originate in time, it is well known that neither the Book, the Sunnah, nor consensus declares that all bodies originate in time or that Allah is not a body. Nor did any imam of the Muslims say this. By declining to adopt this position, therefore, I depart neither from innate disposition nor from the revealed law.

By contrast, were I to say that Allah, Most High, is not above the world, and that He exists neither within the world nor outside it, this would contradict innate disposition and the revealed law in a manner evident to everyone. No imam of the Muslims held this position; rather, they affirmed its opposite. How, then, could I commit myself to contradicting innate reason, the Book, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the early generations, for fear of adopting a position in which I contradict neither the Book, nor the Sunnah, nor consensus, nor innate reason?

Rather, in the ninth response, he says:

This counterargument confirms and strengthens my position, providing me with a second proof of its correctness. If you argue against me—that Allah, Most High, is separate from the world—on the grounds that, of two existent things, one must either be separate from the other or occupy the same location as it, and then say:

“This is countered by the philosopher’s statement that, of two existent things, one must either precede the world or be simultaneous with it. This entails the eternity of time, which in turn entails the eternity of some bodies,”

I reply:

If this argument with which you have opposed me entails that some bodies are eternal, without identifying any particular body, then what they mean by the eternal body could be Allah, glorified is He, as those who affirm maintain. This would necessarily follow from our saying that He possesses attributes, subsists by Himself, and so forth. Thus, the argument with which you have opposed me would constitute evidence that Allah, Most High, is a body in the sense