Al-Azhar Grand Imam, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, said that the proof of Allah’s attribute of knowledge was not denied by any of the scholars because this is an intellectual value taken for granted. The evidence for proving the attribute of knowledge is very clear, for His creation - Glory be to Him - and the precise skill that it manifests is clear evidence of His knowledge. His Eminence added that if we look at the upper or lower worlds, whether planets, the sun, or other astronomical systems, and the earth with its mountains and seas and the human beings with their precise systems, then the mind necessarily says that the Maker of these things must be Knowledgeable. This is the rational inference in addition to the inference from the Holy Qur’an in the Almighty’s verse: “Does He who created not know, while He is the Subtle, the Aware?” (Qur’an, 67: 14)

During the twenty-second episode of his Ramadan program Grand Imam At-Tayyeb Talk, the Grand Imam differentiated between divine knowledge and knowledge of creatures. He said we know that Al-ˁAlīm is one of the names that are not specific to Allah Almighty. It is not like Allah and Ar-Rahmān, as we have said before. It can be used in its true sense as when ascribed to Allah Almighty, and it can be used only metaphorically as when ascribed to people. 

His Eminence added that the true meaning is specific to divine knowledge, so God’s knowledge is eternal, just as He Himself is eternal, Exalted be He, for He has no beginning; so His knowledge is eternal not preceded by ignorance. This is in contrast to man’s knowledge as the latter is born ignorant, so human knowledge always exists after ignorance. 

The Grand Imam added that the attribute of knowledge to Allah Almighty is one, unchanging and not multiplying, so it does not multiply with the occurrence of information, unlike the human being, for the latter’s knowledge is multiplied by the multiple occurrences of information. Divine knowledge is One that encompasses all information at once, it does not change with the changes that occur to something, unlike human knowledge, which changes with such changes.

The Grand Imam explained that the knowledge of Allah’s servants is an acquired type of knowledge, meaning they acquire it through sources. Therefore, it is not correct to speak about ‘sources of God’s knowledge,’ but rather about the sources of human knowledge. The sources of knowledge for Muslims, as we have said, are the senses, the intellect, and the infallible revelation. Attempts are often made to deceive the youth, and make them believe that the senses are the only source that provides man with knowledge.

As for the servant’s share of this name, the Grand Imam indicated that the servant who knows that Allah Almighty is All-Knowing must entrust his affairs to Him. If the Muslim servant is certain of this, he can rest assured and seek help from Allah only, not from anyone else who knows nothing or knows only a little. On the other hand, he must realize the honor that knowledge bestows upon a person, and acquire it by learning.

His Eminence concluded the episode by what scholars said about why some sciences are more honorable than others. They said a science can be more honorable than another according to its subject matter. If the sciences differ and their honor varies with the honor of their subject matter, then the present knowledge discipline – i.e. theology - is the most honorable of all types of knowledge. A Muslim should acquire even a small share of this knowledge discipline, which is also called ˀUṣūl ud-Dīn (literally, the Fundamentals of Religion). ˀUṣūl ud-Dīn as a discipline is considered superior to principles of jurisprudence, which discuss minor rulings of Islam such as the laws of ablution (wuḍuˀ), prayer, zakat and so on, whereas the fundamentals of religion discuss the origin of these laws.