{"id":944,"date":"2014-04-12T04:51:29","date_gmt":"2014-04-12T04:51:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/my-islam.info\/?p=944"},"modified":"2015-01-04T21:26:15","modified_gmt":"2015-01-04T21:26:15","slug":"god-is-not-immanent-and-is-immaterial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/my-islam.info\/?p=944","title":{"rendered":"God is not Immanent and is Immaterial"},"content":{"rendered":"

Download .pdf<\/a><\/h3>\n
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God is Not Immanent<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

God is not immanent in the material universe.<\/p>\n

For example,<\/p>\n

\"Surah<\/a><\/p>\n

They made not a just estimate of Allah such as is due to Him. <\/i>And on the Day of Resurrection<\/i><\/b> <\/i>the whole of the earth will be grasped by His Hand and the heavens will be rolled up in His Right Hand<\/i><\/b>. Glorified is He and High is He above all that they associate as partners with Him!<\/i>[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Surah<\/a><\/p>\n

And [remember] the Day when We shall roll up the heaven like a scroll rolled up for books<\/i><\/b>. As We began the first creation, We shall repeat it. [It is] a promise binding upon Us. Truly We shall do it.<\/i>[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

On the Day of Resurrection, God will grasp the earth and roll up the heavens. Therefore, the universe cannot contain God Who must transcend the universe.<\/p>\n

Therefore, God is not immanent.<\/p>\n

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God cannot be Immanent<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

God cannot be immanent, because He is screened from the material universe by a veil.<\/p>\n

\"Surah<\/a><\/p>\n

It is not given to any human being that Allah should speak to him unless by Revelation or from behind a veil <\/i><\/b>or He sends a Messenger to reveal what He wills by His Leave. Verily He is Most High, Most Wise.<\/i>[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Surah<\/a><\/p>\n

And when Musa [Prophet Moses] came at the time and place appointed by Us and his Lord spoke to him, he said, \u201cO my Lord! Show me [Yourself] that I may look upon You.\u201d Allah said \u2018You cannot see Me but look upon the mountain. If it stands still in its place then you shall see Me.\u201d <\/i>So when his Lord appeared to the mountain He made it collapse to dust <\/i><\/b>and Moses fell down unconscious. Then when he recovered his senses he said, \u201cGlory is to You, I turn to You in repentance and I am the first of the believers.\u201d<\/i>[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

Were God to unveil Himself, His Essence would consume the material universe as it did the mountain in the presence of Prophet Moses.<\/p>\n

Therefore, God cannot be immanent.<\/p>\n

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God is Immaterial<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

Does the reference to God\u2019s Hands mean that His Hands are like His material creation, and, by implication, that God is material?<\/p>\n

No, because as the Qur\u2019an says,<\/p>\n

\"Surah<\/a><\/p>\n

The Creator of the heavens and the earth. He has made for You mates from yourselves and for the cattle mates. By this means He creates you. <\/i>There is nothing like Him<\/i><\/b>, and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer.<\/i>[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

Therefore, the Hands of God, like His attributes of Hearing and Seeing, are unlike His creation.<\/p>\n

Since all creation is material, and there is nothing like God, God must be immaterial.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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Rational belief in God\u2019s Attributes<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

How then can God\u2019s Attributes be understood if they are unlike His creation?<\/p>\n

\"Surah<\/a><\/p>\n

He [Allah] knows what happens to them [His creatures] in this world and what will happen to them, <\/i>but they will never compass anything of His Knowledge<\/i><\/b>.<\/i>[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

It is not possible to know how<\/span><\/i><\/b> the Hands of God are, because God is immaterial and, as material creatures, we can only affirm their existence.<\/p>\n

\"Surah<\/a><\/p>\n

Or say you that Ibrahim [Prophet Abraham], Ishma\u2019il [Prophet Ishmael], Ishaq [Prophet Isaac], Ya\u2019qub [Prophet Jacob] and the offspring of the twelve sons of Ya\u2019qub were Jews or Christians? <\/i>Say, \u201cDo you know better or does Allah?\u201d<\/i><\/b> <\/i>And who is more unjust than he who conceals the testimony he has from Allah? And Allah is not unaware of what you do.<\/i>[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

God knows Himself better than anyone else.<\/p>\n

\"Surah<\/a><\/p>\n

So put not forward similarities for Allah<\/i><\/b>. Truly Allah knows and you know not.<\/i>[8]<\/a><\/p>\n

God\u2019s attributes like His Hands must be affirmed without likening them to His creation, because God knows Himself and we do not.<\/p>\n

Therefore, the rational course of action, according to the Qur\u2019an, is to believe in God as He has described Himself without interpreting away His attributes from the apparent meaning which first springs to mind.<\/p>\n

This agrees with our conclusion on timeless-causality:<\/p>\n