Document Type : Research Article
Authors
1
PhD student of Quran and Hadith Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
2
Associate Professor of Tarbiat Modares University, Department of Quranic and Hadith Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
Divine Indicative (Khabarī) Attributes, such as proximity (Qurb), companionship (Maʿiyyah), and "at-ness" (ʿInd), have long been subjects of inquiry among Muslim scholars. The significance of this issue arises from the fact that the literal appearance of these attributes may facilitate anthropomorphic and spatial interpretations of the Divine Essence; notions fundamentally incompatible with monotheistic principles and rational foundations. Thus, a correct understanding of these attributes is essential for the transcendence of God from such ambiguities. The research methodology is based on a comparative-critical analysis. Accordingly, the study first examines the linguistic meanings of these attributes and analyzes the views of exegetes from both sects and the hadith commentators of the Salafi and Imami schools based on their primary traditionary sources. Subsequently, the consistency of each perspective with Quranic texts, narrations, and rational principles is evaluated, identifying points of convergence, divergence, and their theological implications. In addressing the elucidation of these attributes from the perspective of Salafi and Imami hadith commentators, the Salafi approach demonstrates that their adherence to the appearance of scriptural attributes and refusal of any interpretation ultimately results in the acceptance of a form of corporeality for God, even if described as distinct from created beings. In contrast, the Imami school, emphasizing absolute transcendence, interprets Qurb, Maʿiyyah, and ʿInd as Divine knowledge (ʿilm), self-subsistence (qayyūmiyyah), and existential encompassment (iḥāṭah-ye wujūdiyyah), categorically rejecting any spatial connotations. Regarding the determination of the perspective consistent with Quranic, narrative, and rational principles, the final results indicate that the Imami exposition provides a more comprehensive and consistent interpretation of these attributes due to its alignment with monotheistic principles, the traditions of the Infallibles (Maʿṣūmūn), and rational foundations.
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