''Tanzih'' ( ar, تنزيه) is an

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...

religious concept meaning transcendence. In

Islamic theology Schools of Islamic theology are various Islamic schools and branches in different schools of thought regarding ''ʿaqīdah'' (creed). The main schools of Islamic Theology include the Qadariyah, Falasifa, Jahmiyya, Murji'ah, Muʿtazila, Bati ...

, two opposite terms are attributed to

Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...

: ''tanzih'' and ''

tashbih ''Tashbih'' ( ar, تشبيه) is an Islamic religious concept meaning anthropomorphism, assimilating/comparing God to His creatures. In Islamic theology, two opposite terms are attributed to Allah, ''tashbih'' and ''tanzih'' ( transcendence). H ...

''. The latter means ''"nearness, closeness, accessibility".'' However, the fuller meaning of ''tanzih'' is 'declaring incomparability', i.e. affirming Allah's transcendence from humanity. This concept is eternally juxtaposed with Allah's ''tashbih'' (closeness, or 'affirming similarity'). The literal meaning of the word is "to declare something pure and free of something else". This definition affirms that Allah cannot be likened to anything: "Nothing is like Him." (Sura 42:11) and reinforces the fundamental, underlying Islamic belief in ''

tawhid Tawhid ( ar, , ', meaning "unification of God in Islam ( Allāh)"; also romanized as ''Tawheed'', ''Tawhid'', ''Tauheed'' or ''Tevhid'') is the indivisible oneness concept of monotheism in Islam. Tawhid is the religion's central and single ...

''. The Divine Names of Allah associated with ''tanzih'' are those that indicate distance, transcendence, awe and fear: King, Avenger, Knowing, Praiseworthy, Slayer, Strong, Abaser and Independent.

References

God in Islam Islamic terminology Islamic theology {{islam-theology-stub