ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Principles of the Shi’ite Creed Lesson 5: God’s Traits Any quality that bestows dignity and grandeur to its owner and eliminates deficiency or shortcoming from him is called a great quality. For instance, take knowledge and enlightenment which remove ignorance from its owner and wipe out this shortcoming in him. Similarly, someone who is not strong and powerful is incomplete and the quality of strength or power will eliminate his defects.

The Creator of the world possesses all the great qualities and is free from shortcomings and defects. Because God is the one that fulfills the needs of the world and bestows all the blessings and benefits, therefore He should possess all the great qualities. It could never be assumed that one who does not possess a great quality could bestow it upon someone else. For instance, an illiterate person cannot do away with another’s illiteracy. Now, read this argument in a more extended way.

God Is Wise, Capable And Living We could appreciate God’s qualities by examining the creatures He has created. Because the vast universe whose every part has been created with precision and order and whose every creature has been fashioned with special features and certain calculations, is the strongest evidence that its Creator possesses knowledge, competence and power.

The astonishing order of the universe (some of instances were studied in the preceding lessons) attests to the fact that its Creator is aware of every creature’s secrets as well as the causes of their survival or destruction. Every creature has been created with all-out knowledge and perfect deliberation. Having realized the qualities of knowledge and power in God, we can appreciate another quality of His, that is, life or the quality of being alive, because knowledge and power presuppose life.

Anyone who enjoys knowledge and power must be alive. God, the Exalted, has adorned Himself with every great quality (including knowledge, power and life) in His scripture [Qur’an]. Furthermore, He has introduced Himself as free from and innocent of any blemish or shortcoming.

“God is aware of everything.” [^1] “Indeed, God has power over everything.” [^2] “He (God) is alive, and there is no god save Him.” [^3] Of course, as it was stated earlier, the universe with all its wonders and riddles clearly proves the knowledge, competence and life of its Creator.