of the attributes of perfection. This accords with what we established earlier: Allah cannot be described by anything that characterizes nonexistence. Negative descriptions may be applied to Him only when they entail existence, for pure nonexistence contains nothing deserving praise or commendation, whereas Allah’s attributes do. This accords with the view that an existent, considered simply as such, provides grounds for praise and commendation. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

The crux of this argument is that any predicate established for existence as such applies with greater right to necessary existence than to contingent existence. Likewise, among the illustrative analogies—which are rational inferences, and to Allah belongs the highest example—is that any perfection established for an existent belongs with greater right to the Necessary Existent than to a contingent existent. Every perfection found in one subject to His lordship belongs with greater right to the Lord than to the servant.

The philosophers have also followed this approach, though they express it in terms of generation, saying: “Every perfection