Thus, when one speaks of Zayd’s knowledge, descent, rising, and the like, these expressions denote only the knowledge, descent, rising, and other attributes peculiar to Zayd; they do not denote anything that another shares with him. Yet we know that Zayd is comparable to Amr, and that his knowledge, descent, and rising are comparable to Amr’s. We know this through analogy, reason, and comparison, not through what the wording itself denotes. If this holds for the attributes of a created being, it holds all the more for the Creator.

Thus, when one speaks of Allah’s knowledge, speech, descent, rising, existence, life, and the like, these expressions, with still greater reason, do not denote anything that any created being shares with Him. Nor do they indicate that another is like Him in these respects, as was established in the case of Zayd and Amr. In that case, we knew their likeness through comparison and analogy, because Zayd is like Amr. Here, however, we know that Allah has no likeness, equal, or rival. We must therefore not understand these expressions to mean that His knowledge is like another’s knowledge, His speech like another’s speech, His rising like another’s rising, His descent like another’s descent, or His life like another’s life.

For this reason, the position of the early generations and the imams was to affirm the attributes while denying that they are like the attributes of created beings. Allah Most High possesses attributes of perfection without any deficiency. He is utterly free of attributes of deficiency, and none is like Him in His attributes of perfection.

These two meanings together encompass His transcendence, and both are indicated by His words, Most High:

“Say: He is Allah, the One.”

“Allah, the Eternal Refuge.”

The name al-Samad (the Eternal Refuge) encompasses the attributes of perfection, while the name al-Ahad (the One) encompasses the denial of any likeness to Him, as has been explained at length in the commentary on this surah.