Negative Theology A critical study

Kamal Masoud Thabih

Summary
One of the most important concerns of intellectuals and philosophers is the knowledge of Almighty Allah, His attributes, and His names. The study divisdes the attributes into positive attributes and negative attributes. From among the East and West’s scholars there are some who have spoken clearly about God’s being far above any attribute. And in order to avoid the problems facing the interpretation of God’s attributes, they have resorted to negative theology by confessing the inability to understand the divine attributes as they really are. Then, they interpreted the attributes, whose apparent meaning implied positivity, as negative, denying their opposites, in order to avoid the falling into the problems of denying God’s attributes and likening Him to His creatures (ta’til and tashbih).

This study is concerned with explaining this theory through showing its truth and the sayings of its followers in ancient Greece and religion scholars of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and then to discuss and criticize its basics and arguments, and finally to conclude that it is not possible to know God by denying all His positive attributes.

Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)