16
Most of their learning concerns physics and mathematics. As for the “divine science” —which they themselves call “metaphysics” and regard as the pinnacle of their philosophy—they discuss it only in the most general, abstract terms. All they really do is divide existence into one substance and nine accidents, neatly captured in the following two lines:
“Zayd, the tall, the dark-skinned son of Mālik,
was yesterday reclining in his house;
A sword was in his hand—he drew it, flashing bright—
and thus we count ten categories, no more.”
Those ten are:
- Substance
- Quantity
- Quality
- Where (place)
- When (time)
- Relation
- Possession (having)
- Posture
- To act
- To be acted upon.
Even Aristotle’s own disciples, not to mention other thinkers, disputed this fixed list and said that there is no conclusive proof
وَعَامَّةُ عِلْمِ الْقَوْمِ عِلْمُ الطَّبِيعِيَّاتِ وَالْحِسَابِيَّاتِ، وَأَمَّا الْعِلْمُ الْإِلَهِيُّ - وَهُوَ الَّذِي يُسَمُّونَهُ عِلْمَ مَا بَعْدَ الطَّبِيعَةِ، وَهُوَ مُنْتَهَى فَلْسَفَتِهِمْ - فَإِنَّمَا تَكَلَّمُوا فِيهِ عَلَى أُمُورٍ كُلِّيَّةٍ، قَسَّمُوا الْوُجُودَ إِلَى جَوْهَرٍ وَتِسْعَةِ أَعْرَاضٍ يَجْمَعُهَا بَيْتَانِ
زَيْدُ الطَّوِيلُ الْأَسْوَدُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ ... فِي دَارِهِ بِالْأَمْسِ كَانَ مُتَّكَى
فِي يَدِهِ سَيْفٌ نَضَاهُ فَانْتَضَى ... فَهَذِهِ عَشْرُ مَقُولَاتٍ سِوَا
وَهِيَ:
الْجَوْهَرُ، وَالْكَمُّ، وَالْكَيْفُ، وَالْأَيْنُ، وَمَتَى، وَالْإِضَافَةُ، وَالْمِلْكُ، وَالْوَضْعُ، وَأَنْ يَفْعَلَ، وَأَنْ يَنْفَعِلَ.
وَقَدْ نَازَعَهُ أَتْبَاعُهُ وَغَيْرُهُمْ فِي هَذَا الْحَصْرِ وَقَالُوا:
إِنَّهُ لَا دَلِيلَ