Among the philosophers of both early and later times—Aristotle and those before him included—there are those who argue for the eternity of the celestial spheres, claiming that the Eternal is the locus of accidents that have no beginning. By contrast, the followers of the revealed religions, together with the leading and majority of philosophers, maintain that everything other than God is created, coming into existence after non-existence, and that any contingent being in which accidents occur is a created, originated entity; indeed, even a contingent being that merely accompanies accidents is created and originated, for it is impossible for such a thing to issue from a complete, eternal, pre-eternal cause. The well-known doctrine of the great philosophers before Aristotle was precisely the origination of the world; the view of its eternity became prominent only through him and those who followed him, such as al-Fārābī, Ibn Sīnā, Ibn Rushd the Grandson, and their ilk.
As for the occurrence of voluntary acts and the subsistence of attributes in God Most High, this is the position of the predecessors of the Muslim community and its leading scholars, transmitted from the Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. It is also the teaching found in the Torah and the Gospel, and it is the view that plain reason confirms, perfectly matching sound transmission. Hence, unequivocal reason informs us that the universe is originated, just as the messengers reported, while the Lord has never ceased—nor will He ever cease—to be characterized by the attributes of perfection: He did not become capable after once lacking capacity, nor become speaking after once being silent, nor become described as Creator and Actor after not being so. Rather, He has eternally been adorned with the attributes of perfection that embody His consummate excellence in word and deed. These matters are treated at length elsewhere.
Our purpose here is to set forth the proof we mentioned for the origination of everything besides God, and to show that the true consequence of their view is that events would have no originator at all, for it is impossible for temporal events to proceed from a complete, pre-eternal cause. Every originated thing—whether termed an effect or a product—must, at the moment