Explanation of the author's statement and his saying: (So worship Him and be patient in His worship. Do you know of any who is comparable to Him?) - (And there is nothing comparable to Him)

The Shaykh : Then he said: And his saying: From here the author, may Allah have mercy on him, began with the negative attributes, that is, the attributes of negation. It has passed us previously that the attributes of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, are affirmative and negative, that is, negated, because perfection is not realized except through affirmation and negation: affirming the perfections and negating the defects. So he says: The fā' is derived from what came before, and what came before is his saying: So the Exalted and Glorious mentioned what establishes lordship, affirming His lordship, and derived from that the obligation of worshipping Him, because everyone who acknowledges lordship is bound by what?
The student: Acknowledgment

The Shaykh : Acknowledgment of servitude and divinity, otherwise he would be contradictory. That is, humbling oneself to Him with love and reverence. It has been mentioned previously that worship is intended to mean the one worshipped, and it is intended to mean what? The act of worship, which is the action of the servant. He said: Its original form in the language is *iṣṭabara*, so the tā' was changed to a ṭā' for a morphological reason. And patience is restraining the self. The word *iṣṭabara* is more eloquent than the word *iṣbara*, because it indicates hardship; it indicates enduring hardship. So the meaning is: be patient, even if it is difficult for you, and stand firm as a companion stands firm for his companion in jihad. So his saying: It was said that the lām means "upon," that is, be patient upon it. Yes, just as the Exalted said: And it was said, rather, the lām is in its original sense, that is, be patient for it, that is, be opposed to it with patience, just as a companion opposes his companion in the battlefield. He said: The interrogative here means negation. It has passed us with Bandar that when the interrogative comes with the meaning of negation, here
The student: It is intended to mean prohibition

The Shaykh : Yes, it carries the meaning of
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : No.
The student: Challenge

The Shaykh : Yes, it carries the meaning of challenge, meaning: if you are truthful, then tell us, do you know of any comparable to Allah? And *samī* means a likeness or a counterpart, meaning: do you know of any who is a counterpart worthy of, or a likeness worthy of, a name like His? What is the answer?
The student: No.

The Shaykh : No. If that is the case, then it is obligatory that you worship Him alone. What is in His attributes? His saying: And it is from the negative attributes. So what does it contain of the attributes of perfection? Because we mentioned previously that the negative attributes must contain an affirmation, an affirmation. So what is the affirmation contained in the negation here?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: Perfection.

The Shaykh : Absolute perfection, absolute perfection. So the meaning is: Do you know of any comparable to Him, due to the establishment of His absolute perfection in which no one is comparable to Him?
He said: The discussion of it has preceded, that is, there is no one who is equal to Him. *Aḥad* is an indefinite noun in the context of negation, so it is comprehensive, is it not? And *kafu'an* has three readings: *kafū*, *kafian*, and *kafu'an*. So it is with the hamzah, the fā' is sakinah and its dammah is with the hamzah, and with the wāw, the fā' is dammah, and nothing else. And by this we know the error of those who read *kafū*, *kafū*, making the fā' sakinah. This is an error. Rather, we say: This is with the wāw, with the hamzah. What do we say?
The student: *Kafu'an*

The Shaykh : *Kafian* and *kafu'an* have two readings. So, it also contains the negation of an equal for Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and that is for His perfection, for the perfection of His attributes. No one is equal to Him, not in His knowledge, nor His hearing, nor His sight, nor His power, nor His might, nor His wisdom, nor anything else of His attributes.