on the negation of all realities, and accordingly posits in it both a common existence and a particular existence, has not understood his doctrine. Al-Tūsī did precisely this in defending him, without understanding his doctrine.

Al-Qūnawī and others like him say:

“It is the absolute without condition.”

This must either be impossible in concrete reality or be a constituent of contingent beings, in which case the Necessary Existent would be a constituent of contingent beings.

The contradictions in their statements have been explained at length elsewhere. Consider our statement that everything they establish through syllogistic demonstration consists of unrestricted universal propositions: when they wish to identify something existing in concrete reality that falls under such a universal proposition, they identify it through either the inner or the outer sense. For reason apprehends universals, whereas sense apprehends particulars. Thus, when they establish that voluntary motion is preceded by a conception and wish to identify an instance of this, they identify either the human soul, pointing to it, or the celestial soul, pointing to the celestial sphere.

If they seek to establish the existence of a particular being in concrete reality that falls under this proposition without pointing to it, they find themselves unable to do so.

Likewise, when reason establishes that the whole is greater than the part, that things equal to the same thing are equal to one another, that the same thing cannot be both existent and nonexistent, and similar propositions, then whenever someone wishes to bring a particular instance under this proposition