designated “the Unique” and “the One” while these multiple meanings are affirmed of Him, then it is clear that this name does not entail denying the attributes. Rather, He—glorified be He—is the Unique, the One, without likeness or partner; nothing is like Him in any respect.

Likewise, He is also an entity and subsists in Himself, as all creatures agree. All other entities and everything that subsists in itself share this designation and its meaning, just as they share the designation “existence” and its meaning. Yet He—glorified be He—is distinguished from all other entities and everything else that subsists in itself by His own particular reality, through which He is distinct, unique, and unlike anything else, just as He is distinguished by the necessity of His existence. The distinctive character of that reality is not the general meaning conveyed by subsisting in oneself or being an entity, just as the distinctive character of necessary existence is not the general meaning conveyed by existence.

Thus, whether someone calls this multiplicity or composition, or does not call it either, it remains an undeniable reality. Established realities cannot be refuted by vague, ambiguous expressions, even when the ignorant use them to vilify.

The twelfth point: His statement that those who affirm indivisible atoms can invoke this verse to deny that He is an indivisible atom, from a standpoint