An Analytic Study on Allameh Tabatabayi's Point of View on God's Speech

Can human language, being of limitations, be used to speak on God, the exalted and unlimited? Answering the question positively and opposing any humanlike apprehension on God, Allameh Tabatabayi has taken religious meanings to comprehend negation and affirmation both and relying on traditions, has adopted Divine qualities to be affirmative and incomparable. Considering God's absoluteness and self-subsistence, he then knows God possessing all existential perfections completely and, following Sadra, considers negative qualities nothing other than negation of imperfection or affirmation of perfection, and considers affirmative qualities just the same, and the same as Essence. In addition, relying on the principles of the unity of the meaning of existence, analogicity of existence, and distinguishing the world of meaning from that of case and regarding the grades of meaning and usage of words, Allameh knows such qualities as knowledge, power and life the same when speaking of God and man. It seems that Allameh has preferred the negative method and paid less attention to affirmative meanings applicable to God and man both.