Chapter 2 — What Is a “Thing”?

Before speaking about Allah, ZAT, attributes, Af‘al, the Risalah and the Bearer of the Risalah, one of the most fundamental matters must first be resolved:

WHAT IS A “THING”?

The Quran establishes a very firm boundary:

لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ

“There is nothing whatsoever like Him.”

— Ash-Shura 42:11

The important word here is:

شَيْءٌ — A THING

If Allah is placed within the category of a “thing”, human beings will begin to ask:

Where is He?

What is His form?

How many?

One or many?

Near or far?

Above or below?

All these questions arise because the human mind has already formed an entity within itself.

Yet the verse first establishes the boundary:

Allah cannot be likened to anything.

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AN ATTRIBUTE IS NOT A THING

Take the simplest example:

SALT

Salt is the bearer.

Salt has an attribute:

SALTY

What reaches the tongue is the salt.

But what is tasted is saltiness.

Saltiness does not arrive as another object.

Saltiness cannot be held.

Saltiness cannot be placed on a table.

Saltiness does not stand independently.

Saltiness is only known when there is something that bears it.

Therefore:

SALT = bearer

SALTINESS = attribute

If there is no salt, “saltiness” does not stand as a thing on its own.

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AF‘AL IS ALSO NOT A THING

Take the example of a doctor.

A person:

examines, treats, heals.

These are Af‘al / actions.

Through those Af‘al, we recognise attributes:

knowledgeable, meticulous, trustworthy, compassionate.

Through the collection of those attributes, we recognise:

DOCTOR

This is where the meaning of ZAT begins to be understood.

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WHAT IS ZAT?

The word ذَات — dhāt carries meanings in dictionaries such as:

self, person, essence, core, possessor.

Within this framework of recognition, ZAT is not some hidden object behind the attributes.

ZAT is the name or meaning that gathers together the attributes recognised through Af‘al.

For example:

DOCTOR = ZAT

knowledgeable, meticulous, trustworthy = ATTRIBUTES

examining, treating = AF‘AL

the human being who manifests them = BEARER

Therefore, the path of recognition is:

BEARER → AF‘AL → ATTRIBUTES → ZAT

We do not see “doctor” as an object separate from the human being.

We recognise “doctor” through the attributes manifested in that person’s actions.

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ZAT IS NOT AN OBJECT

This is an important point.

When ZAT is mentioned, do not immediately imagine:

a figure,

a body,

a substance,

an unseen object.

Because that would still be a thing.

ZAT is the meaning gathered together by the attributes demonstrated through Af‘al.

For example:

CHATGPT

“ChatGPT” is a name/brand.

It is recognised through characteristics:

analytical, responsive, communicative.

Those characteristics, in turn, are recognised through Af‘al:

answering, organising, explaining, comparing.

Therefore:

AF‘AL demonstrates ATTRIBUTES.

ATTRIBUTES describe ZAT.

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ALLAH — DO NOT TURN “GOD” INTO A THING

This is where human beings can easily go astray.

When the declaration:

لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ

is translated directly as:

“There is no God but Allah”

the human mind can easily construct the following structure:

God = a category

Allah = the only God within that category

Eventually, Allah is turned into:

one God, one entity, one thing.

Yet the declaration begins with:

لَا إِلٰهَ

negation.

The concept of ilah as a category of things that can be counted is first negated.

Then:

إِلَّا اللّٰهُ

Allah is affirmed.

Not as “God number one”.

Not as “one supreme entity”.

But as the name that encompasses:

ZAT — ATTRIBUTES — AF‘AL

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ONENESS IS NOT THE NUMBER 1

If we say:

Allah = 1

and that number 1 is understood like:

1, 2, 3, 4…

then we have already placed Allah within numerical quantity.

Whereas the meaning of Oneness that we are developing here is:

1 that cannot be counted.

Not “one thing”.

Not “one single entity”.

Rather, there is no other with which a numerical pair can be formed.

Like:

waves, foam, currents, ripples—

they appear many,

but all of them are:

WATER.

What is many are the forms.

What is one is the reality that encompasses them.

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ALLAH IS ALL-ENCOMPASSING

The Quran uses:

مُحِيطٌ — Muḥīṭ

Allah is All-Encompassing.

Do not imagine a gigantic object surrounding the universe.

The meaning of encompassing is broader:

attributes, knowledge, order and Af‘al encompass the entire universe.

Like a server.

Many devices:

phones, tablets, laptops.

Different forms.

Different functions.

But all receive data from the same source.

A phone appears to have WhatsApp.

But WhatsApp data is continuously synchronised through the server system.

What appears on the device is a manifestation of the data.

Likewise with the universe.

The universe appears as many.

But the entire universe bears characteristics and functions according to an order that ultimately returns to Allah.

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WHEREVER YOU TURN

The Quran states:

فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللَّهِ

“Wherever you turn, there is the Wajh of Allah.”

— Al-Baqarah 2:115

Why?

Because the entire universe becomes a field in which attributes and Af‘al are manifested.

We do not need to search for Allah as an object sitting at a particular point.

We witness His signs throughout the entire universe.

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EXISTENCE IS ALSO AN ATTRIBUTE

In Aqaid 50, we recognise the pair:

WUJUD ↔️ ‘ADAM

existence ↔️ non-existence

This raises an important question:

Is “existence” a thing?

No.

“Existence” is an attribute/description.

Just like:

saltiness,

truthfulness,

trustworthiness,

knowing.

None of these stands independently as an entity.

Therefore, when human beings say:

“Allah exists”

do not immediately imagine:

“there is a thing called Allah.”

Because existence itself is a description.

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SO WHAT IS A “THING”?

A thing is that which can be:

distinguished,

pointed to,

imagined as an object,

placed within a number or category.

But:

an attribute is not a thing.

Af‘al is not a thing.

ZAT is not an object.

And Allah cannot be imprisoned within the category of a thing.

Therefore, the journey of recognition must proceed gradually:

BEARER

→ manifests AF‘AL

→ Af‘al demonstrates ATTRIBUTES

→ attributes describe ZAT

Only then does the human being begin to understand:

Allah is not a thing.

Allah is the name that encompasses the descriptions of ZAT, ATTRIBUTES and AF‘AL.

Do not rush.

If even the earliest terminology has not been resolved, the entire aqidah that follows will be built upon the wrong conception.