negated in the Book of Allah. Not a single verse in the Book of Allah affirms any such thing of Allah, either explicitly or by its apparent meaning. For the attributes Allah has affirmed are ascribed to Him, as in His words:

“They encompass nothing of His knowledge except what He wills.” [al-Baqarah: 255]

“Indeed, Allah is the Provider, the Possessor of power.” [al-Dhāriyāt: 58]

“What prevented you from prostrating to what I created with My two Hands?” [Sād: 75]

“And the Face of your Lord will remain.” [al-Rahmān: 27]

“And the heavens will be folded up in His Right Hand.” [al-Zumar: 67]

Likewise, He says:

“You know what is within myself, and I do not know what is within Yourself.” [al-Mā’idah: 116]

It is well known that Allah’s Self—His sacred essence, possessed of the attributes of perfection—is not like the self of any created being.

A group of those who affiliate themselves with the Sunnah, including hadith scholars and others, among them some followers of al-Shāfi‘ī, Ahmad, and others, have held that the Self is one of the attributes.

The correct view is that it is not an attribute. Rather, Allah’s Self is His very essence—glory be to Him—and is that which possesses His attributes—glory be to Him. This is because, by ascribing it to Himself, He has excluded any sharing in it.

Likewise, when He ascribed His knowledge and power, His Face and His two Hands, and other attributes to Himself, this ascription excluded any sharing in them. It is therefore impossible for any of these attributes to be of the same kind as the attributes of created beings, just as it is impossible for His essence to be of the same kind as their essences.