A Study in the Comparative Study of Knowing God through God

Knowing God through God has been a point emphasized in textual sources with different and multiple interpretations presented for it the most important of which are the following: First interpretation: Knowing God with divine creation and construction; Second interpretation: knowing God with divine power; Third interpretation: Knowing God by utilizing divine ways; Fourth interpretation: Knowing God through divine statements; Fifth interpretation: Knowing God through creatures; Sixth interpretation: Knowing God through the existential status of creatures; Seventh interpretation: Knowing God through negating the attributes of creatures; Eighth interpretation: Precedence of knowing God over knowing creatures; Ninth interpretation: Knowing God with the agency of God; Tenth interpretation: Intuitive cognition of God what is generally referred to as knowledge by presence. According to the preferred interpretation, these traditions are of two types: 1. Traditions in an imperative mode 2. Traditions in a non-imperative mode. When it comes to the first category of verses, the first, second and third interpretations are not acceptable. Because according to these interpretations knowing God through God is the only way of cognition of God and ordering someone to gain such knowledge is futile and against wisdom of the one who issues the order. However, the remaining interpretations can be understood as the multiple semantic layers of perception. As for the traditions in the second category most of these interpretations can be accepted and brought forth as the semantic degrees or multiple layers of understanding this theme. Keywords: acquired knowledge, knowledge by presence, knowing God through God, the proof of the Truthful.