—exalted and blessed be He—just as He singled out the she-camel of Ṣāliḥ from all other camels, just as He distinguished His House in Mecca from every other house, and just as He selected His righteous servants from the whole of creation. In the same vein are His words:
“So We sent to her Our Spirit” (Qur’an 19:17).
He describes this Spirit as appearing before her in the shape of a flawless human being; she sought refuge with Allah from him, should he be God-fearing; and he said, “I am only a messenger of your Lord” (Qur’an 19:19).
All of this proves that it is a self-subsisting reality—what the dialecticians call a “substance.” It may also be termed a “body” insofar as it can be physically indicated, though people differ as to whether a body is composed of discrete atoms, of matter and form, or of neither.
Since Allah has made it clear that what is annexed here is not an attribute that subsists in another, but a self-subsisting entity, it is understood that the annexed thing is owned by Allah and created by Him. Yet its annexation to Him points to the special favor and honor with which Allah has distinguished it—an honor great enough to warrant its being attached to Him. I have already discussed this, and related matters, in what I wrote previously in refutation of the Christians, where I clarified that what is annexed to Allah falls into two categories: entities and attributes.