Al-Ilahiyyat Volume 1

Chapter 5: Operative Positive Attributes

You have come to know, when classifying His Attributes, the most Praised One that He is, that they are of two types: entitative and operative. We said that the difference between both is that the attributes that suffice to describe Him, the most Praised One, are entitative, such as might, life, knowledge.

As for the attributes in which describing the most Praised One depends on an action that He undertakes and the imposition of something other than the self, these are operative attributes derived from His action, Praise belongs to Him. It is to this difference that famous books that deal with logic refer. They indicate that any description (of His attributes), which does not accept negation and affirmation and is relevant singly, is entitative. What is not like that, what falls within the frame of negation once and once of affirmation, it is an attribute of an action.

It is not said that the most Praised One knows and does not know, but it is said that He forgives and does not forgive. The goal in this regard is to discuss some attributes of His actions, Praise belongs to Him, such as speech, truthfulness, etc. He, Praise belongs to Him, speaks, and He is truthful. He, Praise belongs to Him, according to His names and attributes, has two fields in the world of mutability and creation: He grants life and causes death, He sustains and grants blessings, is merciful, forgiving and has other names and attributes which will reach you at the end of the chapter, by His will.