and by His rational proof through which it is known. It is thus established through both revelation and reason, both of which fall within the Quran’s indication known as [scriptural indication].

The Quran establishes [the meaning of perfection] through various expressions denoting meanings that encompass it. Everything in the Quran affirming praise of Him, detailing the qualities for which He is praised, declaring that His is the highest description, affirming the meanings of His names, and the like—all of this indicates that meaning.

The term [Perfect] is also established in what Ibn Abī Talhah related from Ibn Abbās in his commentary on:

{“Say: He is Allah, the One; Allah, the Self-Sufficient.”}
[al-Ikhlās: 1, 2]

He stated that [al-Samad] is the One to whom perfection belongs: the Master, perfect in His preeminence; the Noble, perfect in His nobility; the Magnificent, perfect in His magnificence; the Judge, perfect in His judgment; the Self-Sufficient, perfect in His self-sufficiency; the Almighty, perfect in His might; the All-Knowing, perfect in His knowledge; and the All-Wise, perfect in His wisdom. He is the Noble One, perfect in every form of nobility and preeminence. He is Allah, Glorified and Exalted.

This is an attribute befitting none but Him. He has no equal, and there is nothing like Him. The same applies to all the other attributes of perfection. No one in the Ummah is known to have disputed this meaning. Rather, it is firmly rooted in people’s innate dispositions; indeed, they are created with it. Just as they are innately disposed to acknowledge the Creator, they are also innately disposed to recognize that He is more exalted, greater, higher, more knowing, more magnificent, and more perfect than anything else.

We have explained elsewhere that acknowledgment of the Creator and His perfection is innate and self-evident for anyone whose natural disposition remains sound, although numerous proofs also establish it,