Can God/Allah be described with words?

[Spirit of Light]

In my quest to understand Allah i have come across the issue of describing what Allah is....because in my current understanding, Allah is everything and no-thing

But other than that i do not have other words to describe Allah than Allah IS.

Any thoughts?

 

[Marcion]

Purushottama (the Consciousness Centre of everything), Parama Purusha (the Cosmic Consciousness), Brahma (the Greatest of the great) spring to mind.

Or Generator, Operator, Destructor.

 

[Dawnofhope]

From a Baha’i perspective God is an unknowable essence. Whatever word or image we use will be completely inadequate.

 

[SalixIncendium]

No.

That said, humans still feel the need to apply labels to that which without qualities or attributes and is beyond description (in my understanding).

Advaita Vedanta describes Nirguna Brahman (God) as:

Satcitananda (Existence/consciousness/bliss)

 

[Aštra’el]

The ultimate power of Creation. The ultimate power of Destruction. Ultimate Order over Ultimate Chaos.

 

[Aupmanyav]

I am an atheist and a strict believer of non-duality (Advaita Hinduism). I do not believe in existence of any God or Allah. But how do we label 'what exists'? In my belief it is named as Brahman. Brahman is not a being and it is gender neutral. Also since we believe that all things in the universe, humans, animals, vegetation, even non-living things are constituted by Brahman, it cannot termed as he or she. We refer to it simply as 'it'.
(Please do not confuse it with Brahma, who is considered by most Hindus as the God who created the universe. Also note that Brahm is also a synonym of the universe)

Certainly, we do not know all the properties of Brahman. But with the help of analysis and science we understand a few things about Brahman. Members are most welcome to give their suggestions about what the properties of Brahman could be.

1. Since all thing in the universe are constituted by Brahman, so it must be classified as all-pervading.
2. Since things in the universe have different shapes, therefore Brahman must be classified as form-free and capable of assuming any form.
3. Does Brahman interfere in what happens in the world? The answer would be Mo. Since a lion and a deer are both constituted by Brahman. Brahman would not stop the killing by a lion because otherwise where would the lion get its food? Brahman also cannot stop the deer to be killed since it is lion's food. Therefore Brahman must be uninvolved in the affairs of the world not interfering in what happens in the universe.
4. Brahman is reactive as we see in the case of gravity waves. Things may happen billions of light years away, the effect of that will be distributed all over the universe with the speed of light (one can debate whether there are speeds greater than the speed of light). Even if you move your finger, its effect, however minuscule, is going to be broadcasted all over the universe.
5. Does Brahman have any need. The answer is No. It is not a being that it will ask for its worship. Therefore, it does not require supplication and worship by humans.
6. Does Brahman think? The answer is No. It has no apparatus to think, it does not have a dirigible-sized brain located somewhere in the universe. As mentioned previously, it has no need and is uninvolved. What will Brahman do with thinking? Therefore, it can be deduced that it does not think.

As of now, we see that Brahman is all-pervasive, form-free, non-interfering, reactive. It does not have to think, and does not need supplication and worship by humans. It has no system of judgment, it does not send people to heaven or hell after death; and it cannot resurrect the dead. Thanks for being with me.

 

[Vinayaka]

In my quest to understand Allah i have come across the issue of describing what Allah is....because in my current understanding, Allah is everything and no-thing

But other than that i do not have other words to describe Allah than Allah IS.

Any thoughts?

Not according to the teaching I follow. 'Beyond space, beyond time'

 

[Unveiled Artist]

In my quest to understand Allah i have come across the issue of describing what Allah is....because in my current understanding, Allah is everything and no-thing

But other than that i do not have other words to describe Allah than Allah IS.

Any thoughts?

The breathe of Life?

Animating principle that is (or gives from a creator perspective) life in all things and beings.

Maybe depart from Allah needing to be a thing at all. It could be an experience such as spiritual awakening,....emotions such as love, ... The "state" of being without ego. It could just be a placeholder for explaining the existence of the universe or maybe the connection you experience with god, IS god.

I think you kinda get why some of us as others what god is. It lends for better convo. But for believers, what's the purpose of knowing what god is?

 

[Spirit of Light]

The breathe of Life?

Animating principle that is (or gives from a creator perspective) life in all things and beings.

Maybe depart from Allah needing to be a thing at all. It could be an experience such as spiritual awakening,....emotions such as love, ... The "state" of being without ego. It could just be a placeholder for explaining the existence of the universe or maybe the connection you experience with god, IS god.

I think you kinda get why some of us as others what god is. It lends for better convo. But for believers, what's the purpose of knowing what god is?

To understand Allah means one fully have realized once self

 

[Unveiled Artist]

To understand Allah means one fully have realized once self

When you ask what is Allah, are you really asking what or who is a realized self?

 

[Spirit of Light]

When you ask what is Allah, are you really asking what or who is a realized self?

Good question to know Allah one have to know once own higher self

 

[Moonjuice]

Some might say the best way to describe God is a cultural delusion.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Good question to know Allah one have to know once own higher self

If Allah "is" the absence of ego, ones higher self, I would say it's not a thing. Take a blackened room. We can say there is no light but how do we define the absence of it?

We can give it traits: black, dark, scarry, etc but that doesn't explain what it is just a negative.

Maybe that's what Allah is like. I don't know. What have you found out about your higher self so far?

 

[Spirit of Light]

If Allah "is" the absence of ego, ones higher self, I would say it's not a thing. Take a blackened room. We can say there is no light but how do we define the absence of it?

We can give it traits: black, dark, scarry, etc but that doesn't explain what it is just a negative.

Maybe that's what Allah is like. I don't know. What have you found out about your higher self so far?

This is why i Do not think Allah can be described only realized.
Higher self is a part of Allah. Have i seen or realized my higher self? Honestly i do not think so.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

This is why i Do not think Allah can be described only realized.
Higher self is a part of Allah. Have i seen or realized my higher self? Honestly i do not think so.

Maybe one day your eyes will be accustomed to the dark and realize that not seeing doesn't mean not realized. Blind people get around easily where sometimes the sighted accidently run into our kitchen wall.

There's an opposite point of view where realization is seeing the light. In that scenario, maybe looking up at the sun isn't a great thing to do.

On a roll with the analogies. Think you get it?

 

[Aupmanyav]

Higher self is a part of Allah. Have i seen or realized my higher self? Honestly i do not think so.

I think Quran specifically says that Allah has no parts. Don't engage in 'shirk'. Fear Allah.

 

[The_Fisher_King]

In my quest to understand Allah i have come across the issue of describing what Allah is....because in my current understanding, Allah is everything and no-thing

But other than that i do not have other words to describe Allah than Allah IS.

Any thoughts?

'In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. All the praises and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of all that exists. The Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. The Only Owner of the Day of Recompense.' (Qur'an 1:1-4)

'Say: He is Allah, One. Allah-us-Samad (the Self-Sufficient Master). He begets not, nor was He begotten. And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him.' (Qur'an 112)

'Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of the daybreak.' (Qur'an 113:1)

'Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of mankind. The King of mankind. The God of mankind.' (Qur'an 114:1-3)

 

[Twilight Hue]

People can give their invisible mental puppet any quality they want.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

People can give their invisible mental puppet any quality they want.

I usually limit what I say to "God exists and cares about how we treat each other." And even then I know there is a possibility I may be wrong, since I am going with my intuition, and intuition is not always correct.

Mostly I think that if God exists, he/she/it is beyond words. The Tao that can be put into words is not the eternal Tao. Can the infinite be fathomed by the finite?