its coming into being, and the locus of its coming into being is none other than His own essence. He must therefore direct His intent toward His own essence.

Directing intent toward something requires that it be in a spatial direction, which is impossible. Moreover, every temporal event could then subsist in Him, which is impossible.

Furthermore, according to the Karrāmites, the temporal attribute is only His saying “Be!”, and will is the basis of things brought into existence. In that case, there is no need for the temporal event consisting of speech and will, since all things brought into existence can be attributed to the eternal power.’

We reply: The first objection is dismissed as follows. Even if intending to bring the attribute into existence entails directing intent toward the locus in which it comes into being, this would require that locus to be in a spatial direction only if directing intent meant pointing toward a spatial direction. That is not what it means; rather, it means willing to bring the attribute into being in that locus, and this does not entail any spatial direction.

Moreover, even if intending to bring the attribute into existence in a locus required that locus to be in a spatial direction, it would follow that Allah, exalted is He, could not intend to bring accidents into existence. For intending to bring them into existence would mean directing intent toward their loci, which would require those loci to be in spatial directions; and directing intent toward something in a spatial direction, on the part of one who is not