he says, ‘You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help,’ He says, ‘This verse is divided into two halves between Me and My servant, and My servant shall have what he asks for.’ When he says, ‘Guide us to the straight path—the path of those You have blessed, not of those who have incurred Your anger, nor of those who have gone astray,’ He says, ‘These are for My servant, and My servant shall have what he asks for.’”

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, thus informed us that Allah says this to everyone who prays. People pray at the same time, and Allah Most High says this to each of them.

It is also reported that Ibn ‘Abbās was asked, “How does Allah call all creation to account in a single hour?” He replied, “Just as He provides for them in a single hour.” There are many similar examples.

Accordingly, whoever says that these utterances subsist in His essence and are subject to His will and power must accept one of two alternatives: either they coexist in a single locus, or His essence is vast enough to accommodate all these utterances.

We can conceive of many letters subsisting in a single essence at the same instant, and of sounds occurring together at the same instant. Yet one is not where the other is, for in the observable world we cannot conceive of the two occupying a single locus.

It may be said that a similar issue arises for those who say that what subsists in His essence is unlimited in number, as are His wills and powers. For this is like an unlimited number of acts and utterances subsisting in Him.

This takes two forms. As for whoever says: