and this argument is sound only if “Himself” means His Essence. This is the apparent meaning of the wording—indeed, its explicit meaning—and nothing else can be understood from it.

On this basis, we address both groups. As for his statement that the disagreement with those who regard it as an attribute is merely verbal, we do not dispute with him that this term entails affirming an attribute additional to what “Essence” denotes, such as life or action. However, what the term designates is the Essence qualified by that attribute, not the attribute itself.

As for making the word “Self” a designation for the attribute itself, the response is that this claim has no evidence whatsoever. For this is not the apparent meaning of the wording; still less does the wording explicitly imply that it is an attribute rather than Allah Himself. Whoever claims that this is the apparent meaning of the texts is making a false claim, just as whoever claims that their apparent meaning must be reinterpreted is making a false claim. We have already explained that many people err in claiming that the apparent meaning of the texts is