made for the sake of the wall, and that the wall was made for the sake of the roof, it becomes clear that the house came into existence only through an agent knowledgeable in the craft of building. This attribute is eternal, since He cannot acquire it at some particular time.

We should not, however, probe so deeply into this as to say what the speculative theologians say: that He knows what comes into being, at the time it comes into being, through eternal knowledge. This would entail that knowledge of a thing when it exists and when it does not exist is one and the same knowledge.

This is unintelligible, since knowledge must correspond to what exists. Since a thing may exist actually at one time and potentially at another, knowledge of these two modes of existence must differ: knowledge of it when it exists potentially is not the same as knowledge of it when it exists actually.

This assertion—meaning the speculative theologians’ statement—is something revelation has not explicitly declared. Rather, what it explicitly declares is the contrary: that He knows things that come into being when they come into being. As Allah, exalted is He, says:

“Not a leaf falls without His knowing it, nor is there a grain in the darknesses of the earth, or anything moist or dry, that is not in a clear Record.”

[al-Anʿām: 59]