The Essential Attributes.Part1

These are the following six Attributes:

(The All-Holy, Self-)Existence, Oneness, Having No Beginning, Eternal Permanence, Being Unlike the Created, and Self Subsistence.

These are particular to God and cannot be attributed to anyone or anything other than God.

Since the opposites of these Attributes are not in question for the Divine Being, they are also considered to be among the Attributes of Exemption.

1. Wujud ([The All-Holy, Self-]Existence)

Literally meaning being and being existent, Wujud([The All-Holy, Self-]Existence) is an Essential Attribute of God Almighty and denotes that God’s existence is by Himself.

▪Even though some scholars of theology and Sufis have asserted that

“Existence is identical to the Divine Being Himself,”

and have therefore attributed to It certain meanings of Divine Unity, verifying scholars have seen Existence as the title of Eternal—Eternal in the past and in the future—Existence and accepted It as the original source of the metaphysical and physical worlds.

▪Just as all existent things and beings are, in one sense, the shadows of the Light of that Essential Existence, so also it is through aspects of their existence such as contingency, being contained in time and space, being created out of non-existence, having certain, unchanging patterns of existence, and purposes for their existence, and through the order, favoring, wisdom, and mercy that they display through their existence or life, that they also act as witnesses and proofs of the Eternal Existence.

God is such a Necessarily Existent Being that in the same way as all the proofs, signs, indications, and witnesses in both our inner worlds and in the outer world demonstrate His existence and Oneness, our sensations, perceptions, and intuition, which we always feel appear in the depths of our spirits, and the points of reliance and seeking help in our consciences also indicate that Permanent Existence both individually and collectively.

All consciences that are open to the life lived at the level of the heart and spirit always speak of Him and proclaim His Existence through an inward sensation and intuition that burst forth from the essence of their existence and more loudly than their external sensations and comprehension and more profoundly than their mental perceptions.

2. Wahdaniyya (Oneness)

Oneness is an Essential Attribute of God in the sense that God Almighty has no peers, equals, rivals, or opposites in either His Essence or His Attributes. Since this Attribute denotes God’s being absolutely exempt or free from having any peers or equals, or any resemblance to any other things or beings, It is also considered to be among the Attributes of Exemption.

▪The Oneness of the Divine Being does not mean that He is one in terms of number; rather He is One in the sense that He has no partners, peers, equals, or opposites in His Essence, Attributes and Acts. As He is One and Unique in His Essence, He is also peerless and unequalled in His Divinity; it is only He Who is the absolutely Worshipped, Besought, Beloved, and Sought One.

The Qur’an, which declares,

Say: “He—(He is) God, (Who is) the All-Unique of AbsoluteOneness. God—(God is He Who is) the Eternally All-Besought (Himself in no need of anything). He begetsnot, nor is He begotten. And comparable to Him there is none.” (112:1–4),

expresses that He is absolutely One and completely independent of anything.

▪In every place where His existence is mentioned and stressed in the Qur’an and the Sunna, His Oneness is also mentioned; where His Oneness is noted, His being the Necessarily Existent One is also emphasized. Let us examine the topic briefly from Bediüzzaman, who dedicated his life to describing and teaching about God’s existence and Oneness:

O friend, everything bears a stamp and seal particular to the One, the Eternally All-Besought, and has signs testifying that He is its Maker and Owner. If out of the innumerable stamps of His Oneness and seals of His being the Eternally All Besought you can look at the “stamp” put on the sheet of the earth in spring, you will see that the following facts indicate and bear witness to Him as brightly as the sun:

On the sheet of the earth, we observe acts of ever-original, wise, and purposeful creation. Now notice the following facts and  see that wise and purposeful  creation:

The act of creation on the earth occurs in infinite abundance.

Together with infinite abundance, it occurs with absolute ease, through  an absolute power and with perfect artistry.

Everything  is created at an incredible speed but in perfect order and arrangement.

Things are created in absolute abundance and with the greatest economy or at the lowest cost imaginable, yet every individual is unique and priceless.

Despite innumerable causes of disorder and confusion, everything is brought into existence with extraordinary distinction.

Despite the vast distances in time and space and worldwide distribution, there is the highest correspondence and similarity between and among individuals and species.

Despite the highest correspondence and similarity, and though generated from similar or even the same materials, structural principles, and organization, they are in perfect balance and order with an absolute variety and a perfect individualization of characters and features.

The wise and purposeful creation, and perfect ease and artistry despite the absolute abundance; the perfect order, arrangement, proportion, and firmness despite the incredible speed; the uniqueness and highest value of every individual despite the absolute abundance and the greatest economy; the extraordinary distinction despite the innumerable causes of disorder and confusion; the highest correspondence and similarity despite the world-wide distribution; the perfect individualization of characters and features and distinction despite the highest correspondence and similarity and being generated from similar or even the same materials, structural principles, and organization—all  these features are such wit nesses for both the existence and Oneness of the Necessarily Existent One that it would be absolute blindness and obstinacy not to recognize these witnesses, each of which has the strength of thousands of proofs.