The point here is that knowledge is an attribute of perfection, that one who knows is more perfect than one who does not, and that the absence of knowledge is a deficiency. These are among the clearest self-evident truths firmly rooted in human nature.

As for the assertion:
“Beings other than Allah need knowledge only to acquire perfection: either to discover what serves their interests or to perfect their own benighted essence.”

The response is:
“This very statement proves that beings attain perfection only through knowledge, both because without it they cannot do what is necessary for their well-being, and because without it they are in darkness.”

The Lord brings about everything and brings every agent into being. It is therefore all the more fitting that He should possess knowledge than any other agent. His essence is the most perfect of all essences, so it is all the more fitting that it should possess the utmost perfection and be free of every deficiency.

The assertion, “Allah’s essence has no need to be perfected,” is true, for it has no need for anyone else to perfect it. But what is this essence of Allah that has no need to be perfected? Is it an essence stripped of knowledge and the other attributes of perfection, which neither knows nor hears nor sees? Or is it the essence endowed with these attributes?

As for the former, such an essence has neither reality nor existence, let alone being called “Allah’s essence.” An essence possessing no attributes can only be conceived in the mind, not exist in external reality; and an essence that does not possess the attributes of perfection