begets nor is He begotten, and none is equal to Him.

All the resplendent Names are His alone; they have been firmly established from pre-eternity in their full, genuine reality. The Exalted never brought forth an attribute of which He had once been devoid, nor a name from which He had ever been absent. He has always been the Guide—who will yet guide; the Creator—who will yet create; the Provider—who will yet provide; the Forgiver—who will yet forgive; the Doer—who will yet do. His istiwāʾ (ascending over the Throne) did not arise except that He had already been described as the One who would perform that act, so He is called by it among His actions as well. Allah the Most High says: “Your Lord will come, and the angels, rank upon rank” (89:22)—that is, He will come. Thus the designation did not await the moment of coming, although the act itself is deferred until its appointed time. He is therefore the One who comes and who will come, and His coming takes place in a manner that is untouched by modality or likeness, for this is an act.