We have already described the way which the Law pursues in teaching
the common people the existence of God, the denial of His having any
associates, and thereby the knowledge of His attributes, and the
extent to which they have been explained in details in it, one after
another. It is really an addition to, and deduction from, and change
and interpretation of this very limit and extent which has not been
productive of good to any and all the people. Now it remains for us
to know the method which the Law has adopted in explaining to the
common people the perfection of God and freedom from all defects, and
the length to which it has gone in detailing it, and the cause of
restricting its knowledge to them. Then we should mention the methods
which it adopts in teaching the people the knowledge of His actions,
and the latitude which it has allowed in this respect. Having done so,
we shall have accomplished the purpose for which we began this book.
So we say that the knowledge of things known as perfection and holiness
are found in many verses of the Quran, the most clear and definite of
them being the following, “There is nothing like Him, and it is He who
heareth and seeth;”[64] and, “Shall God, therefore, Who createth, be
as he who createth not.”[65] The second verse is an argument for the
verse “there is nothing like Him.” For it is one of the characteristics
of the dispositions of all the people to think that the Creator must
either be unlike the things which He has created, or having qualities
which may be different from these which He has given to the created;
otherwise he who is himself created cannot be a Creator. When we
have admitted that the created cannot be the creator then it becomes
incumbent upon us to say that the qualities of the created should
either be not found in the Creator, or found in Him in some different
way than they are in the created. We say, “in some different way,”
because we have proved the divine qualities to be those which are
found in the noblest of God’s creatures, man, as knowledge, life,
power, volition and so on. This is the meaning of the Tradition of
the Prophet, “God created Adam after His own image.” So it has been
established that the Law has denied the similarity between the Creator
and the created with fitting arguments. The denial of similarity is
of two kinds, first, that there may not be found in the Creator many
qualities of the created; and secondly; there may be found in him the
qualities of the created in so perfect and excellent a form as could
not be imagined. Of these two kinds it should be seen which one the Law
has explained, and about which it is reticent. We would also try to
find out the cause for this reticence.
We would say that the qualities of the created which have been denied
by Law as pertaining to God are those which show some defects; for
example, death, as God says, “And do ye not trust in him who liveth,
and dieth not,”[66] or sleep and things which lead to negligence and
carelessness, as regards senses and the protection of the existent
things, as He says, “Neither slumber nor sleep seizeth Him.”[67] Of
such qualities are error and forgetfulness, as God has said, “The
knowledge thereof is with my Lord, in the book of His decrees: my
Lord erreth not, neither doth He forget.”[68] A knowledge of those
qualities the existence of which has been denied in God is one of the
necessary things of common education and is why the Law has been very
explicit about them. It only warns us not to meddle with those things
which are far from the primary principles of knowledge, because it
knows the small limits of human knowledge, as God has said in many
different verses of the Quran, “But the greater part of men do not
understand.” For example He says, “Verily the creation of heaven and
earth is more considerable, than the creation of man; but the greater
part of men do not understand,”[69] and “The institution of God to
which He has created mankind disposed; there is no change in what God
hath created. This is the right religion; but the greater part of men
know it not.”[70] Now it may be said, what is the proof--that is, the
proof advanced by the Law--of the fact that these defects are not found
in God. We would say that it is apparent from the universe itself. It
is quite safe. No confusion or corruption overtakes it. Had the Creator
been subject to negligence, carelessness, error or forgetfulness the
whole of the universe would have been destroyed. God has made this
clear in many verses of the Quran. He says, “Verily God sustaineth the
heaven and the earth, lest they fail: and if they should fail, none
could support the same besides him;”[71] and, “The preservation of both
is not burden unto him, He is the high, the mighty.”[72]
If our opinion be asked about the anthropomorphic attributes of God,
whether the Law has denied them as attributes to the Creator or is
only silent about them, we would say, that it is evident that the Law
is quite silent about them, and their mention in it is quite near to
their denial altogether. It has come to be so because the Quran in
many verses speaks of His hands and face, and these verses are taken
as showing physical attributes which the Creator has bestowed upon the
created, just as He has given him the qualities of power, volition and
so on--qualities which are common between the Creator and created,
except that they are more perfect in the former. On account of this
many Muslims believed that the Creator has a body different from all
other bodies. Such is the case with the Hanbalites and their many
followers. But in my opinion we should follow the path of the Law; and
this should neither deny nor try to prove them, and whenever asked
by the common people to do so, we should answer with words of God,
“There is nothing like him; and it is He who heareth and seeth,”[73]
in this way preventing them from questioning. It is so because of
three reasons. It is neither near to the first, nor to the second, nor
to the third grade. This would be quite clear to you from the method
adopted by the Mutakallimun. They say that the proof of the fact that
He is not a body is that it has been proved that all bodies are created
things. If they are asked to point out the method of proving the latter
proposition, they adopt the method, which we have already pointed
out, concerning the creation of accidents, that that which cannot be
separated from created things is itself created. You have already seen,
from what we have said, that this method is not a philosophical one,
and had it been so, even then a majority of the common people would not
have grasped it. Moreover, whatever these people have said about God,
that He is a Self (_Zat_) and divine attributes added to it, proves
by itself that He has a body, on account of the denial of creation,
rather an argument denying anthropomorphism. This is the first reason
why the Law does not speak of these things in clear terms. The second
reason is that common people think that all that is existent they can
imagine and feel, all else being non-existent to them. So when they
are told that there exists One who has no body, their imagination does
not work and He becomes almost non-existent to them, particularly so
when they are told that He is neither outside our knowledge nor in
it, neither above nor below. That is why the sect which believes in
anthropomorphism thinks of those who deny it, that they also believe
in it; while, on the other hand, the party thinks its opponents to
be believing in a number of gods. The third reason is that had the
Law denied anthropomorphism altogether there would have arisen many a
misgiving about what has been said concerning the Day of Judgment, and
other beliefs.
Of these one is the problem of Divine Vision which we find stated in
authentic Traditions. Those who have been very explicit in denying it
are the two sects of the Asharites and the Mutazilites. The belief
of the latter has driven them to deny the vision altogether; while
the Asharites have tried to make the two things agree, but this was
impossible for them to do. So they have taken refuge in many sophistic
arguments, the weakness of which we would show when talking of the
Divine Vision. Another problem which rises out of this is that it
evidently gives rise to a denial of the direction in which God is. For
if He has no body then the Law becomes an allegory. For the advent of
the prophets is founded upon the fact that Divine Revelation is sent
to them from the heaven. Upon this very principle is also based our
religion, for the Divine Book has come down from the heavens, as God
says, “Verily we have sent down the same (the Quran) on a blessed
night.”[74] The descending of the divine revelation from heaven is
based upon the fact of God’s being there. So also is the descending
and ascending of angels from heaven, as God says, “Unto him ascendeth
the good speech; and the righteous work will He exalt;”[75] and says
He, “The angels ascend up unto and the spirit.”[76] We would mention
all the things which the deniers of direction bring to prove their
proposition when we come to talk of this problem.
Another difficulty which arises is that with the denial of
anthropomorphism we shall have to deny movement to God, after which
it would be difficult to explain with regard to the Day of Judgment,
that He would appear to the people at that moment, and would himself
superintend their judgment, as He says, “Thy Lord shall come and the
angels rank by rank.”[77] It would also be difficult to explain the
famous Tradition of Descent, though its explanation would be, on the
whole easier than that of the former in spite of all that has been said
about it in the Law. So it is necessary that there should be disclosed
to the common people nothing which might lead them to a disbelief in
the literal meanings of these things. This would be its effect upon the
mind of the people if taken exoterically. But when it is interpreted
it would come to either of two interpretations. Either interpretation
would overcome the exoteric side of it and of other things like it,
thus destroying the Law altogether, and falsifying their purpose;
or it will be said about all of them that they are only allegories,
which would destroy the Law, and efface it from the mind of the people,
while the man doing it would not know the sin he has committed with
regard to Law. With all this, if you were to look into the arguments
which the interpreters advance about these things, you would find
all of them unreasonable, while the exoteric meanings are much more
satisfactory, that is, verification through them is more common and
much better. This should become clearer to you when we begin to review
the arguments which they advance for a denial of anthropomorphism, and
discuss the question of direction, as we may shortly do. You should
also know that the Law never intended to disclose the question of the
denial of this attribute completely to the common people, since it can
be done by an explanation of the soul, and the Law has not explained
to the masses what the soul was. God says in the Quran, “They will
ask thee concerning the Soul; answer, The Soul was created at the
command of my Lord; but ye have no knowledge given unto you except a
little.”[78] This is so, because it is difficult to establish reasons
for the common people for the existence of a thing existing by itself,
without a body. Had the denial of this attribute been understood by the
masses then it would not have been enough for prophet Abraham to say in
his discussion with the infidel, “When Abraham said, My Lord is He who
giveth life and killeth: he answered, I give life and I kill.”[79] On
the other hand he would have said, “Thou art a body, and God has not
one, for every body is created,” as the Asharites would argue. So also
it would have sufficed for Moses in his discussion with Pharoah about
his divinity; and for the Holy Prophet in case of the anti-christ,
telling the Faithful of the falsehood of his claims for divinity,
because he would have a body while God has none. On the other hand
he told them that our God was not one-eyed. An argument proving the
physical defect in him was enough to falsify him. So you see that all
these are innovations in Islam, and have become the cause of its being
split up into sects, into which the Prophet tells us that his people
would be divided.
Now some one may object that the Law has not made it clear to the
common people that God has or has not a body, then what should they
believe about him. This is a question which will naturally arise in the
mind of every man, and cannot be put away from him. So it would not
satisfy the common people to let them know of a thing, the existence
of which they should believe, that it is not made of matter. We should
say that they should be answered with the answer given by Law--That
He is the Light, for this is the quality which God has assigned to
himself in His Book, for describing himself, He says, “God is the
light of heaven and earth.”[80] The prophet has also assigned to him
the game quality in an authentic Tradition. It says that he was asked
whether he had seen God, and he answered, “He was Light, and I saw
him.” The Tradition of the Night Journey says that when the Prophet
neared the lote-tree,[81] it was completely covered with light, which
did not hide it from his sight. There is also a Tradition in the book
of Muslim which says that God is a curtain of light, which, if opened,
would burn the opener, and yet God would not be seen. In some other
readings of this very Tradition it is said that He is seventy curtains
of light. It should be known that this illustration is especially fit
for God, for it comprises the two things, that He can be felt, our
eyes and intellect being powerless to see or comprehend him, and in
spite of this He is not a body too. Now according to the common people
the existent thing is one which can be felt, while the non-existent
thing is that which they cannot feel. So light being the best of the
things felt, it is but fitting that the best existing thing should be
likened unto it. There is another cause for it which should be noticed.
The condition of His existence to the learned people, when they begin
to ponder over him, is like the condition of the eyes when they look
towards the sun. But such is not the condition of the eyes of the bat.
So this quality fittingly describes the condition of the two classes of
people. Moreover, God is the cause of the existence of things, and of
our knowledge of them. This is also the quality of the light in showing
colours, and of our seeing them. So God has very fittingly named
himself Light. When it is said that He is Light then there remains no
doubt as to His Vision on the Day of Judgment. From these it must have
become clear to you what the primary belief of the Law was about this
attribute, and what are the innovations which rose in it afterwards.
The Law is silent about it because there is not found in the universe
anything unseen without a body, except that which is found by arguments
among things seen as existent with this quality, and that is the soul.
As the belief of the soul was impossible for the masses, it was also
impossible for them to understand the existence of a Being who exists
without a body. Hence they cannot understand it about God.