These men then also seek to establish their claim that originated events cannot have no beginning as part of their claim that an infinite multitude cannot exist. They formulate a principle, saying:

“Entities infinite in number cannot exist, whether eternal or originated. This is contrary to Mu‘ammar, al-Nazzām, Ibn al-Rāwandī, and other heretics, who say: ‘An infinite number of originated entities may exist’; and contrary to the philosophers, who say: ‘An infinite number of eternal substances may exist.’”

They then say:

“The proof of this is that, if we added five components to any collection, we would necessarily know that it had increased; or if five components were removed from it, we would necessarily know that it had decreased.

“If this is so, it must be finite, since it can admit increase and decrease. It is impossible for it to be finite; and if that is so, the existence of infinitely many entities, whether eternal or originated, is impossible.

“No one is entitled to say: ‘On this basis, you must say that the things known to the Originator—Mighty and Majestic—is He—are more numerous than the things subject to His power. For everything subject to His power is known to Him, yet He knows things that cannot be subject to His power: His own essence—exalted is He—and all His attributes,