Mediated Knowledge and Possibility of Knowledge of God

Although knowledge of God is so important that it is considered as the first step of one’s being religious in the Islamic sources on the one hand and Muslim thinkers have dealt in detail with such discussions as proving the Divine Essence and God’s attributes and actions on the other, the question of possibility of knowledge of the Almighty, which is prior to them all logically, is neglected as an independent, comprehensive discussion in the sources dealing with the knowledge of God. Such a discussion may be dealt with in three categories of possibility of mediated knowledge, that of natural knowledge, and that of immediate knowledge. There are four opinions concerning mediated knowledge: two proving and two negating. This essay discusses and surveys the two proving opinions.