the world, and that it is impossible for Him to be neither within it nor outside it. He could then be pointed to through sensory perception, and would thus possess what the opponent calls composition and division, even if these are not composition and division in their familiar sense. Allah Most High must be declared free of these in their familiar sense, just as He declared Himself free of them in Surah al-Ikhlās, as previously noted in connection with His words:

“Allah, the Eternal Refuge.”

For the name al-Samad conveys meanings of cohesion, strength, and supreme lordship that are incompatible with division and separation.

The seventeenth point is that the opponent’s position involves likening Him to the nonexistent. Those who deny the divine attributes frequently accuse those who affirm them of likening Allah to creation and ascribing corporeality to Him, meaning composition. Yet it is well known that they are more deserving of the charge of false likening, since they liken Him to nonexistent and deficient things. They combine likening Him to creation with denying His attributes, while this is the position of the polytheists who