Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
Muslims believe that Allah تعالى possesses absolute perfection and is free from every defect and deficiency. The Noble Qur’an indicates this in multiple ways, even though the expression “Allah is perfect and has no deficiency” does not occur in these exact words. Among the strongest proofs of this are Allah’s affirmation of His Most Beautiful Names, His glorification and declaration of His transcendence above deficiencies, His being described as possessing the Highest Attribute, the negation of any likeness to Him, and His being described by Names that indicate the utmost perfection.
Muslims agree that Allah تعالى is transcendent above all deficiencies and that the attributes of perfection are affirmed for Him.
Every attribute of perfection established for Allah تعالى necessarily entails the negation of its opposite. Affirming knowledge entails the negation of ignorance; affirming power entails the negation of incapacity; and affirming life entails the negation of death.
This meaning is supported by the revealed evidence, sound reasoning, and upright natural disposition, for it is not fitting for a servant to worship a Lord whom he believes to possess a deficiency or defect.
Allah تعالى says:
﴿So set your face toward the religion, inclining to truth—the natural disposition of Allah upon which He has created mankind. There is no changing the creation of Allah. That is the upright religion, but most people do not know.﴾ [al-Rum: 30]
Allah تعالى says:
﴿And to Allah belong the Most Beautiful Names, so call upon Him by them, and leave those who deviate concerning His Names.﴾ [al-A‘raf: 180]
Allah described His Names as Most Beautiful, meaning that they are characterized by the utmost beauty and perfection.
Once the utmost beauty and perfection are established for Allah تعالى, whatever contradicts that—defects and deficiencies—is necessarily negated.
He تعالى also says:
﴿He is Allah, the Creator, the Originator, the Fashioner. To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. Whatever is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Him, and He is the Almighty, the All-Wise.﴾ [al-Hashr: 24]
Thus, He تعالى combines the Most Beautiful Names with glorification, and glorification means declaring Allah تعالى free from deficiencies.
Allah تعالى says:
﴿Glory be to your Lord, the Lord of Might, above what they describe. And peace be upon the Messengers. And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.﴾ [al-Saffat: 180–182]
Glorification entails declaring Allah تعالى free from deficiencies, while praise entails affirming the attributes of perfection.
This is why the Qur’an combines glorification and praise in numerous places, because declaring Allah free from deficiency cannot be separated from affirming His perfection.
Allah تعالى says:
﴿And to Him belongs the Highest Attribute in the heavens and the earth, and He is the Almighty, the All-Wise.﴾ [al-Rum: 27]
The “Highest Attribute” entails the affirmation of the highest attributes of perfection for Allah تعالى.
He سبحانه also says:
﴿There is nothing whatsoever like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.﴾ [al-Shura: 11]
Thus, Allah تعالى combines negating any likeness with affirming the attributes of perfection. He negates that He has any equal or counterpart and affirms for Himself hearing and sight.
This is the method of the Qur’an: transcendence without negating the attributes, and affirmation without likening Allah to His creation.
Among them:
Allah تعالى says:
﴿Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on earth glorifies Allah—the Sovereign, the Most Holy, the Almighty, the All-Wise.﴾ [al-Jumu‘ah: 1]
The Name Al-Quddus indicates that Allah تعالى is transcendent and purified from defects and deficiencies.
Allah تعالى says:
﴿He is Allah, there is no deity except Him, the Sovereign, the Most Holy, the Source of Peace.﴾ [al-Hashr: 23]
The Name Al-Salam entails Allah’s freedom from every defect and deficiency, and the soundness of His Names, attributes, and actions from everything that does not befit Him.
Allah تعالى says:
﴿Say: He is Allah, One. Allah, the Self-Sufficient.﴾ [al-Ikhlas: 1–2]
Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him and his father, explained Al-Samad as the Master who is perfect in His mastery, nobility, greatness, knowledge, wisdom, self-sufficiency, and might.
Thus, the Name Al-Samad is among the greatest indications of Allah’s perfection, self-sufficiency, and the creation’s absolute need for Him.
Allah تعالى says:
﴿O mankind, you are those in need of Allah, while Allah is the Self-Sufficient, the Praiseworthy.﴾ [Fatir: 15]
Al-Hamid means the One who deserves praise due to the perfection of His Names, attributes, and actions. He is praised in prosperity and adversity, in hardship and ease, and there is no purposelessness or error in His actions, Glorified and Exalted is He.
It is not necessary for a meaning to occur in the Qur’an in one specific expression for it to be established.
Islamic meanings may be established through the totality of the texts and an examination of their indications, rather than only through the existence of one sentence that expresses the meaning literally.
When the Qur’an affirms the Most Beautiful Names for Allah, describes Him as the Most Holy, the Source of Peace, the Praiseworthy, the Almighty, and the All-Wise, affirms that He possesses the Highest Attribute, negates any likeness to Him, and declares Him free from deficiencies, the totality of these texts clearly indicates His perfection.
Therefore, for a Muslim to say: “Allah تعالى possesses absolute perfection and is free from every deficiency and defect” is correct in meaning, even though this exact sentence does not occur in the Qur’an.
Yes, the Noble Qur’an clearly indicates Allah’s perfection and His transcendence above every deficiency, even though the expression “Allah is perfect and has no deficiency” does not occur in these exact words.
Among the most prominent proofs are Allah’s saying: ﴿And to Allah belong the Most Beautiful Names﴾, His saying: ﴿And to Him belongs the Highest Attribute﴾, His saying: ﴿There is nothing whatsoever like Him﴾, and the Names of Allah تعالى such as Al-Quddus, Al-Salam, Al-Samad, Al-Hamid, Al-‘Aziz, and Al-Hakim.
Thus, Allah سبحانه possesses every perfection that befits His Majesty, is free from every deficiency and defect, and nothing among His creation resembles Him.
And Allah knows best.