Tahafut_al-Tahafut-transl-Engl-van-den-Bergh

essence is not true, for every essence is perfected by attributes through
which it becomes more complete and illustrious, and, indeed, it is
constituted by these attributes, since through knowledge, power, and will
we become superior to those existents which do not possess knowledge,
and the essence in which these attributes exist is common to us and to
inorganic things. How therefore could such attributes be accidents
consequent on our essence? All these are statements of people who have
not studied well the psychological and accidental attributes.
Ghazali says:
And often they shock by the use of a depreciating
expression in another way, and they say: This leads to
ascribing to the First a need for these attributes, so that it
would not be self-sufficient absolutely, since the absolutely
self-sufficient is not in need of anything else. ‘
Then Ghazali says, refuting this:
I say:
This is an extremely weak verbal argument, for the
attributes of perfection do not differ from the essence of the
perfect being in such a way that he should be in need of
anything else. And if he is eternally perfect through
knowledge, power, and life, how could he be in need of
anything, or how could his being attached to perfection be
described as his being in need? It would be like saying that
the perfect needs no perfection and that he who is in need of
the attributes of perfection for his essence is imperfect; the
answer is that perfection cannot mean anything but the
existence of perfection in his essence, and likewise being
self-sufficient does not mean anything but the existence of
attributes that exclude every need in his essence. How
therefore can the attributes of perfection through which
divinity is perfected be denied through such purely verbal
arguments?
There are two kinds of perfection: perfection through a thing’s own self
and perfection through attributes which give their subject its perfection,
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