that every single entity in the universe is eternal, for this runs counter to what we observe. They therefore claimed that only the foundational constituents of the cosmos—such as the celestial spheres and the four elements—are eternal, while affirming the perpetual succession of events. In their scheme the species is everlasting, whereas its individual members are originated.

The disputants among the scholastic theologians (mutakallimūn) sought to deny the very possibility of such a species. They argued: whenever the origination of one member of a class is established, the entire class must itself be originated and must have a beginning, for in their view an endless chain of origination and action is impossible. They further imagined that the Qur’anic assertion that Allah is “Creator of all things” can be upheld only by means of this argument. The philosophers took advantage of that claim, elaborated lengthy refutations of it, and supposed that by demolishing it they had proved the eternity of the world.

Yet the philosophers’ error is graver than that of their opponents. The universal principle on which they relied—if granted its proper meaning—proves nothing except the falsity of the notion that the Lord was ever inactive, devoid of action or speech. It offers no evidence for the eternity of anything in creation; on the contrary, it plainly signifies that everything other than Allah is originated, coming to be after not having been.

Reasoning on this basis is sounder than arguing from the finitude of past events, for two reasons. First, the latter argument has already been shown to be invalid; the dispute over it is protracted, and its implications are odious.