superior commanding or forbidding him. Yet if he commands himself to do what he ought to do and forbids himself what he ought not to do, while another does whatever he wills without commanding or forbidding himself, then the one who abides by his own commands and prohibitions—which accord with wisdom—is more perfect than the other. Allah, Most High, has said:

‘Your Lord has prescribed mercy for Himself.’

And He has said:

‘O My servants, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden among you, so do not oppress one another.’”

They also say:

“If saying that He does whatever He wills and decrees whatever He intends serves to explain His power—that nothing can hinder Him, and that no other can prevent what He wills or cause Him to will—then this is more perfect than the condition of one who has an obstacle preventing what he wills and a helper without whom he can neither will nor carry out what he wills.

“But if ‘doing whatever one wills’ means acting without regard to what knowledge and wisdom require, indeed acting foolishly, whereas another does whatever he wills but his will is joined with knowledge and wisdom, then the second is more perfect.”

The crux of the matter is that perfect power is an attribute of perfection, and a will that takes effect without needing a helper or encountering any obstacle is likewise an attribute of perfection. But a “will” that does not distinguish between one object of willing and another, treating all kinds alike, is not an attribute of perfection. Rather, the will that distinguishes between one object and another—as knowledge and wisdom require—is the will characterized by perfection.

Whoever diminishes His power, His creating, or His will has not esteemed Him as He deserves. And whoever diminishes His wisdom or His mercy has not esteemed Him as He truly deserves. The perfection that is His due requires affirming both.