The response is that creatures’ turning to Him and asking of Him is an observable fact, since it is they who seek and ask. He does not deserve this name merely by virtue of the actions of others, such that, were they hypothetically not to ask Him, He would not be al-Samad. Rather, it must be said that He deserves it in Himself, as previously cited from al-Halīmī and others.

Moreover, their turning to Him and needing Him entails a positive reality in His essence, since mere absences can neither be sought nor fulfill needs. It is therefore clear that His being al-Samad—in the sense of the One sought and turned to—entails the existence of positive realities by virtue of which He deserves to be al-Samad and can be sought and give. Existence alone does not confer this; otherwise, every existing thing would necessarily be al-Samad. Nor is it due merely to a quality possessed by a created being, for if He were al-Samad by virtue of a quality present in a created being, that created being too would be al-Samad. We have already explained that His words, “He is al-Samad,” show that He is the One who truly and fully deserves this name.

Moreover, if it were supposed that He is al-Samad and that another