the blessings and wise purposes woven into His creatures still surpass what the Qur’an itself sets out; the Book merely points to them as proofs of sheer volition.

[Discussion with Those Who Affirm the Names but Deny the Attributes]
If, on the other hand, the interlocutor belongs to those who reject the attributes yet concede the names—such as the Muʿtazilite who says, “He is Living, All-Knowing, All-Powerful,” while denying that He is actually characterized by life, knowledge, and power—

[The Anthropomorphism Objection]
he is told: There is no difference between affirming the names and affirming the attributes. If you contend that affirming life, knowledge, and power entails resemblance and corporeality—because, in the things we observe, nothing possesses these attributes except a body—we reply: in that same observable realm you will not find anyone called “living, knowing, powerful” except a body. Therefore, if you negate the attributes on the grounds that you encounter them only in bodies, you must also negate the names—indeed, negate everything—for in the world of experience you meet nothing but bodies.

Thus every argument used by the denier of the attributes can equally be deployed by the one who denies the Most Beautiful Names; whatever refutation answers the latter likewise answers those who affirm the attributes.