The daily descent of the Table that Jesus, peace be upon him, brought down from heaven—laden with olives, fish, and the like—is a matter that lies wholly beyond the powers of the soul. A soul can affect the prime matter of the world only to the degree that that matter is receptive, and suspending such a table in mid-air is not something air can receive. In addition, the soul’s influence on a simple element is itself simple; it cannot fashion a composite arrangement of this sort. Likewise, it is not within the soul’s capacity to bring a living creature out of its mother’s womb without intercourse, or to perform other breaches of the natural order. Even those who uphold psychic forces concede that, although the soul may exert some higher-level influence, it never reaches such an extent. The analogy is clear: bodily powers are familiar—walking, running, and the like—yet no one’s physical strength enables him to hoist a mountain, or six whole cities, onto his shoulders, nor to fly through the air. Thus they themselves acknowledge that these wonders cannot be attributed to the powers of the soul.

Fifth Argument: We do not deny that the soul can experience a kind of unveiling—whether while awake or in sleep—when its attachment to the body is weakened, whether through ascetic discipline or otherwise; this is the psychic unveiling. Nonetheless, sound rational and revealed proofs alike confirm the existence of the jinn, and that they inform people of matters hidden from them, as happens with soothsayers, the demonically possessed, and others. People hear from the possessed various utterances—reports about unseen things and speech in unfamiliar tongues—that they know instinctively exceed that person’s own capabilities, and the same holds true for certain devotees of worship