dispute this self-evident knowledge with them, what you have mentioned would not constitute an argument against them. For if it is conceded that He is above the world and that it is impossible for Him to be neither inside nor outside the world, the desired conclusion is established.

The twenty-second point concerns your statement: “If His being in a direction is not necessary, then His being specifically in that direction must be due to an agent acting by choice. Thus, the Creator’s being specifically in it has a beginning, so He was not in a spatial region in eternity past. Whatever is such cannot come to be in a spatial region.” Another copy reads: “dependent on a spatial region.”

It may be said to you: If the spatial region is something that exists, such as the Throne or the cloud, then Allah’s being specifically above the Throne is consequent upon His creation of the Throne. This comes about by His will and choice and has a beginning. Even if He was not above the Throne in eternity past, why do you say that, if He was not above the Throne in eternity past, it is impossible for Him subsequently to be above it? You have offered no proof for this. If, however, the claim is that it is impossible for Him to become dependent on a spatial region, this is true. But His being above the Throne does not entail