This becomes clear through the second principle, which states:

What is said of the attributes applies equally to the essence.

For there is nothing like Allah, whether in His essence, His attributes, or His actions. If He has a real essence unlike all other essences, then that essence possesses real attributes unlike all other attributes.

If someone asks, “How did He rise over the Throne?” he is given the answer expressed by Rabī'a, Mālik, and others—may Allah be pleased with them both:

“Rising over the Throne is known; its manner is unknown. Belief in it is obligatory, and asking about its manner is an innovation.”

This is because the question concerns something human beings do not know and cannot answer.

Likewise, if he asks, “How does our Lord descend to the lowest heaven?” he is asked, “What is the manner of His being?” If he replies, “I do not know the manner of His being,” he is told that we likewise do not know the manner of His descent. Knowing the manner of an attribute necessarily requires knowing the manner of the one who possesses it; the former derives from and depends upon the latter. How, then, can you demand that I know the manner of His hearing, His sight, His speaking, His rising over the Throne, and His descent, when you do not know the manner of His essence?

And if you acknowledge that He has an objectively existing reality that necessarily entails the attributes of perfection