—and that it is, in principle, allowable even though it has never actually occurred.

They are therefore addressed: “The vast majority of people do not concede that such a thing is possible unless its necessary concomitants are present and the factors that negate it have been removed.

“At that point we ask you: why do you claim that this possibility does not require prior causes and the lifting of impediments, just like every other extraordinary event that God brings into being? For He brings nothing into existence except by creating its causes and eliminating its hindrances.

“An illustration of this is the drowning of Noah’s people. The water did not appear without a cause; rather, God sent down water from the sky and made water gush forth from the earth, as the Exalted says:

‘The people of Noah before them rejected; they denied Our servant and said, “Madman!” and he was rebuked’ [al-Qamar 54:9] (9),

‘so he called upon his Lord, “I am overpowered, so help me”’ [al-Qamar 54:10] (10),

‘then We opened the gates of heaven with water pouring down’ [al-Qamar 54:11] (11),

‘and We caused the earth to burst with springs, so the waters met together according to a decree already set’ [al-Qamar 54:12] (12),

‘and We carried him on a vessel of planks and nails’ [al-Qamar 54:13].

“In the same way, when God destroyed the people of ʿĀd He loosed against them a roaring, bitterly cold wind for seven nights and eight days in succession, as the Exalted says:”