nothing. They said that it is only so called when another is joined to it. Otherwise, Allah may decree to create its share of this within it, even if no other accompanies it, if it inheres in that particle and not in its counterpart. They likened this to someone moving his teeth: if there is something in his mouth, this is chewing; if there is nothing in his mouth, it is not called chewing.

He said: Others held that a body is a body only by virtue of composition and conjunction. They maintained that when an indivisible particle joins another indivisible particle, each is a body while they are conjoined, because it is combined with the other. If they separate, they are no longer a body, nor is either of them a body. He said: This is the view of the Baghdad theologians.

I say: This is also the view of many later speculative theologians who affirmed the divine attributes, such as Judge Abū Bakr ibn al-Tayyib and others. It is also the view of Judge Abū Yaʿlā.

He said: Others held that the term ‘body’ means something composite, and that the smallest body comprises two particles. They maintain that when two particles are combined, neither