monotheism, for their association of partners with Allah Most High, their worship of others besides Him, and their attribution of causal effects to others are indeed well known to anyone acquainted with their condition. Their position necessarily entails excluding all originated events from His agency.

What he means is only the monotheism he discusses in his books: the negation of attributes. This is the position he shares with the Muʿtazilah, who likewise call it monotheism.

Yet this negation, which they call monotheism, was neither revealed in any scripture nor taught by any Messenger, nor was it upheld by any of the early imams or their leading authorities. Rather, it contradicts sound reason as well as authentic revelation.

The point here is to explain its connection with the question of temporal origination and eternity. The premise upon which he built his argument for eternity is this: How could the heavens come into being after not having existed, without something new occurring? This argument can hold only according to the position of those who deny attributes and acts subsisting in Him, who say that no act connected with His will and power subsists in Him. According to those who affirm His attributes, however, his argument fails.

Moreover, his aim is to lay the groundwork for his principle that only one can proceed from the One. This holds only if he establishes an existent stripped of all attributes and qualities. Otherwise, if creation is characterized by various attributes, such as knowledge, power, speech, will,