the schools of speculative theology, such as the Hishāmiyyah, Dirāriyyah, Najjāriyyah, Kullābiyyah, and many of the Karrāmiyyah.

Bodily resurrection is affirmed by the adherents of all religious traditions. How, then, could affirming bodily resurrection entail affirming the indivisible atom? A detailed treatment of these matters belongs elsewhere.

The purpose here is to draw attention to the discussion he mentioned concerning the Karrāmiyyah.

It may therefore be said that the position he attributes to the Karrāmiyyah—that it is impossible for the Creator to be devoid of temporally originated utterances in His essence once they have come to subsist there—is not shared by everyone who agrees with their underlying position on this issue. Those who agree with them on the underlying position constitute most people, together with their leading authorities across all groups, including leading authorities of the Sunnah and hadith, leading philosophers, adherents of revealed law, and proponents of rational opinion. Yet few agree with them on this particular claim.

[Returning to the discussion of al-Āmidī’s statements concerning the speech of Allah Most High]

He said: “At this point, either the letters of an utterance are held to coexist in His essence, exalted is He, or they are not held to coexist in it. If they are held to coexist, then either the Creator’s essence is held to be divided, with each letter subsisting in a part of it, or the letters are held to subsist in His essence while the essence remains one.

If the former is maintained, it is impossible for two reasons: