Some Critical Reflections on the Division of Divine Attributesinto “Positive-Negative” and “Essential-Active”

Among the various divisions of divine attributes, the dual divisions “positive-negative” and “essential-active” are emphasized in the works of Imami thinkers. The first division, rooted in Sunni works, is based on simple rational analysis, but this division is somehow ambiguous: it is not precisely obvious what the instantiations and the number of the two attributes, positive and negative are. The division “essential-active”, according to the available sources, was proposed by the Imami narrators. They tried to explain the criterion of the distinction and instances of it. This latter division is a comprehensive division of God's existential attributes, and its only weakness is the exclusion of the purifying attributes of God. Therefore, it seems that the combination of the two divisions solves the problem; Allameh Hashem Hosseini Tehrani divided divine attributes into four categories: “essentially positive”, “actively positive”, “essentially negative” and “actively negative”.