and He also says: “Say, ‘Praise be to Allah, who has never taken a son, who has no partner in sovereignty, and who needs no ally out of weakness; so magnify Him with all magnification’” (Qur’an 17:111).

Everything that exists among the realm of causes is His creation, owned and governed by Him. He is utterly self-sufficient, while everything else is dependent on Him. Worldly kings, by contrast, are in need of supporters who are, in reality, partners sharing their rule. Allah, exalted be He, has no partner in dominion. Indeed, there is no god but Allah alone without partner; His is the kingdom and His is all praise, and He is capable of every thing.

The third situation is this: a king does not intend to benefit, aid, or show mercy to his subjects unless someone outside himself stirs him to do so. When an adviser who counsels and venerates him—or someone who recommends a petitioner and whom the king hopes for or fears—addresses him, the king’s will and resolve are moved to meet his subjects’ needs: either by the impression left on his heart by the adviser’s exhortation, or by the hope or fear produced by the recommender’s words.

Yet Allah—exalted is He—is the Lord and Sovereign of all things; He is more merciful to His servants than a mother to her child. All things occur solely by His will: whatever He wills comes to be, and whatever He does not will never occurs; and when He—