong desire for food appears in us. The same is true with our other desires which are connected to our different instincts. When a desire starts inside us, we think it over to see if there is anything preventing us from meeting it and that it brings no harm to us, in this world or in the Hereafter, then that desire can be satisfied. In this way our will is implemented. So, the truth of the will is that it is a crystallized inner desire, under particular conditions, accompanied with the usual ways of reasoning, finding out its pros and cons, its good and bad sides etc. Finding out that it is profitable and harmless, or its loss is less than its interest, it takes shape into a will leading to its being carried out. Thus, there can be no will without there being a desire cherished by the willer.
There are inside every being certain desires which cause the appearance of his will to satisfy them. For example, a hen does not will to have babies and never thinks of it (we, of course, have no knowledge of a hen\'s thinking, but we only guess), or the sparrow which builds its nest attached to the ceiling or near it, in a corridor, in a certain shape, but never hexagonal, contrary to the bees which build their hives in a hexagonal shape, and they never think of building them in, say, the cubic shape. The sparrow, too, never wills to have its nest in a hexagonal shape.
A special instinct in this creature appears, under particular conditions, in the form of a desire, and ends the performance of an act. Our will also stems from a desire deep inside us, i.e. coincides with our being and psychological disposition. There are creatures which live on certain food which we never desire to have them and we even feel repulsion on seeing such foods being eaten. You may have seen the pigs eating filth and stinking food, with such a good appetite that is quite disgusting to us. Some other animals find it very delicious to feed on rotten and bad smelling food.
Had we known their language, we would have heard them smack their lips, saying: \"How delicious this is!\" whereas we would be filled with nausea at the sight of it. We would never wish to have such food, though it is palotable to those animals. Why do we never will to eat a rotten, filthy and stinking food, nor to do any disgraceful and disapproved act? Because these are not in harmony with our beings. We are not instinctively attracted to such acts. There is a will when there is drive, though this remains vague until particular conditions obtain and the will appears. If we feel no inclination towards something, we will never will to do it, the same as we will never will to share with a pig its meal.
Matching Factor of the Will
Consequently, no will can take place without a preparation and a cause. The will has an instinctive element, an inner traction, which, under particular conditions, takes shape and turns into a desire, causing us to will to do something.
In short, no will is possible without the act matching the actor. There must be a sort of aptness between the willer and the thing he wills. This aptness appears in the form of an inclination, which, in its turn and under certain conditions, changes into a will. But, in respect to Allah, when we say that He, the Exalted, wills to do something, the act must be suitable to be done by Him. Yet, it is not that there should be first an inclination in Him, and then it gets stronger and stronger until it becomes an eagerness; then He considers it over to deem it advisable or not, as such methods belong to the possible beings - a being that is ill-informed, weak, poor, etc. Allah is above being affected by events and outside factors, or being under any effect, or unknowingness, so that He may want to understand something by way of thinking it over. These notions are inappropriate in respect to Allah.
Allah\'s Will is connected to an act that is appropriate and agreeable to Him - a fact which is an aspect of His perfection, i.e. any act that is perfect is of Allah\'s Absolute Perfection, since He is the Unlimited Perfect One. Everything that has an aspect of perfection is proportional to Allah\'s Essence, and enjoys His consent in proportion to its amount of perfection. But as for the aspects of imperfection, fault, defect, vice and nothingness (all of which actually stem from nothingness), because of their being so, are not willed by Allah. Allah is perfect, likes perfection and His Will belongs to something which has an aspect of perfection. \"Allah is beautiful and likes beauty\". [Al-Kafi\',Vol.6,p.438] Allah does not like any ugly act, and thus, His Will never belongs to an ugly act. Why? Because it is not inproportion to Him. This answer makes it clear why Allah does not will to do everything. It is because it has no aspect of perfection. If an act has an aspect of perfection, it may be, because of that aspect, willed by Allah.
The Best System
Here we are to consider another point in order to completely solve this question: Allah may create a being in a particular way that it would not be dependent on anything from outside itself, such as the abstracts. It is not to appear from anything, nor to live on anything. It will be self-sufficient being. Allah creates such beings endowed with perfection, according to a speech of Amirul Mu\'minin [Ali ibn Abi Talib (A.S.) in which he said: \"There is no footing in the heavens without being occupied by an angel created by Allah - no shortage of them. They are so many that they are uncountable. Their number is out of my or your reckoning, nor can we, even with an astrologic scales, count the numbers of the beings, their quantity or their quality.\"
But, on this earth, the appearance of a being cannot happen isolated from other things. It is the nature of this world to be dependent, and that every being should be in need of the others.
The human being existing on this earth is created from semen. Without the semen no human being is created. Once he is created he is to live on other things to stay alive: he is to breathe the air, to drink water, etc. and to digest and assimilate them in order to live. So, the existence of a being in this world equals the vanishing of other things from it. This is a characteristic of the world of matter. It is a world of struggle, limitedness, communication and consolidation. In such a world, the survival and perfection of a being means the imperfection and destruction of other beings.
Now, if Allah wills to create this world, a world containing imperfections while principally Allah\'s Will does not cover imperfection - it means that He actually wants the perfect beings to come to existence, but these perfect beings depend on the imperfections of other beings. Those imperfections are called, in the terms of philosophy, \"corollarial objectives\". That is, since our principal objectives cannot be fulfilled except through some other unintended requisites, we have but to approve and accept them , though they are not wanted for themselves. For example, man eats meat and vegetables in order to grow. From this point of view, Allah wants these to be eaten, but as corollarial objectives not as direct ones. Therefore, we are to look at the world as a whole. If there are any interactions in the world of matter, they must be in a way leading to the appearance of valuable perfections. It is this world that belongs to Allah\'s Will.
On counting all the imperfections and perfections, adding and subtracting the pros and cons, and seeing that the perfections are heavier in weight, we say that such a world is willed by Allah. But if these interactions result in the abolishing of even the preliminary perfections, such a world would not be willed by Allah. Thus, Allah\'s Will originally belongs to perfection. However, when the perfection of a thing encounters the imperfection of another on a competition ground, if the perfection is triumphant, that imperfection will be willed by Allah as a corollary.
Consequently, we conclude that the system of this world is the best. That is, Allah had created it in such a way that its good overcomes its bad, leading to its perfection and procuring His pleasure. As to the world\'s deficiencies, shortcomings, faults, defects, weaknesses and abnormalities, they are not originally intended for themselves. They are as preliminaries required for the development of another being.
By referring to the Qur\'anic ayahs we realize that it declares that the world of nature is entirely intended for the development of man. That is, the original intention is that great perfection to which man can attain, should he press on proceeding along the right path. But what perfection could it be, we leave it now. One thing man can find which is more valuable than the whole world of nature.
It is the very secret about which Allah says: \"what you do not know!\'\"[Suratul Baqarah/30] i.e. there is a secret in the creation of man which you do not comprehend, that is, man can attain to a sort of perfection the knowing of which is above your capacity. It is the perfection which was obtained by the holy Prophet and the (12) pure Imams (A.S.).
It is so invaluable, so precious, that the whole world of nature is nothing in comparison. It is like a piece of diamond excavated by throwing away tons of rocks and earth. It is a perfection whose greatness and value we cannot estimate. The Qur\'an says: \"He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth.\"[Suratul Baqarah/29]
In another ayah He says: And He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six days - and His dominion (extends) on the water - that He might try you which of you is best in action.\"[Surat Hud/7]This means that the creation of all the heavens and the earth was a preliminary step towards the creation of the human being - the being who is free to choose and whose perfection is to be looked for by his own free will. You are placed at a crossroad and asked to choose for yourselves. Then you are watched to see which one of you chooses the best and acts the best.
So, compared with the whole world of nature, the perfection obtained by the ideal and perfect people is more valuable and preferable. The whole world, with all its fruits, is run by the best order. Had it not been for the fact that this world was made of matter, this choosing being and those perfections which he is to get by choosing, would not have come into existence. The sun and the planets on their orbits must all be there, the order must function, so that the conditions for the appearance and the development of such an aware, free, choosing, of free will and evaluating man, can obtain. So, generally speaking, this order is the best, and there can be no better. The insignificant deficiencies are purposely intended for significant aims.
As to other beings, each is so created, in its own particular existing conditions, that it, considering all the conditions of the world of matter, is also the best and perfect. The Qur\'an says: \"Who made good everything He has created, [Suratus-Sajdah/7]
That is, every creature, according to its particular existing conditions, and the situation it has in the world of matter, is the best. So, Allah only wills the good and the perfect.
The deficiencies of some creatures are not originally intended by Allah, they are only wanted because of the perfections that depend upon them.
Thus, the correct answer to the question: \"Why Allah\'s Will never pertains to an ugly act?\" is that the ugly act is no match for Allah\'s perfections. The divine will has nothing to do with any act that has no relation with His Holy Essence and unlimited perfections.
The Extent of Divine Potency and Will
The Relation Between Power and Will
Among the theological discussions concerning Divine Power and Will, there is the question whether everything does fall within the circle of the Divine Power, or whether the Divine Power covers only certain things, or whether the things which belong to Divine Power also belong to His Will.
That is, is not there any limitation of Divine Power, as we frequently read in the Qur\'an: \"Surely Allah is capable of (doing) everything.\"[Suratul Baqarah/20].
Regarding the Divine Will there are many ayahs to the effect that Allah does whatever He wills. It is not that if Allah willed something it may not be implemented.
The Divine Will is ever-effective, and whenever the implementation of something is willed by Allah it would be carried out. The following are examples of such ayahs:\"...Allah does what He Wills\"[Suratul Hajj/18] and: \"...surely Allah does what He Wills\"[ibid/14]
Allah Does not Will the Impossible
In this respect many questions are put forth. For example: Can Allah produce impossible things? Can He create another Allah like Himself? Can He grant to one of His creatures all that He has, such that He loses everything? Can He contain a mountain into an atom or, say, in a hen\'s egg? and so on. That is, are we to imagine that the meaning of saying: He is capable of doing everything, is that He must be able to do all such things, and that if He could not, it would mean that His ability is limited?
In order to give a logical answer to these questions, a brief explanation of the concept of ability would be necessary. By saying that somebody is capable of doing something, or creating something, we mean that something is creatable or can be done, but it only needs a power to bring to existence this existable and implementable thing. To put it in a technical term we say that a power-dependent must be a possible being. Ability means doing what is possible to be done.
The conclusion is that ability does not cover the impossible. To ask: \"Is it possible to create the impossible?\" is a wrong question, because it contradicts itself. If it is impossible to exist, how can it be expected to exist? In other words, ability is dependant on the \"thing\". The impossible is not a \"a thing\", it is \"nothing\". Thus, when we say that Allah is able to do \"everything\", we must remember that the impossible is not a \"thing\". A thing is that which is doable possible to do. Here another question may be asked: There are many things, which are thought to be impossible and not power-dependent, yet we see or hear that they had been done by Allah. For example, if it is said that a huge heap of fire had been turned into a cool garden of flowers, we would say: impossible! Fire burns the flower, never turns to flower. How can a heap of kindled fire change into flowers? This is impossible, but we do know that Allah had turned the fire, in which Prophet Abraham (A.S.) was thrown, into a garden of flowers
. To answer this, we must explain the kinds of the impossible.
Kinds of the Impossible
Things which are regarded, in the arguments of the gnostics as \"the impossible\", are divided into three kinds: Self-impossible, occurrence-impossible and common-impossible.
The self-impossible is that which is supposed to bear in itself its contradiction, such as to say that the light which is dark, or the light which has no light, the black which is white or the black which is not black. This very supposition is impossible, i.e. the very ,supposition is self-contradicting. (If we ask: a light which is like darkness in proportion to another light, it is a different subject. But the supposition that a light, though being a light, is not a light, is a contradiction.) So, the supposition which contradicts itself is called self-impossible.
Occurrence-impossible means that the supposition in itself is not impossible, but that we have added to it another supposition which made it impossible, such as supposing the appearance of an effect without its exclusive cause. In this case the appearance of this effect is not impossible in itself, because it certainly comes into existence when its exclusive cause is there. But we added the supposition that its cause was not there. So, the occurrence of such an effect without its exclusive cause is impossible.
Furthermore, this is not a power - dependant case, since it is contradictory. By saying that this effect has an exclusive cause we mean that without its exclusive cause it cannot come into existence. So, to suppose that it can be implemented without its exclusive cause is but a contradiction. Therefore, ability covers neither the self-impossible nor the occurrence-impossible. It belongs to common-impossible.
Miracles are of the common-impossible kind, that is, the appearance of something not from its common outlet. For example, when somebody is dead, he would not commonly come to life again, but the mind does not see it impossible to find one way or another to bring it into life once again, and there will be no contradiction in it. But the people, commonly believe that there is only one cause for that.
So, when an extraordinary event happened they thought that an impossible event had happened! All miracles are imagined to be of the impossibles, since no other cause is thought for them. But, on a second thought, we realize that the mind does not regard them to be impossible.
In other words, people think that every event has a single exclusive cause which cannot be replaced by another cause. Consequently, they think that without that very cause it will be impossible for the event to happen.
Where does a flower grow?. It grows in a soil with almost a fixed temperature, together with moisture Then the flower\'s seed is sowed. If there is no water; if the temperature is higher or lower then necessary, no flower will grow. If there is no flower - seed no flower will appear.
So as far as we know, flowers grow in this way. But is there any other way of growing flowers since we have never heard in our whole life of other than this common way, we say that it is impossible. But when we see another way of growing flowers, we realize that it is not impossible, and that it is possible to grow flowers in a way different from the common one. Even a man with a will overcoming natural forces can, to some extent, perform it, let alone Allah\'s Will intending to perform something not through its natural causes and common way. Here, of course, is an unknown cause, not that an effect appears without any cause. This effect has another cause which is unknown to us.
To bring the idea nearer, we give an example: There are many phenomena whose causes are still unknown to man who thought them impossible to happen. Then he discovered that they can happen through other ways. The new inventions, which were possible by using the discoveries of the covered secrets of nature, are of this category. If somebody said, years ago, that he could talk to you from several thousand kilometers and you would hear him, you would have certainly told him that it was impossible, while now everybody knows that it is possible.
The supernatural causes are also one way of the implementation of phenomena, though we do not know them or cannot get to them. But it is not that there is no such ways. So, the common-impossibles (i.e. what people think to be impossible, which actually they are not) are power dependant, and Allah is, was and will be, able to carry them out. They are the very extraordinary events, miracles and wonders performed by the prophets and godly men.
Attributes of Essence and of Acts
Firstly, we must say that Allah\'s attributes are divided into two groups: the Attributes of Essence, and the Attributes of Acts. The Attributes of Essence are those which the mind independently comprehends, without having to consider any of His creations.For example, life is of Allah\'s Attributes of Essence: Allah, there is no god save Him, the everliving.\"[Suratul Baqarah/255] The divine life is a divine attribute, and it has nothing to do with the existence or non-existence of any other living being. Allah is a living Being. He is not a dead thing like stone.
Life is an attribute which we ascribe to Allah\'s Essence as far as the very Essence is concerned, not that something comes forth from the Essence. Similarly Allah\'s Knowledge of Himself is an attribute of Essence. Allah is Knowing. Allah\'s Knowledge of Himself is nothing but His Essence:
Similarly the attribute of power, which means He is a powerful being. Even if we take the concept of power to include the concept of free will and explain power as to be something that can be used whenever wanted. He is not compelled, and no one can force Him to do anything. However, power is an abstract concept extracted from His sacred and divine state.
On the other hand, there are attributes which are ascribed to Allah only with connection to a creature. Such attributes are called \"Attributes of Acts\", or the attributes abstracted from the divine acts, such as: The Creator, the Provider, the Manager, and the like, which denote Allah\'s acts. Without thinking of a created thing we cannot say: Allah is the Creator, or He is the Provider without there being someone needing to be provided for.
This is unlike the Attributes of Essence, such as life. When we say: Allah is alive, no object is needed here. Yet, if we consider the concept of \"the Creator\" to include \"Power\", i.e. the one who has \"Power\" to create, then it would be referring to an Attribute of Essence. Allah is the potential Creator of the world before its appearance. That is, in Him is the \"Power\" to create it. But when there is no creating, there can be no attribute as Creator. The existence of the two is simultaneous. Whenever there is a created there is a creator, too. When there is no creator there can be no creating and created, and the concept of Creator cannot be abstracted, too, unless our intention is directed to His \"Power\" of creating, in which case it means an Attribute of Essence. That is why the divine and theological books divide the attributes into Attributes of Essence and Attributes of Acts. After this dividing there were discussions about some other attributes, whether they were among the attributes of Essence or of Acts, such as: to want, to will, to talk, etc.
HOW SPLENDID ARE GOD’S QUALITIES!
His Qualities
Know that to the same extent that realizing the existence of God through studying the secrets of the created world is easy, learning of His Qualities is difficult and requires a great deal of care and caution.
You probably wonder why. The reason for this is clear because God does not resemble anything we have ever seen or heard. Thus the first condition to recognize God’s Qualities is to negate all of the qualities of creatures, that is, not comparing Him to any limited creature of the world of nature. It is here that our task becomes difficult because we have grown up in the heart of this nature. Our contact has been with nature. We have become familiar with it. Thus we are inclined to compare everything with it.
In other words, whatever we have seen has had a material form. Some of the creatures which have a determined time and place, have a special dimension and form. Because of this, conceiving of a God Who neither has eyes, nor time, nor place, but, at the same time, He overlooks all times and all places and is unlimited from all points of view, is a difficult task. That is, it requires that steps be taken along this way with great care.
But it is necessary to remind ourselves here of this point that we can never come to know God’s Essence and we should not expect that we could because such an expectation is like expecting to contain the endless seas in a glass or expect that a child, which is developing in its mother’s womb, know about all of the world outside of the womb. Is this possible?
It is here that such a small blunder will cause a person to fall tens of kilometers from the main way of coming to know God and become waylaid in crags of idol worship and the worship of creatures. Note with care that, in summary, we must be conscious of never comparing God’s Qualities with the qualities of creatures.
The Qualities of Majesty and Beauty
We most often divide God’s Qualities into two groups: those Qualities which God has and those Qualities which God is free from. And now, this question arises as to how many Qualities God’s Essence has.
The answer is: On one hand, God’s Qualities are endless and unlimited and, on the other hand, they can be summarized in one Quality because all of the Qualities of God can be summarized in the following:
The Essence of God is an essence which is infinite from all points of view and it contains all perfections.
From the point of view of Qualities which God does not contain, they can be summarized in the following sentence. The Essence of God is not imperfect from any point of view.
But from another angle, as perfections and imperfections have various levels, that is, we can conceive of endless perfections and endless imperfections, thus, it can be said that God is the infinite of demonstrated Qualities and infinite negation of Qualities because whatever perfection you can imagine, He has and whatever imperfection you can imagine, He is free of. Thus the demonstrated and negation of Qualities of God are unlimited.
The Most Well-Known Qualities of God
The most famous demonstrated Qualities of God can be summarized in the following:
1. God is the ‘Knower’ (‘Alim): He knows all things.
2. God is Powerful (Qadir): He has ability over all things.
3. God is the Living because something which is living has wisdom, power and because God is Wise and Powerful, thus He is Living.
4. God is the Willer (Mur’id), that is, He has a Will power and He is not obliged in His work and whatever He does, has a goal and wisdom and even the smallest thing in the universe does not lack a philosophy and a goal.
5. God is Perceiving (Mudrek), that is, He understands and perceives all things. He sees everything; he hears all things and He is aware of all things.
6. God is Primordial and Eternal (Qadim and Azali), that is, He always was and His existence has no beginning because He always boils from His inner Essence and because of this, He is primordial and eternal because a person whose being is from he himself has no non-existence or annihilation.
7. God is the Speaker (Mutakalim), that is, he can create waves in the atmosphere and speak to his Prophet, not that God has a tongue or lips or a larynx.
8. God is Truthful (Sadiq), that is, whatever He says is the Truth and is equivalent to reality because lying comes from ignorance or from weakness and a lack of Power and it is impossible for God Who is Knowing and Powerful, to lie.
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And the most well-known negation of Qualities of God are:
1. He is not a composite. That is, He does not have mixed elements because in this case,
He would be in need of other elements, whereas, He is in need of nothing.
2. God is not a body because everybody is limited, unstable and accepts annihilation.
3. God is not visible. That is, He cannot be seen because if He could be seen, He would be a body, limited and accepting annihilation.
4. God has no place because He is not a body to require a place.
5. God has no partner because if He had a partner, He would have to be a limited creature because two non limited, from every point of view, is not possible and in addition, the unity of law of this world shows His Oneness.
6. His Qualities are exactly like His Essence.
7. God is Needless and Self-sufficient. He is rich and containing everything because an endless being from the point of view of knowledge, power and all things has no deficiencies.
The Holy Quran says,
لیس کمثله شی
الشوری 42/11
“There is nothing like unto Him.” (42:11)
source : http://www.ahl-ul-bayt.org/
