This also makes clear the second answer, namely:

Being above and below, and similar attributes, necessarily entail a relation. The same applies to rising above, lordship, being the Creator, and the like.

When something other than Him exists, He is either above it or He is not, just as they themselves say: He is either above it in mastery or rank, or He is not. This differs from conceiving of Him as existing alone, for they do not then say that He subdues something, exercises power over it, or holds dominion over it. Likewise, He is not said to be above it.

If they say, “He possesses power and mastery,” this is conditional upon there being something other than Him; the same applies to His exaltedness in rank. The reply is: The same holds for His being above in His essence. He has always been above in His essence, but the manifestation of this is conditional upon the existence of something other than Him.

These inescapable implications leave them without an answer. What their position really amounts to is that He did not possess power in eternity past, but then came to possess it. They say that He has always possessed power, even though what He had power to do was impossible, and that action was not possible but then became possible. They thus affirm two contradictory propositions.

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As for those who describe Him as being both above and below, they are those who say, “He is above the Throne and also in every place,” and those who say, “When He descends each night, He