respects cannot be merely a matter of essence or time; it must therefore be spatial, since no third possibility remains.

Moreover, there is no doubt that separateness obtains in respects other than these. For he has affirmed here the correct position: that Allah’s essence is unknown to human beings, and that He differs from His creation in His unique essence. This essence is not the eternity, necessary existence, and self-sufficiency known to people. Thus, He is also separate from the world by virtue of His unique essence, which lies beyond what he has mentioned.

The truth is that He is separate from the world in many respects that His servants cannot enumerate, besides those he has mentioned. Nor should account be taken of those scholars who dispute over the most distinctive