one of the two without knowing the other. What, then, do you mean by the term “other” in your statement, “If it were confined to space and direction, it would depend on something other than itself”?

If you mean that He would depend on something that could exist without Him, this is false, for nothing that exists can exist without Allah. On this understanding, Allah’s dependence on something other than Himself is impossible, because there can be no other that could exist without Him—just as His dependence on a counterpart is impossible because He has no counterpart, and His fear of a rival is impossible because He has no rival. Dependence on and need for something one can do without are therefore impossible.

This is if he means that the other could exist without Him. If, however, he means that Allah could exist without that other, the meaning would be that He depends on something other than Himself without which Allah could exist. This combines two contradictories: if He, glorified is He, exists without it, He does not depend on it; and if He depends on it, He, glorified is He, does not exist without it. Thus, the statement