created beings, because He is perfect. It has also been stated in explanation of the Self-Sufficient Master that He is the One to whom all creatures turn for their needs. This means that every created being is in need of Him. Accordingly, the comprehensive meaning of “the Self-Sufficient Master” is: the One perfect in His attributes, upon whom all His creatures depend.
﴿He neither begets﴾ because He—Majestic and Exalted—has no equal. A child proceeds from his parent and is a part of him, as the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him and his family—said concerning Fatimah: “She is a part of me” (1). Allah—Majestic and Exalted—has no equal. Moreover, a child is only sought out of need: either for assistance in enduring the hardships of this world or to ensure the continuation of one’s lineage. Allah—Majestic and Exalted—is entirely free of any such need. Thus, He does not beget because He has no equal and because He—Majestic and Exalted—is independent of everyone.
Allah—Majestic and Exalted—also indicated the impossibility of His having offspring when He said: ﴿How could He have offspring when He has no consort? He created all things and has perfect knowledge of everything﴾ [al-An‘ām: 101]. Having a child requires a consort to give birth to that child. Furthermore, He is the Creator of everything; and since He is the Creator of everything, everything is separate and distinct from Him.
His statement, ﴿He neither begets﴾, refutes three deviant groups among humankind: the polytheists, the Jews, and the Christians. The polytheists regarded the angels—who are servants of the Most Compassionate—as females and claimed that the angels were Allah’s daughters. The Jews said that Ezra was the son of Allah, while the Christians said that the Messiah was the son of Allah. Allah declared them liars through His words: ﴿He neither begets nor was He begotten﴾, for He—Majestic and Exalted—is the First, before whom there is nothing. How, then, could He have been begotten?! ﴿And there is none comparable to Him﴾ means that no one is equal to Him in any of His attributes. Allah—Glorified and Exalted—thus denied that He begets, was begotten, or has any equal, and this