The Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam — Page 103
97 out of temper time after time; and when they find in their selfishness, that they cannot carry on without injustice, they have recourse to it without compunction. For instance, in terrestrial sovereignty it is considered permissible to let the passengers of a small vessel be destroyed in order to secure the safety of a large vessel, but God is under no such compulsion. If God had not been All-Powerful and had not the power to create out of nothing, He would have been compelled either to have recourse to injustice like weak sovereigns, or would have clung to justice and lost His Godhead. God's vessel continues its voyage with full power on the basis of justice. Then He said: that He is the Source of Peace, that is to say, He is safeguarded against all defects, and misfortunes, and hardships, and provides security for all. If He had been liable to being afflicted with misfortunes, or to be killed by His people, or could have been frustrated in His designs, how could the hearts of people in such cases have been comforted by the conviction that he would deliver them from misfortunes? God Almighty describes the condition of false gods in the following words: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ لَنْ يَخْلَقُوا ذُ بَابًا وَلَوِ اجْتَمَعُوا لَهُ وَإِنْ يَسْلُبُهُمُ الذُّبَابُ شَيْئًا لَّا يَسْتَنْقِذُوهُ مِنْهُ ضَعُفَ الطَّالِبُ