Comparative Shiʿi Theology

A Comparative Study of the Theological Opinions of Allamah Ṭabāṭabāʼī, Javadi Amoli, and Muḥammad ʻAbduh on the Attributes of God's Knowledge and Will

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

sayed Ali Mohammad Musavi 1
ali rajabzade 2

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic Studies, Khajeh Nasiruddin Toosi University of Technology, Tehran

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic Studies, Allameh Tabatabaei University, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22054/jcst.2025.86025.1233
Abstract
One of the most important philosophical and theological discussions is the discussion of the attributes of God, because without a doubt, knowing God would be impossible without knowing His attributes. The main issue of the present study is to examine this fundamental question: How can God’s eternal knowledge be applied to contingent and partial matters, and what is the quality of God’s will? The present study aims to achieve a comparative system of the opinions of these three thinkers that can outline the range of possible solutions to these issues, relying on the analytical-descriptive method and based on library resources. Research findings: ʻAbduh believes that the divine attributes are understood from the essence itself and are nothing but an interpretation of the quality of existence. He forbids entering into the understanding of the quality of divine knowledge, and regarding divine will, he also believes that the concept of God’s will is rooted in the theory of divine knowledge and the issuance of possibilities from God. In contrast, Allamah and Javadi Amoli believe that we should attribute the meanings of the attributes, which express perfection, to God. They consider God's knowledge to be a type of present knowledge, and they consider will to be an attribute of action, and they consider the will of the servant in every action to be dependent on the divine will. As a result, it can be said that the difference in epistemological foundations (such as accepting or rejecting present knowledge) and ontological foundations (such as the objectivity or non-objectivity of attributes with the essence) in the theological views of these three thinkers has led to fundamental distinctions in explaining the attributes of divine knowledge and will.

Keywords

Allamah Ṭabāṭabāʼī
Muḥammad ʻAbduh
Javadi Amoli
Divine Attributes
Knowledge
Will
Subjects
The Holy Qur’an.
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Comparative Shiʿi Theology
Volume 6, Issue 11
September 2026
Pages 231-257

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