notifications_active Weekly Meshkat-e Noor Session: Thursdays at 20:30 at Haj Reza Mosque
Greetings and respects,
If all knowledge of God comes through His names and attributes, will His essence remain forever beyond the reach of the human intellect?
َّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ
The essence of the Almighty Lord lies beyond the reach of the human intellect and does not need to be known. We come to know and relate to created beings through the divine names and attributes, for God’s majesty and grandeur are such that He has no need of any description or relationship. In this context, created beings exist within the realm of the divine names, attributes and acts.
The divine Essence is beyond even self-sufficiency: the Real cannot be described even as self-sufficient. We may, with due qualification, explain this by saying that the relation between the divine Essence and its creatures transcends all relations; it has no need of any relation. Knowledge and relation pertain to the divine Names and Attributes. The majesty of the Lord rises to such a height that He has no need of any relation or of being known.
Without doubt, the relation of the divine Names and Attributes themselves to the divine Essence is not a relation in the ordinary sense.
The Real cannot be known, nor does He need to be known. As things stand, all beings are attending the class of the divine Names, Attributes, and Acts!