And Allah, glorified be He, is free of the distinctive characteristics of created beings and of anything that necessarily entails those characteristics. Whoever understands this point well and reflects upon it will find most doubts dispelled and recognize the errors of many intelligent people in this matter.

This has been discussed at length in many places, where it has been explained that the universal shared aspect exists in external reality only in a particular, qualified form. For existent beings to share something means that they resemble one another in that respect, and that the same general meaning applies to each. In external reality, however, neither shares with the other anything actually existing within it; rather, every existent being is distinct from others in its essence, attributes, and actions.

Such being the case, many people are inconsistent in this matter. At times, a person supposes that affirming the shared aspect necessarily entails the false assimilation of Allah to created beings. He therefore uses this as an argument for denying those attributes he thinks should be denied, seeking to avoid anything that would entail such assimilation. At other times, he realizes that this shared aspect must be affirmed under a given assumption, and uses that recognition to defend the attributes he does affirm against those negators who invoke the same argument.

The considerable confusion surrounding this matter has given rise to doubts over whether the Lord’s existence is identical with His essence or additional to it, and whether the word “existence” is predicated equivocally, univocally, or with gradation in its meaning. Similar confusion has arisen over the affirmation and denial of states