you claimed that Allah and His light have always existed, and that Allah and His power have always existed.’ We replied: ‘We do not say, “Allah and His power have always existed,” or “Allah and His light have always existed.” Rather, we say, “He has always existed with His power and His light,” without specifying when He came to possess power or how He possesses it.’”

These statements explicitly show that what the term “self” denotes is that in which the attributes subsist—the very One denoted by the name “Allah.” The term “self” does not denote one of the attributes.

He also said: “One should say to the Jahmī, if he says, ‘Allah is with us through the greatness of His own self’”—and later said: “If you wish to know that the Jahmī is lying about Allah when he claims that He is everywhere and is not in one place to the exclusion of another, say to him: ‘Did Allah not exist when nothing else existed?’ He will say, ‘Yes.’ Then say to him: ‘When He created something, did He create it within Himself or outside Himself?’ He will be left with three possible answers and must adopt one of them. If he claims that Allah created creation within Himself