The Meaning of Allah Being One in His Names and Attributes

Question:
What is the meaning of Allah being One in His attributes and names, given that some of the servants share in the naming with Him?

Answer:
The meaning is that He is One in the sense of the attributes: the Wise, the All-Knowing, the Most Merciful, the Compassionate, and the All-Powerful. Even if some doctors are called wise, and some people are called wise, and some people are called noble, and so on, absolute nobility belongs to Allah alone, absolute wisdom belongs to Allah alone, and absolute power belongs to Allah alone.
So the meaning is: whoever believes that other than Allah shares with Him in this meaning, and that he has a likeness to Allah’s attribute in nobility, or in wisdom, or in mercy, or in power, or in knowledge; he has disbelieved in Allah. As for sharing in some aspect, having a power befitting the created being, this does not involve shirk (associating partners with Allah). Allah named Himself All-Hearing and All-Seeing, and He named His servant hearing and seeing.

The intended meaning: That the genus of participation is in the genus of power, the genus of knowledge, the genus of hearing, and the genus of sight, but it is limited power, limited knowledge, and limited sight. Man has limited sight, limited hearing, limited knowledge, and limited power. This does not involve associating partners with Allah ; this is Allah who granted it to him and bestowed it upon him . But if he says: he has power of the same genus as the power of Allah, and that he acts in the universe as He wills, or that he knows the unseen, or something similar to Allah, this is the meaning.