and denies what is within himself.

For one who denies love for Allah says:

“Love can exist only where there is some affinity with the beloved, yet there is no affinity between the Pre-Eternal and the originated, between the Necessary and the contingent, or between the Creator and the created.”

The response is:

The term “affinity” is equivocal. One may say, “There is no affinity between this and that,” meaning that one is so much greater than the other that the latter cannot be compared with it. Thus, one may say, “So-and-so’s wealth does not compare with so-and-so’s wealth, nor do his knowledge, generosity, or dominion [compare with so-and-so’s knowledge, generosity, and dominion],” (1) meaning that the comparison is so slight and insignificant as to be tantamount to no comparison at all. Similarly, one may say, “A mustard seed does not compare with a mountain, nor does dust compare with the Lord of lords.”

If the assertion that the originated does not compare with the Pre-Eternal is intended in this or a similar sense, then it is correct. Love, however, does not entail this kind of comparability. But if what is intended is that there is nothing in the Pre-Eternal on account of which an originated being could love Him, then this is precisely the point at issue. Why do you claim that there is nothing between the originated and the Pre-Eternal on account of which the originated could love the Pre-Eternal? And why do you claim that the Pre-Eternal is not characterized by love for those of His creatures whom He loves?

Love does not entail deficiency. Rather, it is an attribute of perfection; indeed, it is the foundation of will. Every act of will necessarily entails love, for a thing is willed only because it is loved or because it is a means to that which is loved. If love were assumed to be absent, will would be impossible, for love is a necessary concomitant of will; when the necessary concomitant is absent, that of which it is a necessary concomitant is also absent. Likewise, love