and in His Names and Attributes, and in every meaning encompassed by this phrase. Allah, Exalted is He, says:
“They have not appraised Allah with true appraisal. On the Day of Resurrection, the whole earth will be in His grasp, and the heavens will be folded up in His Right Hand. Exalted is He.” [al-Zumar 39:67]
And He, Exalted is He, says:
“On the Day when We shall roll up the heaven like a scroll rolled up for writings. Just as We began the first creation, We shall repeat it—a promise binding upon Us. Indeed, We shall do it.” [al-Anbiya]
This is part of His greatness; thus, He is greater than everything. Allah, Exalted is He, says:
“To Him belongs all greatness in the heavens and the earth, and He is the Almighty, the All-Wise.” [al-Jathiyah]
Thus, every meaning of divine greatness entailed by this phrase is affirmed for Allah, Exalted is He.
Note: Some scholars have claimed that the meaning of “Allah is Most Great” is “Allah is great” (1). However, this claim is exceedingly weak, for everyone knows the difference between “great” and “greater.”
It is true that Allah, Exalted is He, has called Himself “the Most Great, the Most High” [al-Ra‘d 13:9], but the meaning of “greater” differs from that of “the Great.” They sought to avoid making a comparison between the Creator and the created beings, but their attempt to avoid this led them into something worse than that from which they fled: they came up with a description which, if taken according to its apparent meaning, would render the created being and the Creator equal.
This is similar to the interpretation some of them gave to the saying of Allah: “Indeed, your Lord knows best who has strayed from His way.” [al-Qalam 68:7] They said: “He is knowing,” because, they argued, if you say “most knowing,” it entails one who is preferred and one over whom he is preferred. But it may be said: What prevents Allah from being more knowing than every knower? Yet if you say, “Allah is knowing,” you have used an expression that does not preclude sharing, for you may say, “Allah is knowing,” and so-and-so is knowing. Which of the two is more emphatic in description: to use an expression that precludes