whether it can be seen. They have likewise disagreed over whether Allah can see nonexistent things, given that they are established in His knowledge. The dispute over this is well known.

As for the well-known analogical argument in this matter, advanced by al-Ashʿarī and others, al-Rāzī presented it in his Nihāya and raised numerous objections that undermine it. So too did earlier writers, such as al-Shahrastānī and others. Yet they neither grasped its depths nor did it justice. This is not the place to expound it fully, but we shall briefly draw attention to it. We have already explained that comparisons taking the form of an a fortiori argument may be applied to Allah Most High, as they occur in the Quran and Sunnah