the same kind as it. Rather, “from” may indicate a point of origin, since the spirit was brought into being by the command and proceeded from it. This is the meaning of Imam Ahmad’s answer concerning His words, “and a spirit from Him,” where he said:

“‘And a spirit from Him’ means that the spirit came from Him by His command, as in His words: ‘And He has subjected to you whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth—all from Him.’”

Another parallel is His saying:

“Whatever blessing you have is from Allah.”

Since the things subjected to us and the blessings are from Allah, yet are not part of His essence but originate from Him, it does not follow that His description of the Messiah as “a spirit from Him” means that the spirit is part of Allah’s essence.

It is well known that His words, “and a spirit from Him,” are stronger than His words, “The spirit is of my Lord’s command.” If “and a spirit from Him” does not preclude the spirit’s being created, nor entail its being part of Him, then “The spirit is of my Lord’s command” is still less grounds for precluding its being created or requiring that it be part of Him—or even part of His command.

This line of reasoning applies if “the command” means the command that is one of Allah’s attributes. Each of these two answers stands independently, and they can also be combined into a single answer, as follows:

In His words, “The spirit is of my Lord’s command,” “command” means either that which is commanded or an attribute of Allah Most High. If the former is intended, the spirit may be part of that which is commanded, and would therefore be created. If “command” means an attribute of (Allah), then His words, “The spirit is of my Lord’s command,” are like His words, “and a spirit from Him,” and “all from Him,” and similar expressions. The misconception arose only because someone supposed that the command is an eternal attribute of Allah and that the spirit of