Through Force or Faith? — Page 214
?— A Reply to Pope Benedict XVI 214 God, it means that God is beyond physical limits and boundaries. (A. Ulfig: Lexikon der philosophischen Begriffe, Komet 2003) In the spirit of this definition, Islam, like other religions, teaches transcendence of God. That is, God is above and beyond human and physical limits and limitations. The Quran defines it by saying: اَل ُهُكِرْدُت ُراَصْبَاْلا١ٞ َو َوُه ُكِرْدُي َراَصْبَاْلا١ۚ َو َوُه ُفْيِطَّللا ُرْيِبَخْلا Eyes cannot reach Him but He reaches the eyes. And He is the Incomprehensible, the All-Aware. ( S u rah al-An’ a m, 6:104) The attributes of God that are described in the Holy Quran, are such that man has some resemblance to them in his limited capacity. Yet, attributes of God are distinct from human qualities. Therefore, God says about himself in the Holy Quran: َسْيَل ٖهِلْثِمَك ٌءْيَش١ۚ … There is nothing whatever like unto Him, … ( S u rah ash- Sh u r a , 42:12) That is, there is nothing like Him, neither in its nature or con- stitution, nor in its qualities or the scope of those qualities. For example, the Quran mentions the ‘hand of God,’ but it should not be misconstrued to mean that it is something like a human hand. It is a metaphor which refers to God’s providence and power. In the holy books of world religions, metaphors and similes are used frequently, like the use of ‘son of God’ as a metaphor in the Bible.