are spherical. Thus, what he has stated is refuted.

The fourth response: Suppose it were possible to posit something to the right or left of the world, and that it would not then be above the world. The disputant may nevertheless refuse to concede that this supposition is possible with regard to Allah Most High, for He is the Most High, the Highest, to whom exaltedness belongs by virtue of His very Essence. The possibility of something other than Him being below certain existing things does not entail that He could be below them. If this supposition is not known to be possible, or is impossible with regard to Allah Most High, its implications are not binding, since an impossible supposition entails an impossible consequence. Such would be the case if one supposed that He did not exist, that He had no knowledge, that the world was above Him, that He needed His creation, or other such things.

The fifth response: Even granting that this supposition is possible, or merely entertaining it hypothetically, why is it said that whatever is to the right or left of the world—even if it is something other than Allah—must have something above it?

As for his statement, “Because that direction which lies in the upward direction cannot be supposed to exist devoid of this elevation,” the response is: This is confused reasoning. Your words, “that direction which lies in the upward direction,” imply two things, one within the other. Your words, “cannot be supposed to exist,” imply that it is an existing thing. And your words, “devoid of the world,” imply that above the world there is something other than Allah: an existing thing characterized as being above. This is false—indeed, it is disbelief by the consensus of the Muslims—for Allah is the Creator of all things.