And He said:

‘There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.’

He thus denied that He has any likenesses or equals, precluding inference about Him through resemblance, just as He ruled out any means of apprehending how He is or knowing His essential nature. This, then, is what reason has no means of knowing and no way of discovering.

Then He—exalted is His name—required all His creatures, and enjoined upon all those accountable among His creation, knowledge of who He is, so that they might know the One they worship and understand who their God and Creator is. Having charged them with this, He provided them with evidence through revelation, enabling them to fulfil their obligation to worship Him and attain the knowledge of Him required of them. For He—exalted is His majesty—knew that reason could have no means whatsoever of attaining that knowledge.

He, Most High, said:

‘Indeed, I am Allah. There is no god but Me, so worship Me.’

And He said:

‘That is Allah, your Lord.’

And He said:

‘Allah is the One who created you, then provided for you, then will cause you to die, then will bring you to life.’

And He said:

‘He is Allah, other than whom there is no god, Knower of the unseen and the seen. He is the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. * He is Allah, other than whom there is no god, the Sovereign, the Most Holy, the Source of Peace, the Giver of Security, the Guardian, the Almighty, the Compeller, the Supreme. Exalted is Allah above whatever they associate with Him. * He is Allah, the Creator, the Originator, the Fashioner. To Him belong the most beautiful names. Whatever is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Him, and He is the Almighty, the All-Wise.’

He said:

‘Had He asked them, before they had heard His name, about the identity of the One who created them, they would have had no means of knowing it, for names cannot be learned through reason.’