What is the ruling on saying: "This thing exists just as God exists"? Is this considered a tashbeeh (likening) or a tamtheel (representation)? And is it permissible to say that a certain statement resembles a Quranic verse in meaning?

The first statement, "One in His attributes, without peer," is correct if a distinction is made between representation (tamthīl) and resemblance (tashbīh), because sharing in the origin of some attributes is a reality and does not necessitate equality. Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah clarified that there is a difference between shabah (likeness) and mithl (peer), and that the word "tamāthul" (being perfectly alike) is more specific than the word "tashābuh" (resemblance). "Shabah" refers to likeness in one aspect but not another, whereas "mithl" implies equivalence and equality. Negating all resemblance absolutely leads to negating all names and attributes from Allah.

The second statement, "Indeed, a speech from among speeches resembles a verse from among verses in meaning," is correct, because the resemblance of meanings is a reality, as in Umar's concurrences with the Quran, and as was said about Al-Hasan al-Basri: "That one whose speech resembles the speech of the prophets," without intending thereby to equate them with the prophets.