Attributes of God
Primary 6 · Social and Religious Studies
Attributes of God
Lesson 1 of 5
12 min
Let's begin
At break time, Umutoni asks her friends, "If you had to describe God in one word, what would it be?"
Gatete, who prays at church, says, "Loving." Mutesi, who prays at the mosque, says, "Merciful." Keza thinks for a moment and says, "All-powerful!" All three are describing the attributes of God.
An attribute is a quality that describes what someone is like. You might describe your best friend as kind, funny and honest. Those are your friend's attributes.
The attributes of God are the qualities that describe who God is and what God is like. Christians learn about them from the Bible, and Muslims learn about them from the Qur'an. Believers of both faiths also see signs of God in creation: the volcanoes of Musanze, the rain on our crops, the birth of a baby.
| Attribute | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Oneness | There is only one God. |
| Uniqueness | No one and nothing is like God. |
| Omnipresence | God is present everywhere at the same time. |
| Omniscience | God knows everything: the past, the present and the future. |
| Omnipotence | God is all-powerful. |
| Immutability | God never changes. |
| Mercy | God forgives and shows kindness, even when people do not deserve it. |
| Love | God cares for all of creation. |
Christians describe God as all-knowing, all-powerful, present everywhere, eternal and unchanging, and also as holy, just, merciful and loving. The Bible sums it up in three short words: "God is love" (1 John 4:8). Christian teachers explain that some attributes belong to God alone, such as being all-powerful and everywhere, while others, such as love and mercy, are qualities people can copy in a small way.
Muslims learn about Allah through the Asma' al-Husna, "the most beautiful names", often counted as 99 names. Each name describes an attribute. For example, Ar-Rahman means the Beneficent, Ar-Rahim the Merciful, Al-Alim the All-Knowing and Al-Wadud the Loving. The Qur'an says of Allah: "His are the most beautiful names." (Qur'an 59:24)
In Kinyarwanda, Christians and Muslims both call God Imana. Many Rwandan names carry this faith. For example, Habimana means "God exists".
Knowing what God is like helps believers to trust God, to pray and worship with respect, and to copy the good qualities people can copy, such as mercy, love, truthfulness and fairness. Both faiths also teach respect for people who believe differently, and Rwanda's laws protect freedom of religion.
Worked example
Ishimwe reads, "God knows what I am thinking before I speak." Which attribute is this?
Step 1 Find the clue word: "knows".
Step 2 Knowing everything is called omniscience.
Answer: omniscience.
Tip
"Omni" means "all"
Act it out: arms wide open for "everywhere", a finger on your forehead for "knows everything", a strong arm for "all-powerful".
What is an attribute?
Answer: a quality that describes what someone is like.
What does "omni" mean?
Answer: all.
Which attribute means that God never changes?
Answer: immutability.
What do Muslims call the beautiful names of Allah?
Answer: the Asma' al-Husna, "the most beautiful names", often counted as 99.
Name one attribute of God that people can copy in daily life.
Answer: mercy or love (fairness and truthfulness are also good answers).
What you learned today
Sources and credits
The practice questions were written by Ganzaa.
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Quick check
Match each attribute of God to its meaning.
Tap one on the left, then its partner on the right.
