The Positive or Affirmative Attributes.Part3

4. Basar (Sight)

Sight is one of God’s Positive, or Affirmative, Attributes.

Through this Attribute of Glory, God Almighty sees everything, large or small, mighty or insignificant, material or spiritual, earthly or heavenly, and protects and cares for whatever and whoever He wills, with nothing remaining hidden from Him.

With the same clarity, He sees into the depths of the darkness and the illuminated heavens, He discerns the deepest, darkest corners of the strata of the earth, observes the microscopic, atomic and sub-atomic objects and beings, perceives the most hidden living beings and their most secreted parts, and has knowledge of everything, be it hidden or in the open.

▪The Attribute of Sight is not mentioned in the Qur’an in Its own, infinitive form, but is referred to with the Divine Name the All-Seeing. This Name is sometimes mentioned singly and sometimes together with the Name the All-Hearing. As with the other Divine Attributes, where this Attribute is mentioned It is mentioned in the affirmative and a warning is made against both the personification of God on one hand and the denial of the Attribute on the other.

▪The functions of seeing and hearing in human beings have been made dependent on many physical means, causes, and conditions, where as the Divine Being needs  neither physiological nor psychological means or causes, nor any other thing of a similar nature.

He sees by Himself through the veil of certain Attributes, He also hears by Himself, and knows by Himself.

▪Even though He sees, hears, and knows by Himself, His Knowledge, Hearing, and Sight are all different from one another. It is manifest misguidance to ascribe all these acts only to the Attribute of Knowledge and to ignore other sacred Attributes. The expressions of some Sufis implying this misguidance are due to certain spiritual states like absorption and spiritual intoxication, and are based on the doctrine of the Unity of Being. The final, decisive judgment in every matter always rests with the Qur’an, according to which:

God is the All-Knowing through (the veil of) His Knowledge, the All-Hearing through (the veil of) His Hearing, and the All-Seeing through (the veil of) His Sight.

5. Irada (Will)

Will is an Affirmative Attribute of God that is inherent in Him; Will determines what will be created and when, where, and how.

Whatever God wills to be, whenever, wherever, and however He wills it to be, it is thus.

He has certain instances of wisdom in or wise purposes for whatever He does and creates, but these instances of wisdom and purposes do not cause or compel Him to create or do anything.

Ibrahim Haqqi of Erzurum says:

No one can ever compel Him to do something; Whatever He Himself wills to create, it comes into existence.

▪Mashi’a is another word which is sometimes used in place of Irada. Our master, upon him be the most perfect of blessings and peace, used this word in different forms in his morning and evening prayers, saying:

“Whatever God wills is, whatever God does not will, is not.”

▪It is apparently the Attribute of Will Which determines whether something will or will not be and if it will be, then when, where, and how it will be. The manifest Qur’an emphasizes God’s Attribute of Will in many of its verses, such as the following ones, and reminds us of Will’s encompassing area of manifestation:

To God belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. He creates whatever He wills. He grants to whom He wills daughters, and grants to whom He wills sons. (42:49)

When God wills evil for a people, it cannot be averted, and apart from Him, they have no protector. (13:11)

Say: “Who is there that can hinder God from it, if He wills evil for you, or if He wills mercy for you?” They will not find for themselves, apart from God, either guardian or helper. (33:17)

When He wills a thing to be, He but says to it “Be!” and (in the selfsame instant,) it is. (36:82)

Say (to them): “Who is there that can intervene on your behalf with God if He wills harm for you or if He wills a benefit for you?” (48:11)

Say: “O God, absolute Master of all dominion! You give dominion to whom You will, and take away dominion from whom You will, and You exalt and honor whom You will, and abase whom You will; in Your hand is all good; surely You have full power over everything.” (3:26)