pure and simple, and sheer nonexistence, so there was neither above nor below. The second is that, if above were intrinsically distinct from below, they would be existent things capable of division. This would entail the eternity of body, for this is all that ‘body’ means.”

This explicitly states that they differ in their realities and that they are pure void and sheer empty space. This contradicts what he has stated here. Whoever speaks before he thinks frequently vacillates and contradicts himself.

In his Nihāya, in the discussion of the world’s coming into existence, he mentioned his opponent’s challenge to the claim that a body’s being and occupancy of a spatial locus constitute something additional to its essence. After setting out their objections to his proof, he said: “Even if we concede that what you have mentioned proves that occupancy of a spatial locus is something additional to the body’s essence, we have evidence against this, consisting of three considerations: