How can Numbers apply to God?
Question
Title: How can Numbers apply to God? Question: When I was younger, a religion teacher of mine made a point that made quite an impression on my and has since stuck with me. He said that God was not part of his creation and that He existed outside the universe and all that it contained. Since Time itself is a basic component of this universe and as such a part of God's creation, then God Himself does not experience a past, present or future. It is impossible for us to try to imagine what a Timeless existence must be like, but this point did set me thinking about how fundamentally different God is from his creation. God doesn't exist in any dimensions, doesn't have a mass, or energy, or anything that we can relate to in this universe. I thought that maybe the concept of mathematics would also not apply to God. In fact, we can say that nothing can be attributed to God in terms that we understand except those attributes that have been described by Him, e.g., His Mercy, His Omnipotence etc... So why is the concept of Tawheed so overwhelmingly important when one can safely say that such an idea as a number is not applicable to God. Why did God Himself put such a huge importance to such an idea? Atif Rehman Pakistan Answer: In principle, man is not in a position to form any ideas about the physical nature of God. Thus, for instance, we cannot say that God has two hands or a nose [1] . However, the uniqueness and the singularity of God is not like forming an idea about the physical nature of God. On close deliberation you shall see that uniqueness and singularity are also, in fact, part of the attributive introduction and concept of God, rather than the physical nature of God. As for the reason of the significance of the concept of Tawheed in Islam, please refer to one of my earlier responses to a related question titled " The Importance of Tawheed - Oneness of God ". I hope this helps. Regards, Moiz Amjad December 17, 2002 [1] For details, please refer to one of my earlier responses to a related question titled ' The Islamic Introduction to God '.
Answer
Title: How can Numbers apply to God? Question: When I was younger, a religion teacher of mine made a point that made quite an impression on my and has since stuck with me. He said that God was not part of his creation and that He existed outside the universe and all that it contained. Since Time itself is a basic component of this universe and as such a part of God's creation, then God Himself does not experience a past, present or future. It is impossible for us to try to imagine what a Timeless existence must be like, but this point did set me thinking about how fundamentally different God is from his creation. God doesn't exist in any dimensions, doesn't have a mass, or energy, or anything that we can relate to in this universe. I thought that maybe the concept of mathematics would also not apply to God. In fact, we can say that nothing can be attributed to God in terms that we understand except those attributes that have been described by Him, e.g., His Mercy, His Omnipotence etc... So why is the concept of Tawheed so overwhelmingly important when one can safely say that such an idea as a number is not applicable to God. Why did God Himself put such a huge importance to such an idea? Atif Rehman Pakistan Answer: In principle, man is not in a position to form any ideas about the physical nature of God. Thus, for instance, we cannot say that God has two hands or a nose [1] . However, the uniqueness and the singularity of God is not like forming an idea about the physical nature of God. On close deliberation you shall see that uniqueness and singularity are also, in fact, part of the attributive introduction and concept of God, rather than the physical nature of God. As for the reason of the significance of the concept of Tawheed in Islam, please refer to one of my earlier responses to a related question titled " The Importance of Tawheed - Oneness of God ". I hope this helps. Regards, Moiz Amjad December 17, 2002 [1] For details, please refer to one of my earlier responses to a related question titled ' The Islamic Introduction to God '.
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