Document Type : Original Article
Author
PhD Student, Department of Islamic Studies Teaching, Tehran University
Abstract
In the epistemic system of Islam, the recognition of God serves as the most important type of recognition, and the Oneness of God is the most important issue when it comes to the recognition of God. The base of the human's monotheistic belief has been the inherent Oneness of God, and the belief is shaped based on the inherent unity of God. To understand the reality of the inherent unity of Him, the best source is surely Ahl al-Bayt (Family of the Prophet)'s speech. Researches done in the area of the Oneness of God, based on Ahl Al-Bayt (A.S)'s speeches, are either restricted to the general meaning of it, i.e. theology, or they lack philosophical precision. Accordingly, there seems to exist no exact philosophical study on God's inherent unity as explained by Imam Reza (A.S). The current study attempts to answer this question: What can be inferred from Imam Reza (A.S)'s speech regarding the reasons or issues behind the inherent unity of God? To answer the preceding question, by the philosophical divisions of the discussion and the employment of a descriptive-analytical method, the two main parts of His inherent unity, namely the absolute simplicity of divine nature and His unity, were inferred from Imam Reza (A.S)' speeches. Regarding the simplicity of divine nature, some points, by deleting some parts and limiting the scope, were presented and some reasons on the infiniteness of God were inferred from Imam Reza's speeches. The infiniteness of God was explained by referring to the eternal nature of God, refusal to imagine the truth of the essence of God and the inability of us to refer His essence, as well. Then by introducing God as the only infinite existence, the Oneness of God was also proved based on His absolute simplicity. In the second section, the Oneness of divine nature was proved through the rejection of numerical unity and such reasons as the lack of consensus on polytheism, the being created nature of opposition and connection, and the argument of "Basit al-haqiqah", according to Imam Reza's speeches
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