A Comparative Study of the View of Paul Tillich and Imam Khomeini on Religious Language

Paul Tillich holds that God is not a being, but "being itself" and "the foundation of being". Given the transcendence of God, he negates the possibility of any sort of speaking of God. He maintains that the attributes and names attributed to God are only symbols do not refer literally to God, but they are only ways to encounter with God. In the Islamic tradition, some mystics like Imam Khomeini has a particular view on the quality of speaking of God which must be reviewed independently. This view is, to some extent, similar to Paul Tillich's view, as it has some distinctions with it. Imam Khomeini holds that the hidden aspect of the essence of God is entirely transcendent, and no one can attribute any property to God in this level. Meanwhile, transcendence of God does not prevent us from speaking of God in another level called the al-Vahediat. In this level, humans can speak of God and attribute names and properties to God. Imam Khomeini believes that his view is a level between two extremes of not- speaking (al-Ta'atil) and anthropomorphism. Thus, he advocates this view according to the principles of theoretical mysticism.