and His words:

“Indeed, Allah is the Provider, the Possessor of strength, the Firm.” (58) [al-Dhāriyāt 58]

And His words:

“Our Lord, You encompass all things in mercy and knowledge.” [Ghāfir 7]

And His words:

“My mercy encompasses all things.” [al-A‘rāf 156]

In these and similar passages, the attributes cannot indicate anything peculiar to the attributes of created beings. When they are ascribed to a servant, as in His words, Most High, concerning Jacob:

“Indeed, he possessed knowledge because of what We had taught him.” [Yūsuf 68]

And His words:

“Then, after weakness, He gave strength.” [al-Rūm 54]

And His words:

“They said, ‘Who is mightier than us in strength?’” [Fussilat 15]

Here, they cannot include anything peculiar to the Lord Most High. When they are mentioned in general, unqualified terms, one may say that knowledge is divided into the Lord’s knowledge and the servant’s knowledge, and that what exists is divided into the eternal and the originated. The general, unqualified expression under consideration does [not] denote anything peculiar to the Lord Most High or anything peculiar to the servant.

The fourth point is that their doctrine explicitly contradicts