either case, free of any attribute of deficiency; rather, He possesses power over all of this,” then that speaker has affirmed for Him a greater measure of power—which is what you call elevation—than you have affirmed, without attributing any deficiency to Him whatsoever. If that is so, it does not necessarily follow that His elevation with respect to direction is neither a perfection nor a deficiency, since His power is perfect under either supposition, and power is what you call elevation.

If that is so, then whatever might exist above Him would not be more perfect than He, nor would He be perfected by that other thing. Such a conclusion depends on that being a perfection. Yet you have agreed with him that it is not a perfection, while he has agreed with you about what does constitute perfection and has affirmed it more fully than you have. Thus, someone who says that He is upon the Throne is not thereby committed to holding that something else is more perfect than He or that He is perfected by something else.

The sixteenth point: It may be said: Suppose that elevation with respect to direction is a perfection. You nevertheless say that elevation in power is more perfect than it. Suppose someone agrees with you on this and says: “Elevation in power is more perfect than elevation with respect to direction. Everything that exists, whether a spatial location, a direction, or anything else, is subject to Allah’s power, governance, and dominion. If, then, it is supposed that He moved to the right or to the left, or descended so as to place something above Himself with respect to direction, He would still be above that thing in power, lordship, and governance. It is He who placed it in that direction by His will and choice. That thing depends upon Allah, Mighty and Majestic, whereas Allah has no need of it.” If that is so, it would not follow that this thing is more perfect than Allah in elevation, that the Lord is perfected by it, or that the Lord has ceased to possess the attribute of elevation