Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
The terms "the Absolute" and "the relative" are philosophical and logical terms rather than terms originating from the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Therefore, before applying them to Allah, their intended meaning must first be understood.
It is not appropriate to apply this description to Allah without qualification, because the term "the Absolute" carries philosophical meanings that do not conform to Islamic creed.
Many philosophers use "the Absolute" to mean a perfect being abstracted from every limitation, specification, or attribute—a purely conceptual or metaphysical notion. Allah, however, is truly existent, exists by Himself, possesses the Most Beautiful Names and the Attributes of Perfection, and is not merely an abstract concept as some philosophers have imagined.
For this reason, a number of scholars discouraged applying this expression to Allah, because it may suggest incorrect meanings. General or ambiguous terms should not be affirmed for Allah until their intended meaning has been clarified.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah explained that some philosophers regarded "the Absolute" as an abstract existence that has no external reality but exists only in the mind, and then attributed this concept to Allah. This is incorrect, because Allah truly exists, is distinct from His creation, is above His Throne, and possesses the perfect attributes that He affirmed for Himself.
Some philosophers also denied Allah's voluntary attributes—such as love, pleasure, anger, rising above the Throne, and descending—claiming that "the Absolute" cannot undergo such actions. This contradicts what is established in the Qur'an and the Sunnah.
Therefore, it is safer and more appropriate to limit ourselves to the Names and Attributes established in revelation and to avoid philosophical expressions that may carry ambiguous meanings.
In philosophical terminology:
These two concepts are opposites in philosophical usage: what is absolute is not relative, and what is relative is not absolute.
In Islamic theology, however, Allah is not described according to such philosophical categories. Rather, He is described only with what He described Himself with in the Qur'an and the Sunnah.
No. This claim is false if intended in an unrestricted sense.
Islam teaches that there are fixed and unchanging truths that do not vary with time, place, or human opinion, including:
Some worldly customs, cultural practices, and practical means may differ from one society or individual to another, but this does not mean that all truth is relative.
For this reason, the doctrine of absolute relativism ultimately denies objective truths, which contradicts both reason and revelation.
It is not recommended to describe Allah as "the Absolute," because this philosophical term may carry meanings that are inconsistent with Islamic belief. Allah should be described only with the Names and Attributes by which He described Himself in His Book or by which His Messenger ﷺ described Him.
Likewise, "the Absolute" and "the relative" are philosophical terms with specific technical meanings, and it is incorrect to claim that everything is relative, since revelation affirms the existence of fixed and unchanging truths, foremost among them the Islamic creed and the fundamental principles of the religion.
And Allah knows best.