and this was also the view adopted by those who delved deeply into geometry. They referred to the part as a point, saying, “A point is something indivisible.” Most philosophers, however, held that bodies admit of endless subdivision and division. This was also the position adopted by al-Nazzām, who belonged to the Muslim community. He then acknowledged that their division comes to an end in actuality, but not in potentiality. By “potentiality” they mean a part’s capacity to be divided.

What is astonishing is that they agreed that physical bodies have finite boundaries and dimensions, and that their extremities and thicknesses come to an end. They likewise agreed that every