and living—not in the sense that He has an entity by virtue of which He is knowing. Your statement therefore agrees with that of their majority. Those who affirm states, however, say that a meaning—namely, knowledge—subsists in Him and necessitates His being knowing.

As for your report that they say, “If nothing existed except the essence of the Creator alone, He would be neither powerful, nor knowing, nor living,” the matter is not as this outrageous portrayal suggests. For they agree that if none existed but Allah alone, He would be living, powerful, and knowing. You have merely reported—for they agree that if none existed but Allah alone, He would be living, powerful, and knowing—you have merely reported their statement using the word “essence,” which is ambiguous.

If you mean that they say, “If nothing existed except the essence characterized by these attributes,” then it is well known that if nothing existed except the essence characterized by knowledge and power, it would be knowing and powerful. If, however, you mean that they say, “If nothing existed except the essence stripped of attributes,” then, according to them, the existence of the Lord’s essence stripped of these attributes is impossible. This is like your own supposition that nothing existed except Him while He was neither knowing nor powerful. It is well known that making this intrinsically impossible supposition entails an impossible consequence.

He may also be told: You have said that, according to your position, Allah is powerful and living by virtue of His essence.

I say: By this is meant that His essence is distinguished from all other essences in such a way as necessarily entails that He knows and has power. Is His very knowing and having power identical with this distinct essence, or is the essence’s knowing and having power not identical with the essence itself?