And changing wrongdoing means altering its character so that the wrong is removed as far as possible, even if this can only be achieved through an inward change in oneself—anger for Allah’s sake.

For this reason, an attribute inseparable from that which possesses it is not described as being other than it, since its possessor cannot pass into a state without that attribute or be separated from it.

“Otherness” and “change” derive from the same Arabic root. When something changes, its subsequent state is other than what it was before. Whatever has always retained the same attribute has not changed, nor are its attributes other than it.

When people are told that change is impossible for Allah, they understand this to mean transformation and corruption, such as attributes of perfection turning into attributes of deficiency, or the divine essence becoming divided, and similar things from which Allah must be declared free.

But His acting by His power—creating, rising, Himself doing whatever He wills, and speaking whenever He wills, and the like—is not something they call change.

Yet the arguments of those who deny His attributes rest on ambiguous, misleading expressions. As Imam Ahmad said:

“They speak in equivocal terms and confuse the ignorant with the ambiguities they present to them, until an ignorant person imagines that they are glorifying Allah, whereas their argument leads only to a false allegation against Allah.”

One of the most astonishing things is their appeal to the story of Abraham, Allah’s intimate friend. Despite their fabrications concerning its interpretation and the language, it is evidence against them, not in their favor, as stated by