His self-sufficiency unless one first knows that He is not a body; nor can one know that He is not a body unless one knows that He is without beginning. One cannot know that He knows all that is evil unless one knows that He knows everything; nor can one know this unless one knows that He possesses knowledge by virtue of His essence; nor can one know this unless one knows that He possesses knowledge. One cannot know that He rewards and punishes unless one knows that He is powerful and living. Nor can He be known as possessing these attributes unless His essence is known. His essence can only be known by inference from His acts, since it is neither directly perceived nor known self-evidently, and there is no path to knowing it except through His acts. We must therefore discuss these matters so that we may know the truth of what the messengers brought and comply with it, thereby attaining safety in the Hereafter.”

He then said:

“Chapter: The Proof That Bodies Have an Originator

“The proof that bodies and substances have an originator is that bodies and substances are temporally originated, and everything temporally originated has an originator. Bodies therefore have an originator.”

He said:

“This argument comprises two principles. The first is our statement that a body does not predate temporally originated motions and states of rest. The second is our statement that whatever does not predate something temporally originated is itself temporally originated.

“The first comprises three claims: that motion and rest exist, that a body does not predate them, and that both are temporally originated.

“The other principle comprises only one claim: that whatever does not predate something temporally originated is itself temporally originated. Thus there are four claims, which we shall explain in order to establish that bodies are temporally originated.”