of our school, he denied these modes of perception of Allah Most High. The former view is the position of al-Qādī and the Imām. The evidence for it is what we have mentioned in the chapter on hearing and sight.”

Now, if he and the leading authorities among his teachers say that Allah Most High perceives bodies through touch, he cannot consistently deny that He comes into contact with bodies. This is what is understood by meeting through adjacency. Yet his claim that everyone agrees that no one maintains this is like the assertion of the Muʿtazilah whom he debated on this matter: “This is known by necessity.” Nevertheless, he did not accept that from them, and affirmed it.

Adjudicating between them belongs elsewhere. The purpose here is only to refute his claim, even with regard to his own school. Indeed, if he has related that the Basran Muʿtazilah hold that Allah’s being alive entails His perception of these things, provided they are present—meaning perception through touch and the other senses mentioned—then what of others? And the Muʿtazilah