that subsist independently and are infinite in number. It is well known that Muslims, whether those who affirm or others, do not accept this, because they believe it is not a necessary consequence of their position. If, however, it is assumed to be a necessary consequence of their position, denying it requires proof. Revelation cannot be invoked to establish this denial, because the revealed evidence that Allah is above His creation is clearer, more abundant, and more explicit than the evidence for such a denial.

For when someone adduces statements such as Allah’s words:

“Allah is the Creator of all things”
[al-Zumar: 62]

and:

“Lord of the worlds”
[al-Fātiha: 2],

and similar passages, these establish only that existing spatial loci are created by Allah and that He is their Lord. No Muslim disputes this. Yet arguing from revelation for the pre-eternity of any of these things is weaker than arguing that Allah, Exalted is He, is not above the worlds. Thus, the stronger of the two indications cannot be set aside on the strength of the weaker.

[Tenth ground]

It may be said:

This al-Rāzī and others like him claim that revelation contains no explicit statement that Allah was alone and then began bringing things into existence from nothing. Indeed, they go further still, as he mentions in his book al-Matālib al-Āliya (The Lofty Aims) and elsewhere in his writings.

As for the many texts indicating that Allah is above His creation, they do not dispute their abundance or the clarity of their meaning. Nor do they claim that these are opposed by revealed texts that negate what they entail. They claim only that reason conflicts with them.

Since this is the case, what the many texts indicating that Allah is above entail cannot be set aside by revealed evidence that does not match them in clarity or abundance.