IMPORTANT QUESTIONS ABOUT THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD

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THE PROOF OF THEIR LIMITATION IN THE FOLLOWING: THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD IN ISLAMIC TRADITIONS.

For time in memorial some questions have confronted the philosophers and the orators and they have increased later because the problem of knowledge generally and the problem of the knowledge of God specially is very complex. The important questions are:

How can God be the knower of himself when the knower and the known must be two separate things? Can there be any separation between God and his knowledge? This writing clarifies that God should be the knower as well as the known.

THE ANSWER:

Firstly this question is not limited to god but can be asked about ourselves too. We definitely know about ourselves and that we exist. The question will now arise that the knower and the known must be two things and we and our entities are one especially when our knowledge about ourselves is inherent. Thirdly the answer is as Toosi put it that he who sees himself before himself is the learned one and since he is present before himself he is known.

In other words one existent being will be seen through two different angles. He who sees himself from one angle is the knower and when he is seen from another angle he is the known. Reflect.

SECOND QUESTION

How can God be connected with the existent being when they are in a state of constant change and is there any changes in God’s being?

ANSWER

This question can be asked till such time that God’s knowledge is like our knowledge. The things must be reflected in the brain because the reflections in the brain will change when there is change in them. But God’s knowledge is all prevailing and inherent and every thing is present before Him. This question does not stand ground because the changes are in the contingent beings and not in God.

The entity of God encompasses everything and is Himself constant. Every thing is under His authority and are constantly changing e.g. a person is walking before us; his movement is reflected in our eyes. His movements produce changes in his reflection and will effect a change in our brains too. The reason is that our knowledge is the result of his reflection in our minds Had the knowledge of all things external been inherent in us then there would have been no change in our minds but the changes would have been limited to the reflect being. Reflect.

THE THIRD QUESTION:

How is it possible that God is the knower of the details when the details are numerous? There is no scope for a variety of beings in an entity who His unique and One in all sense.

THE ANSWER:

This doubt has arisen because we have understood God’s knowledge to be an acquired one like ours. But God’s knowledge is inherent and all creatures are subserviently present before Him. He encompasses them all and has no need for reflection and imagery.

THE FOURTH QUESTION:

 How can God know the event of the future when they do not have any external existence for God to encompass them? Is their image and reflection in God’s mind when He has no mind and His knowledge does not depend on reflection? We should then accept that God does not have the knowledge about the future events because the knowledge of the unseen cannot be inherent and we cannot accept God’s knowledge to be acquired.

Though this question has been raised about the future events the condition of the past is the same where the events have faded away because they do not existent at the present moment. The images of the Pharaoh, Moses and the children of Israel are no longer because their time is now over.

 We can recreate their image if we are aware of the past history because our knowledge comes that which is reflected in our minds. But there is no assumption of a mind and reflection for God. His knowledge is all encompassing so how can there be any event in the past for Him?

THE ANSWER:

This question can be answered in three ways:

God is the cause of all things so He encompassed them always and encompasses them now. His knowledge about them is before they are created and even after they are created. In other words when we know the cause of things we will also know the effects because every cause is aware of all effects with additions.

This can be explained in anther manner: the previous events have not all be erased because their relics and sign still exist. In the same way the future and present events are interlinked like the links in the chain of cause and effect. If we acquire the knowledge of one then we will know that which was before and that which will come later.

If I acquire the knowledge of the wind in all details, causes and effects, movements then I will be able to surmise the wind existing a hundred thousand year before and a hundred thousand years in the future because the conditions will be the same in the past and the future. This is not just a superfluous knowledge but contains all the details for the past and the future. Today’s event

Will become the event of yesterday and the events of tomorrow are coming for today so the knowledge of today’s details is like the knowledge of the past and future details. When today’s events are present before God in full details then the events of the past and future to are present in full details.

Today is the reflection of yesterday and tomorrow and all the events of the past and the future can be seen reflected in today’s mirror. Reflect.

This question can be answered in another manner which we elucidate with an example:

Suppose a person is incarcerated in a room with only one aperture for skylight through which he can look outside. If a caravan of camel plies by he sees some camel’s heads neck, the hump and then legs. And this is how he will see all others that go by. He will try to arrange the present form, yesterdays and in the future but the person who stands on the roof can observe all the camels at the same time. He will stand at one place and observe the movement of the camels and for him the scene will different. So it is now clear that the past, present and future events are observed under varying conditions ands limited thoughts. What is past for us was the future of those who lived earlier and what is future for us will be past for those who will live in the future.

But the entity that is present everywhere, is eternal and ever living for Him the past present and future are meaningless. The events of a long span of time are ever present before Him (each one is limited in its own environment). He sees all the events of the past present and future at the same time.

We admit that it is very difficult for us to imagine this while we are incarcerated with time and space but this issue needs our attention and research.

The third and final answer to this question which has been adopted by many philosophers is that God is the knower of His being since His being is the cause of everything existing. The knowledge of the Cause will become the knowledge of the effect. In other words God is the personification of all the glory within mankind. He is the creator of everything but is free from all their defects. So when He is the knower of His own self He must be the knower of everything (there is a subtle difference between this answer and the one given above which can be discerned after serious deliberations.

 


 

1. There is a differences between these three views. The first is connected with the knower and the quantity of knowledge, the second is connected with changes in creation and the 3rd is connected with their numbers.

 

THE PROOF OF THEIR LIMITATION IN THE FOLLOWING: THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD IN ISLAMIC TRADITIONS.
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