the object’s lower side next to it on its underside. Even if someone were to regard the object as being above part of him in this respect, this would not be an attribute of deficiency, but one of perfection.

The same applies to other instances of a created thing encompassing other created things: a person encompassing what is within his body, a house encompassing its contents, and the heaven encompassing the sun, moon, and stars within it.

If these encompassing things cannot be described as being beneath what they encompass, or as deficient on that account—even though they themselves are encompassed by something else—then how could the Most High, the Highest, who encompasses everything, in whose grip the entire earth will be on the Day of Resurrection, and in whose right hand the heavens will be folded, necessarily be beneath anything that He is above or encompasses? And how could this constitute an impossible deficiency?

It has been related that one of the scholars was asked how to make this intelligible to the mind. He said to the questioner:

“If a large hawk grasps a chickpea in its foot, does it not hold it while flying, remaining above it and encompassing it? If something like this is possible for a created being, how could it be impossible for the Creator?”

[Continuation of al-Rāzī’s discussion in Lubāb al-Arba‘īn]

Al-Rāzī said:

“The opponent appealed to self-evident knowledge that, of any two existing entities, one either pervades the other or is separate from it in direction.”