لاَ يُقَالُ: كَانَ بَعْدَ أَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ، فَتَجْرِيَ عَلَيْهِ الصِّفَاتُ الْـمُحْدَثَاتُ، وَلاَ يَكُونُ بَيْنَهَا وَبَيْنَهُ فَصْلٌ، وَلاَ لَهُ عَلَيْهَا فَضْلٌ، فَيَسْتَوِيَ الصَّانِعُ والْمَصْنُوعُ، وَيَتَكَافَأَ المُبْتَدَعُ وَالْبَدِيعُ. خَلَقَ الْخَلاَئِقَ عَلَى غَيْرِ مِثَال خَلاَ مِنْ غَيْرِهِ، وَلَمْ يَسْتَعِنْ عَلَى خَلْقِهَا بِأَحَد مِنْ خَلْقِهِ.
It cannot be said that He came into being after He had not been in existence because in that case the attributes of the created things would be assigned to Him and there would remain no difference between them and Him, and He would have no distinction over them. Thus, the Creator and the created would become equal and the initiator and the initiated would be on the same level. He created (the whole of) creation without any example made by someone else, and He did not secure the assitance of any one out of His creation for creating it.