How can God not be limited when He is described with attributes such as "He does not oppress and He does not desire evil," which implies limiting Him from these actions?
Allah is described by the most exalted attributes with which He described Himself, and with which His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, described Him, such as Life, Knowledge, Power, Hearing, Sight, Speech, Wisdom, Mercy, and Love. Despite the disagreement over the word "limit" between those who negate it and those who affirm it, everyone agrees on affirming the attributes and negating any resemblance between the Creator and the creation. The intention of those who negate the limit is that Allah is not limited by His creation, and the intention of those who affirm it is that He is distinguished from His creation by a limit known only to Him.
There is no real existent except that it is described by attributes, the foremost of which is the attribute of existence. Absolute negation of attributes is only known from the Jahmiyyah sect. If it is said that Allah does not do evil or does not wrong, it is because He has chosen this for Himself and has forbidden injustice upon Himself, not because He is incapable of it, for Allah does what He wills.
One should not infer implications from Allah's attributes. No one has the right to say: "If He is described with elevation, then such-and-such follows." Rather, He described Himself, and Allah knows best what befits Him: ﴿Say, "Are you more knowing or is Allah?"﴾. Allah is described by the attributes with which He described Himself. His being described by an attribute or His refraining from an attribute does not imply that He is limited, for He does what He wills: ﴿He is not questioned about what He does, but they will be questioned.﴾
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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