something with real existence, the argument collapses at its very foundation. On either assumption, you cannot appeal to consensus to deny the existence of anything eternal other than Allah Most High while reporting disagreement over whether Allah occupies a spatial domain and basing your argument on the premise that a spatial domain has real existence. Indeed, if your report of the disagreement is accurate and the argument you have presented is sound, then it is established that some within the Muslim community affirm the existence of something eternal other than Allah. If this is not correct, the inference is invalid from the outset.

The twenty-eighth point: This precise formulation has not been transmitted from the early generations of the Muslim community such that its purport could be cited as evidence. Rather, since the community was known to hold that Allah is the Creator of all things and that the world came into being, this formulation was used to paraphrase their position. That being so, it does not encompass the matters disputed within the community.

The twenty-ninth point: He presented the opposing party’s argument that, by His being situated in a particular spatial domain and direction, he means only that He is separate from the world, apart from it and distinct from it. His being so does not entail the existence of anything besides Allah’s own Essence. Thus your assertion, “If He were in a direction, He would be dependent on something else,” is invalid.

This is a sound and forceful argument. As we explained earlier, there is no disagreement among people that a spatial domain may mean something that does not fall outside