their validity, any doubt.”

He should be told: It has become clear that this is among the weakest specious arguments, and that you yourself undermine it, as explained above. Moreover, what you stated on this matter in your Nihāya is contradicted by the case of the world itself. Whatever answer you give concerning it will serve as your opponent’s answer here. For you have drawn analogies for Allah that entail His dependence, while describing those beneath Him as independent of what you have made Him dependent on. It is sufficient proof of your misguidance that, had you associated partners with Allah and made Him like created beings, you would have escaped this misguidance whereby you have made the Lord of the worlds dependent on something other than Himself if He is above the world. Indeed, the position you have adopted is worse than that of the polytheists in this respect, since you have made the creature independent of that on which you have made the Creator dependent.

“It is He who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then rose over the Throne.”
[al-Hadīd 4]

His position in this debate is illustrated by an exchange between two men: one of those who affirm the divine attributes, whom Allah makes steadfast with the firm word, and another of those who deny them. The denier said to the affirmer: “If you say that Allah is above the world or above the Throne, it follows that He must be dependent on the Throne, or be borne by it and dependent on it