Question No. 2943 31 August 2022 Official answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) verified Content level: Intermediate

A Critique of the Claim “Divine Knowledge Is Identical with God’s Essence”

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Dear questioner, Master Ali Saei

Tracking code: #Q-2943

Peace be upon you. Please critique and analyze the following statement:
“Divine knowledge is identical with His essence.”

Subject category: Theology and Creed Critique and review

The essence and first answer at a glance (60-word summary)

The view that divine knowledge is identical with God’s essence has been put forward to preserve the unity of the divine essence and avoid conceiving of its attributes as components. Yet this position is not without difficulties, since it leaves many questions unanswered. The correct view is to deny that attributes are distinct from the divine essence, as the Master, the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), said: «كمال الاخلاص له نفی الصفات عنه».

Answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat)

Teacher and researcher in the intellectual tradition of wisdom and the Ahl al-Bayt | Soroush Bamdadān Cultural Center

In analysing the attributes ascribed to the divine essence, and seeking to guard against the idea that the divine essence can be compounded by receiving attributes, to preserve the soundness of monotheistic belief and free it from the contamination of polytheistic notions, some have regarded the divine attributes as identical with God’s essence, in order to affirm the unity and oneness of the One God. Accordingly, they treat knowledge as one of His essential attributes and consider it identical with His essence. This view, however, is not without its flaws: it leaves many questions unanswered and the central problem unresolved.

The first and last word on this matter is the noble saying of our master, the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, who denies the attributes of God:

کمال الاخلاص له نفی الصفات عنه.

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A Critique of the Claim “Divine Knowledge Is Identical with God’s Essence”

The essence and first answer at a glance (60-word summary)

Answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat)

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