[Quranic Reflection]: Anthropomorphism and God in Islam

[WinterHold]

In this topic I want to discuss "Anthropomorphism" and how it corrupts religion and the "image of God" in our heads.


"Anthropomorphism" is defined by:

Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities.[1] It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropomorphism

Moreover, it's also removing any kind of respect the creature has to God. Since God is an entity that we can't imagine with our minds or even apply attributes to. Actually, we need a "word from God" first telling us how to approach him correctly, what traits to "apply to him" and what names should we call him with.

The Quran says about God:

Sura 112, The Quran:
https://quran.ksu.edu.sa/index.php?l=en#...rans=en_sh

( 1 )   Say, "He is Allah, [who is] One,
( 2 )   Allah, the Eternal Refuge.
( 3 )   He neither begets nor is born,
( 4 )   Nor is there to Him any equivalent."

Simply, we can't picture or imagine an "eternal refugee" who is "one and only", never was born or gave birth and has no equal.

But Anthropomorphism was always present in both "Christianity and Pagan religions -Judaism forbids it like Islam-:

Both Judaism and Islam reject an anthropomorphic deity, believing that God is beyond human comprehension. Judaism's rejection of an anthropomorphic deity grew during the Hasmonean period (circa 300 BCE), when Jewish belief incorporated some Greek philosophy.[1] Judaism's rejection grew further after the Islamic Golden Age in the tenth century, which Maimonides codified in the twelfth century, in his thirteen principles of Jewish faith.[e]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropomo..._mythology

God is beyond description, all we can do is take the description he gave in the Quran, and that's it.

In Islam, God (Arabic: ٱللَّٰه‎, romanized: Allāh, contraction of ٱلْإِلَٰه al-ʾilāh, lit. "the God")[1] is the absolute one, the all-powerful and all-knowing ruler of the universe, and the creator of everything in existence.[1][2][3] Islam emphasizes that God is strictly singular ([i]tawḥīd[/i]); unique ([i]wāḥid[/i]); inherently One ([i]aḥad[/i]);[1][2][4] and also all-merciful and omnipotent.[5] No human eyes can see God until the Day of Judgement.[6] God doesn't depend on anything.[7] God has no parents and no children.[8]According to Islam, God is neither a material nor a spiritual being.[9]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_in_Islam

[no one]

Magic sky pixie is undescribable, proceeds to describe it as male.

Perhaps you need a better dictionary.

[WinterHold]

Magic sky pixie is undescribable, proceeds to describe it as male.

Perhaps you need a better dictionary.

Islam
Main article: God in Islam
[ambiguous]
The oneness of God is of primary importance in the Quran and Islam. In the Quran, Allah is most often referred to with the pronouns Hu or Huwa, and although these are commonly translated as "him", they can also be translated gender-neutrally, as "them". This is also true of the feminine equivalent, Hiya. Quran 112:3–4 states: "He begets not, nor is He begotten. And none is like Him [Them]." Other references include the first person pronoun, and the relative pronoun ma ('that which'), as in the phrase "the heavens and that which created them" (Quran 91:5).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_of_God#Islam

Please read Sura 112, which is very short and answers your argument better(see the OP). God is gender-neutral and assigning gender to him is actually a type of Anthropomorphism.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

One of Allah's most common sobriquets is 'the Merciful'. Mercy is an exclusively human emotion. Allah is therefore anthropomorphized.

Boru

[Belacqua]

God is an entity that we can't imagine with our minds

I wonder if the tendency to anthropomorphize has something to do with the fact that the big religions are supposed to be for everybody, including both the educated and the illiterate. 

So for example Americans think of Taoism as being philosophical and abstract, because the Tao Te Ching has been fairly well known in English. It doesn't talk about a Big Father or a scary Hell. But I know that (pre-Mao) if you went to a Taoist temple in China there would likely be paintings of Hell to scare the simple people into behaving themselves. There was a difficult version for people who were better educated, and another version for the regular folk.

It's just easier to imagine a Heavenly Father than an apophatic divine. So the elites were comfortable with a simplified version for the common folk, which took the symbols more at face value. No doubt it offends our modern democratic feelings today, but I think a two-tier approach was common in Taoism, Buddhism, and Christianity. 

But I don't know about Islam.

[Brian37]

In this topic I want to discuss "Anthropomorphism" and how it corrupts religion and the "image of God" in our heads.


"Anthropomorphism" is defined by:

Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities.[1] It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropomorphism

Moreover, it's also removing any kind of respect the creature has to God. Since God is an entity that we can't imagine with our minds or even apply attributes to. Actually, we need a "word from God" first telling us how to approach him correctly, what traits to "apply to him" and what names should we call him with.

The Quran says about God:

Sura 112, The Quran:
https://quran.ksu.edu.sa/index.php?l=en#...rans=en_sh

( 1 )   Say, "He is Allah, [who is] One,
( 2 )   Allah, the Eternal Refuge.
( 3 )   He neither begets nor is born,
( 4 )   Nor is there to Him any equivalent."

Simply, we can't picture or imagine an "eternal refugee" who is "one and only", never was born or gave birth and has no equal.

But Anthropomorphism was always present in both "Christianity and Pagan religions -Judaism forbids it like Islam-:

Both Judaism and Islam reject an anthropomorphic deity, believing that God is beyond human comprehension. Judaism's rejection of an anthropomorphic deity grew during the Hasmonean period (circa 300 BCE), when Jewish belief incorporated some Greek philosophy.[1] Judaism's rejection grew further after the Islamic Golden Age in the tenth century, which Maimonides codified in the twelfth century, in his thirteen principles of Jewish faith.[e]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropomo..._mythology

God is beyond description, all we can do is take the description he gave in the Quran, and that's it.

In Islam, God (Arabic: ٱللَّٰه‎, romanized: Allāh, contraction of ٱلْإِلَٰه al-ʾilāh, lit. "the God")[1] is the absolute one, the all-powerful and all-knowing ruler of the universe, and the creator of everything in existence.[1][2][3] Islam emphasizes that God is strictly singular ([i]tawḥīd[/i]); unique ([i]wāḥid[/i]); inherently One ([i]aḥad[/i]);[1][2][4] and also all-merciful and omnipotent.[5] No human eyes can see God until the Day of Judgement.[6] God doesn't depend on anything.[7] God has no parents and no children.[8]According to Islam, God is neither a material nor a spiritual being.[9]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_in_Islam

"God is beyond description", your words.

I agree, so why would I want to take the words of a book written by ignorant humans?

"God is neither a material nor a spiritual being", again your quote.

Sounds like you are describing the non existent.

[no one]

Since my first description didn't sway you, I shall double down and now describe a not so descript description, describing the aforementioned undescribable.

[Peebothuhlu]

At work.

I too love how the Abrahamic believers ascribe all these 'Unknowable' attributes to their diety (WLC throws in all the 'Timeless', 'Space-less, 'Form-less' etc things as well) but then insist all these OTHER quite mundane and 'Human' traits like 'Love', 'Compassion', 'Vengance'......

Because their 'Unknowable' diety simply has to know about them.

Almost makes one think they're into wanting a more 'Fluffy-thuhlu' than the real, mind bending thing. Perhaps they'd rather have their phsyche ripped asunder rather than being devoured first?

[brewer]

Allah, "eternal refugee"?

[Fake Messiah]

God is beyond description, all we can do is take the description he gave in the Quran, and that's it.

So the god of Muslims is the right one because Muslims say so (the Muslim holy book). Circular reasoning.