by the Real—of this Name takes place because He, Most High, has said of Himself that He is Supremely Great. This is because of His descent, Most High, to His servants in creating Adam with His two hands, planting the tree of Tuba with His hand, His right hand being the Black Stone, and in the hand of the one among the messengers to whom allegiance is pledged for leadership, in His saying, “Those who pledge allegiance to you pledge allegiance only to God” [al-Fath 48:10].
There is also His descent in His saying, “I hungered, but you did not feed Me; I thirsted, but you did not give Me drink; I was ill, but you did not visit Me,” and in the attributes the Real ascribes to Himself that, for us, belong to temporally originated things. When this descent became established for us, most believers supposed these attributes belonged to Him by right, while other believers interpreted them. To those who believed that the Real’s being described by them conveys the same meaning as creation’s being described by them, the Real made known, specifically to this group, that He rises above this: above the conception of those whose understanding falls short, who take its attribution to Him, Most High, to be of the same order as its attribution to the creature.
This is what the outward interpreters say—those rigid ones among them whose understandings fall short of granting everything entitled to a due its due. He therefore said of Himself, Most High, that He is “the Compeller, the Supremely Great” [al-Hashr 59:23], rising above this conception, even though He possesses the attributes He has ascribed to Himself.
His supreme greatness, Most High, belongs to Him through His Essence. His assumption of greatness is above this conception, not above possessing the attributes. Were He to rise above the attributes He has ascribed to Himself that we have mentioned, it would be a lie, and falsehood in His report is impossible.
