and similar works of his on speculative theology that the succession of originated events is finite, setting out in full the arguments advanced by the speculative theologians on this matter, his fellow speculative theologians challenge him and criticize those arguments one by one. He himself also criticizes them in various places in his writings, such as al-Mabāhith al-mashriqiyya (Eastern Investigations), al-Matālib al-ʿāliya (The Lofty Inquiries), and other works, explaining that the Lord’s perpetual activity must be affirmed.

Thus, in al-Mabāhith al-mashriqiyya, he says, explaining the Creator’s perpetual activity:

“Know that we have shown that, just as the Necessary Existent in Himself is necessarily existent in Himself, so too is He necessarily existent in every respect. Accordingly, His acts must endure as He endures. We have also shown that an act need not be preceded by nonexistence in order to depend upon an agent. In the chapter on time, we have shown that time cannot have a temporal beginning, and there we resolved the doubts and objections.”

He says:

“Furthermore, it is not impossible for the world to exist perpetually, and whatever can exist perpetually must exist perpetually. Therefore, the world must exist perpetually.

“The minor premise has already been established. As for the major premise, it is that whatever can exist perpetually, if its nonexistence were possible, would fall under one of two alternatives: either its nonexistence would always be possible, or it would not always be possible. If it were not