the proper order, formulating this specious argument as cogently as possible. It runs as follows: There is no doubt that, of any two existing things in the observable world, one must be spatially coincident with the other or separate from it in some direction. That every pair of existing things in the observable world is related in this way must be due either to the specific character of substance, to the specific character of accident, or to something common to both substance and accident. That common factor must be either temporal origination or existence. All these possibilities are untenable except existence. Existence must therefore be the cause of this judgment. The Creator, exalted is He, exists; hence, it must be affirmed with certainty that He is either spatially coincident with the world or separate from it in some direction.

He said: Know that this argument cannot be completed without establishing certain premises. We shall set them out, together with the arguments that may be offered to establish them. As for the first premise—our statement that, of any two existing things in the observable world, one must be spatially coincident with the other or separate from it