What are God's Attributes?

 

"What we believe about God", said the late A.W. Tozer, "is the most important thing about us." Our belief or lack of it inevitably translates itself into our actions and attitudes"

 

 

 

Can you imagine the Creator's Attributes?

 

Look at God's creation, you will find yourself facing unlimited power that can't be imagined. God's creation has no better proof than that supplied by the study of the phenomena of the created universe and the multiple forms and colorations of nature that can never be fully described. Let's have a look at what the Maker's attributes can be.

 

1.      The Unity (Oneness)

 

"God is one without any equal. He is alone in bringing into existence. There are none like Him to rival or equal Him".

 

To explain that, if there had been two Gods and the first of them willed a certain thing, the second, if He were under compulsion to aid the first, would be a subordinate and impotent being rather than an Almighty God. If the second were able to contradict and oppose the first, he would be a powerful and dominating being, while the first would be weak rather than an Almighty God.

 

If their will equal, and one of them wanted a person to die and the second wanted the same person to stay alive so it is unreasonable that the two wills are done and the person will be alive and dead at the same time. This means that the will of God will be implemented.

 

 

2.      Eternity (The First and the Last)

 

"He is the beginning of everything and before anything living or dead. He has no end to His existence".

 

The proof of this is found in the supposition that if God had been originated and not ancient, He would have been in need of an originator. In turn His originator would also need an originator and so on in a chain of infinity. Those who would enroll in such a chain will never be found, or the chain reaches to an Ancient Originator and He would then be the First. This is the one whom we named the Originator and the Creator of the Worlds. God besides being without beginning has no end to His existence. He is the First and the Last. Since His eternity is established, His end is impossible.

 

3.      Nothing Whatever Like Unto Him

 

"God is neither a substance, nor a body, nor a quality of substance. He has no shape, no place".

 

That the whole world is made of substances, their qualities, and bodies, and consequently He resembles nothing and nothing resembles Him. All bodies and their qualities were created and made by Him; hence it is impossible that they are like Him or resemble Him.

 

He is the Knowing, the Able, and the Willing Creator as will be discussed later. It is impossible for these attributes to exist in a substance or its quality. On the contrary they are impossible except in a Self-existent and Self-sufficient Creator.

 

4.      Life

 

"God is Alive without spirit or body".

 

He is not a creature and not as our lives that have a beginning and an end, either the God's life has neither beginning nor an end, He doesn't resemble any creatures. As he is the Creator, He is Alone in His Characteristics.

 

5.      Knowledge

 

"God is the Knowledgeable, knowing all things and comprehending all creation".

 

The Creator of things should reasonably know the creatures that are created and that will be created. God knows without being learned and His knowledge doesn't proceed by ignorance, but our learning was preceded by ignorance.

 

.He has led you, through His creation, to comprehend the knowledge that you cannot doubt in proving the artful of creation, even in meager things. This shows us that the Knowledgeable God has the ability to arrange and order everything.

 

6.      Will and Power

 

"God has the ability through His Will to bring about certain actions".

 

Nothing exists which does not depend upon, and proceed from His Will. He is the Creator, and the Doer of whatsoever He wills. Every deed that has proceeded from Him has an opposite deed which could have proceeded from Him. He has the Will to render one of them into existence, and He alone decides the outcome of that deed.

 

Look at the world; it is perfect in its making and order in its composition. Let's think how do colorful plants emerge from soil? Have you ever closely examined the feathers of a bird? The feathers of birds have very complex features that help them to fly. Have you seen the kinds and colors of flowers? Imagine (ask yourself) can all these be created by a helpless person with no power?

 

7.      Hearing and Seeing

 

"God is the Hearer& seer"

 

Human hears with ears and sees with eyes but the Creator hears without ears and sees without eyes. How could He not see and hear when seeing and hearing are attributes of perfection not of defect? Could the created be more perfect than his Creator?

 

May these attributes are not all God's attributes, but they are the most important from my point of view. My advice to you is to have faith. The real question, when it comes to faith in God, is this...Do you have enough information or evidence to justify a decision to Trust God?

 

To know more about faiths wait for our next articles in Beliefs.

 

By: Nouran Radwan

 

References:

 

1.      http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ma/works/dai.doc

 

2.      http://www.al-islam.org/GodAttributes/

 

3.      http://www.aljawhar.net/