The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (136 page)

… This involves Islam in necessary conflict with polytheism, idolatry, and what was taken to be the Christian understanding of the
Trinity
.
In the
Qur’
n
, Allah is described by many epithets, contributing eventually to the
ninety-nine beautiful names of God
. Controlling all are the two descriptions (occurring in the
basmala
)
rahm
n
(merciful) and
rah
m
(compassionate). In later Islam, fierce arguments developed: about the status of the attributes of God (too much status would confer ontological, or truly existent, reality on them, thus converting them into something like independent parts of God); about anthropomorphic statements (e.g. the Qur’
n says that God sits on a
throne
: to take this literally would limit God in space. This particular issue was resolved agnostically by saying that he does so,
bil
kaifa wa l
tashb
h
, without knowing how and without comparison, SC. with our way of sitting; and also by
tanz
h
); and about the power of God to determine all things. This last issue is focused on the term
qadar
. The Qur’
n emphasizes the absolute power of God to determine all things, which suggests strong
predestination
(as held e.g. by the Jabriya); in that case, how can humans be held accountable for their deeds and be judged accordingly (the question raised e.g. by the Mu‘tazilites)? The eventual solution (at least for the Ash‘arites (acquisition) was formulated in the doctrine of
iktis
b
, see
AL-ASH‘ARI
).
Theological and rational reflection on God is complemented, in Islam, by the direct and immediate relation of the believer with God, above all in
sal
t
: to everyone, God is closer than the vein in the neck (50. 16). This close and direct relation to God led into the cultivation of the experiential awareness of God, which culminated in
S
fism
.
For the controlling and all-important S