Moreover, the argument he has mentioned—that this would entail affirming something eternal other than Allah Most High—is a well-known argument used by those who deny the divine attributes. He himself mentioned it in his Nihāya, stating their fourth argument as follows: “The eternal attributes must share eternality with the eternal essence, and this entails that they are alike in nature.”

He gave sound answers to this, explaining that sharing eternality does not entail sharing the same essential reality, and that it is not impossible for the essence to have eternal attributes. Here, however, there is no need for that. If he appeals to the consensus of the Muslims to deny the existence of anything eternal other than Allah, the answer comes in the twenty-fifth point: the Muslims have not reached a consensus that Allah has no eternal attribute. Rather, the great majority of