the semantics of divine names and attributes in alavi thinking

divine names and attributes have a great bearing on the relationship between man and god in respects such as belief in and supplication to him. the semantic dimension of this issue has been the focus of attention in the philosophy of religion. this aspect of divine names and attributes is concerned with questions as to how to discuss god’s names and how these names relate to man’s attributes. imam ali’s words particularly as presented in nahj al-balaqa have profound and definitive implications to resolve challenges in this regard. this paper sought to delve into imam ali’s approach to divine names and attributes through propositional analysis. from imam’s perspective, this analysis consists in two scale: assimilation scale and  divesting  scale .through divesting  scale  we are led to god via creation. god reveals himself to man through man’s nature and heart and by means of actions and negation of deficiencies. from the point of view of denial of similarity, due to the contrast between the creator and creatures and the fact that man’s mind cannot accommodate god, no description of god by man will be tenable as the description would entail such false means as resemblance, co-partner, dominance, etc.