or to assist Him with them, or to seek His favour (1) for them and implore His mercy on their behalf.

(Twelfth): He is the Everlasting, the Abiding One who neither decays nor fades away, who is never annihilated and never dies.

(Thirteenth): He is the One who speaks and causes others to speak, who commands and forbids; He proclaims the truth, guides to the path, sends the messengers, reveals the scriptures, watches over every soul for what it has earned of good or evil, rewarding the doer of good for his goodness and requiting the evildoer for his wrongdoing.

(Fourteenth): He is truthful in His promise and His report—“and who is truer in speech than Allah?” (2); none is more truthful in statement than He, and He never breaks His promise.

(Fifteenth): Exalted is He—He is al-Samad in every sense of self-sufficiency, and whatever contradicts His samadiyyah is utterly impossible for Him.

(Sixteenth): He is al-Quddūs, al-Salām, utterly free from every defect, affliction, or deficiency.

(Seventeenth): He is the Perfect One, possessing absolute perfection in every respect.

(Eighteenth): He is the Just, who neither wrongs nor oppresses, and His servants need never fear injustice from Him.

Such truths are affirmed unanimously by all the Scriptures and all the messengers; they belong to the definitive teaching that