Divine attributes in Islam

Divine attributes in Islam are qualities affirmed of God in scripture, such as knowledge, power, mercy, and speech. Muslim theologians debate how these descriptions relate to divine unity and transcendence.

Tawhid: The Islamic doctrine that God is one, unique, and without partners. The attributes debate asks how many affirmed qualities remain compatible with God's absolute oneness.
Quran: The central scripture of Islam, regarded by Muslims as God's revelation to Muhammad. Its descriptions of God provide the primary scriptural basis for affirming divine attributes.
Mu'tazila: An early Islamic theological movement known for emphasizing divine unity and rational argument. Mu'tazili theologians resisted treating attributes as distinct eternal realities alongside God.
Sifat: An Arabic term meaning qualities or attributes, used in Islamic theology for qualities affirmed of God. It names the qualities whose reality and relation to God are disputed.
Names of God in Islam: The names used in Islamic scripture and devotion to describe and invoke God. Devotional use of divine names makes theological claims about attributes part of everyday worship.
Tanzih: The theological principle that God is utterly unlike creation and transcends creaturely limitations. It constrains interpretations that might make divine attributes resemble human qualities.
Hadith: Reports about the sayings, actions, and approvals of the Prophet Muhammad. Hadith transmit additional descriptions of God that became central to debates over scriptural wording.
Ash'ari theology: A Sunni theological tradition founded by al-Ash'ari and developed through dialectical theology. It affirms eternal attributes while rejecting that they are separate gods or parts of God.
Divine simplicity: The doctrine that God is not composed of parts or distinct constituents. Questions about whether attributes are distinct from God's essence parallel debates about divine composition.
Anthropomorphism: The attribution of human form, traits, or behavior to a nonhuman being or deity. Theology distinguishes scriptural language about God's face or hand from claims of humanlike embodiment.

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