And Allah can have no deputy. Thus, when people said to Abū Bakr, “O deputy of Allah,” he replied, “I am not Allah’s deputy; rather, I am the successor to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. That is enough for me.” Rather, He—glorified be He—may Himself take the place of others. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“O Allah, You are the Companion on the journey and the Guardian of the family in our absence. O Allah, accompany us on our journey and look after our families in our absence.”

This is because Allah is Ever-Living, Witness over all, Guardian, the Self-Sustaining Sustainer, Watchful, Preserver, and independent of all creation. He has neither partner nor helper, and no one intercedes with Him except by His permission. A deputy serves only when the one he represents is no longer present, through death or absence, and because that person needs someone to take his place. He is called a “successor” because he is left behind when the other departs on a military campaign, standing in his place. All these meanings are inapplicable to Allah Most High, and He is exalted above them.

For He is Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining Sustainer, Witness over all: He neither dies nor becomes absent. He is Self-Sufficient; He provides and is not provided for. He provides for His servants, grants them victory, guides them, and keeps them safe through the means He has created. These means are themselves His creations and depend on Him just as effects depend on their causes. Allah is the Self-Sufficient, the Praiseworthy. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens, whatever is on earth, and whatever is between them:

“Everyone in the heavens and the earth asks of Him; every day He is attending to a matter.”

“And it is He who is God in heaven and God on earth.”

No one can succeed Him or take His place, for He has no namesake and no equal. Whoever assigns Him a deputy thus associates a partner with Him. As for the prophetic hadith:

“The ruler is Allah’s shade on earth, in whom every weak and distressed person seeks refuge.”

This is correct, for shade needs someone to seek refuge in it, and it is a companion to him