An Analysis of Allameh Tabatabai's Theory about the Divine Attribute of speech

The question of the way in which the attributes of God are related to one another and to the Divine essence has been a long-standing issue among Muslim thinkers. Meanwhile, the attribute of God`s Speech, kalam, is of special importance and the scope of discussion about it is extended to the Holy Quran as being everlasting or non-everlasting. Mulla Sadra considered the Ash'arite theory of the Qur'an`s being everlasting as one leading to polytheism and the multiplicity of everlasting beings, and the Mu'tazilites' theory of its being non-everlasting as one leading to God`s possibility and non-everlasting. However, Allameh Tabatabai, by recognizing God`s speech as being i`tibari, introduced some objections against what said by the Ash'arite and the Mu'tazilite and, using the same principle and with regard to Shiite hadith and traditions,  criticized the theory viewing Divine Speech as being essential. The present study, in a descriptive-analytical approach, explains Allameh Tabatabai's theory about this Divine attribute as being in the level of action and believes that Shiite hadiths do not lead to the Attribute as being in the level of action.