Now that this has been clarified, the Muslims—whose creed is that Allah, exalted is He, is described only with the attributes He has ascribed to Himself and that “There is nothing comparable to Him,” and whose affirmations stem solely from what the messengers brought—incur no blame. They have affirmed what the messengers affirmed and negated what the messengers negated, and in that negation lies the rejection of false imaginings.

In contrast stands anyone who affirms notions the messengers never conveyed and then tacks on ideas that reinforce the false meaning instead of dismissing it. Among the points they themselves have denied concerning Him is the claim that He is a body compounded of discrete atoms, or of matter and form.

According to one of the two positions held by the dialecticians—indeed, the more evident of them—every other self-subsisting existent is not composed in either of those ways. All the more, then, must He—glorified be He—be declared transcendent above such composition, for every imperfection negated of a creature must, a fortiori, be negated of the Creator.

As for the other position, its proponents sometimes argue that a body made up of discrete atoms is liable to the separation of its parts, and such separation is impossible with respect to Allah, exalted is He; at other times they argue that such a body would depend on its parts, and dependency is likewise impossible for Allah.