affirming a Self that would invalidate His attributes or deny them what is their due. For we do not affirm a self that is born, corporeal, composite, and endowed with a spirit. Nor do we affirm a Self in the sense of blood, as in the Arabs’ expressions, ‘It has flowing nafs’ and ‘It has no flowing nafs,’ by which they mean blood. He, glorified and exalted, is far above that. Rather, we affirm a Self that is an attribute additional to the Essence, just as we have affirmed life and everlastingness for Him. Thus we say that He is living by virtue of life and everlasting by virtue of everlastingness, although His life and everlastingness are not accidents as ours are. The same applies to the Self.”

He said: “If it is objected that we should then affirm a spirit for Him, since He has spoken of His spirit in this way, saying, exalted is He:

‘And I breathed into him of My spirit.’ [al-Hijr 29]

we reply that we do not affirm this for Him, because revelation has not mentioned it as an attribute of the Essence. As for His words:

‘And I breathed into him of My spirit.’ [Sād 72]

what is meant is His command, for the evidence establishes that the attributes of His Essence do not inhere in created things. This differs from affirming a Self, for nothing in affirming it invalidates its attributes or takes them beyond what befits Him.”

He later said: