Do we worship God by His reportive attributes or by His Holy Essence, and are God's essential attributes, such as mercy, eternal?

First: The manifestation of the rulings of Allah's attributes and their effects is necessary. To claim the existence of an attribute without the manifestation of its effects is to render it inactive. The entire universe bears witness and provides evidence for Allah's Names and Attributes, and the existence of creatures is a requirement of the attributes of the Creator and the Sustainer.

Second: The everlasting nature of the Lord's actions, from eternity to eternity, is a correct meaning. Allah does what He wills. It is not permissible for Allah to have been inactive and then to have acted, or to have been characterized by an attribute after not having been characterized by it. He, Glory be to Him, is characterized by attributes of perfection from eternity to eternity.

Third: Allah creates and acts out of the need of the creatures for Him, not out of His own need, Glory be to Him. He is the Self-Sufficient, the Praiseworthy, and His absolute perfection does not require completion.

Regarding the question of whether we worship Allah by His attributes or by His sacred Self: Allah's attributes are inherent in His Self and cannot be separated from it. We worship Allah, Glorified be His Majesty, who is characterized by His Most Beautiful Names and His Most Exalted Attributes.