Arabic Formulae of Divine Names and Maimonides's Negative Theology

Abstract

This article examines characteristics of Maimonides's negative theology for comparison with the traditions of preceding Arabic negative theologies. The article divides negative theologies into two categories: 1) the tradition focusing on proposition analysis and 2) that focusing on the designation of nouns. The Ismā‘īlī negative theology investigates functions of the negative particle lā via the formula “God is not either A or not-A.” In this respect, it is categorized as the former, whereas Basran Mu‘tazilite, Ibn Hazm, and Maimonides are classified under the latter. Ibn Hazm and Maimonides employed a similar linguistic methodology, although they differed on the origin and nature of language. Although many Muslim scholars tended to analyze divine names as predicates, Maimonides contemplated the notion of God's proper name—a difference stemming from the problem of whether God's proper name occupies a principal position in thought.