Explanation of the rational approach of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) in proving the divine attributes in the first sermon of Nahj al-Balagha

The discussion of divine attributes considered as one of the important philosophical and theological topics. There are various views among Islamic thinkers about divine attributes. Among Islamic narrations, the words of Imam Ali (AS) are of great importance and value. In the present article, the words of Imam Ali (AS) in the first sermon of Nahj-ul-Balagha has been expressed in descriptive-analytical methods and the rational approach of Imam (AS) in explaining and proving the divine attributes has been extracted. In the end, has been concluded that he has used the adjective "God is infinite" in proving the positive attributes and the adjective "the limitation of creatures" in denying the negative attributes. Also, in some cases, by using the rule of "knowing things with their opposite", they have proved the opposite of the attributes of creatures to God. The most important attributes that Imam Ali (AS) has explained are:"Absence of composition in God", "Monotheism", "Sincerity or denial of superfluous attributes", "Being old", "Creator without need of tools", "Aware", "Unique", "Knowledge before creation", "Creator without need of "Pattern", "Creator without the need to think", "Surrounding beings", "Knowledge of beings".