And He has likewise called Himself Most Kind and Most Merciful, in His words:

“Indeed, Allah is, towards mankind, Most Kind and Most Merciful.” (al-Baqarah 2:143)

He has also described some of His servants as kind and merciful, in His words:

“Toward the believers he is all-kind and merciful.” (at-Tawbah 9:128)

Yet the Kind One is nothing like the kind, nor is the Merciful like the merciful.

In the same vein He has named Himself King, Compeller, Supremely Great, Mighty; and He has called some of His servants kings, others mighty, and still others compellers or proud—while He, in all of this, in no way resembles His creation.

Likewise, He has named some of His own attributes knowledge, strength, power, mercy, anger, pleasure, hand, and the like, and He has given the same names to certain attributes of His servants. But His knowledge is not like theirs, His power is not like theirs, and His mercy and anger are not like their mercy and anger, nor is His hand like their hands.

The same principle applies to what He has informed us about Himself—His istiwāʾ (ascending) over the Throne, His coming in layers of cloud, and whatever else falls under this heading. His ascending is not like their ascending, and His coming is not like their coming.

These shared expressions that are sometimes ascribed to the Creator and at other times to the creature are mentioned in three ways: sometimes they are qualified by explicit attachment to the Creator, or by His attachment to them, as in His words