and deafness, blindness, and everything else incompatible with the attributes of perfection. Although some existent beings are described by such qualities, these involve something privative. This is the meaning of deficiency, for deficiency involves something privative. Anything that entails sheer nonexistence cannot be predicated of Allah, since it implies sheer nonexistence, whereas His existence is necessary. Negative attributes are predicated of Him only when they entail a positive reality.

As for extending this argument to the four modes of perception—hearing, touch, smell, and taste—some of those who affirm the divine attributes, such as al-Ash'arī and the leading scholars among his followers, have indeed extended it to them. Upon reflection, however, this is unnecessary; rather, distinctions must be made. When the distinctions required by sound reason are made, the result accords with the transmitted reports and the position of the leading scholars of hadith.

Unlike sight, hearing does not extend to both substance and accidents; rather, it pertains only to a particular kind of accident—sounds, for example. If it does not pertain to anything self-subsisting, how can this argument be extended to every self-subsisting existent, so that it may be said that it can be heard?

Touch, however, pertains to both substances and accidents. This is what he advanced as a consequence his opponent was bound to accept, and the consequence follows plainly. But they drew an analogy from it to the remaining