His existence, His creation, His dominion, or His command.’

Their views on this divided into two positions. Some said that He created eternal things whose existence endures as His own existence endures, and temporal events one after another. He willed and thus created; He created and thus willed. His creating necessitated His willing, and His willing necessitated His creating.

For example, He willed to create Adam, the father, so He created him and brought him into existence. With the father’s existence, He willed the son’s existence. He willed and thus bestowed existence; He bestowed existence and thus willed—one act of will after another, for one being after another.

If you ask, ‘Why did He bring it into existence?’ the answer is: ‘Because He willed and thus bestowed existence.’ And if you ask, ‘Why did He will?’ the answer is: ‘Because He brought it into existence.’ Thus, the existence of temporal events entails that some follow from others, in earlier and later existence.

If they ask, ‘How can an act of will arise in Him? How can He have a state yet to come, which comes into being after not having existed? How can He be a locus of temporal events?’ the reply is: ‘And how can He be a locus for what is not temporally originated? I mean the eternal will.’