a dyed garment, or a ring made into a dirham—then this is a denial of sensory evidence. For the silver that was a ring is the very same silver that was made into a dirham or a bracelet; only its shape changed, just as a candle’s shape may be changed.

Likewise, when a body is dyed or moves, what changes here are its attributes, which are its accidents.

But when semen becomes a human being, air becomes fire, or fire is extinguished and becomes air, the very reality of the thing has undergone a transformation. Something different from the original was created from it, and the original ceased to exist: nothing of its very reality remained, but what was created from it remained. Similarly, a human being created from his father remains after his father’s death. No rational person would say that he consists of parts that were in his father and then became dispersed within him.

We have discussed this at length elsewhere and demonstrated the falsity of the claim that bodies are composed of indivisible substances, or of two self-subsisting substances: matter and form.

Whoever understands this is freed from many doubts concerning belief in Allah Most High and the Last Day—regarding creation, resurrection, bringing the dead to life, restoring bodies, and other matters discussed elsewhere.

Everyone who examines these matters needs to understand this point thoroughly. Understanding it dispels many doubts concerning Allah and the Last Day, and one comes to recognize something of