substances, composition, and attributes brought into being after nonexistence surpasses what those simple entities contain. Similarly, the first creation, which we have witnessed, is greater than the second creation at the Resurrection, of which we have been told. As Allah Most High says:

“It is He who originates creation and then repeats it, and that is easier for Him.” [al-Rūm 27]

He also says:

“He draws a comparison for Us, forgetting his own creation. He says, ‘Who will give life to bones when they have crumbled?’ {78} Say, ‘He who brought them into being the first time will give them life, and He has full knowledge of every creation.’ {79} [Yā Sīn 78, 79]

There are similar passages in the Quran. Since the innate rational disposition recognizes that originating creation is greater than repeating it, it likewise recognizes that bringing composites, their composition, and their attributes into being after nonexistence is greater than originating simple, noncomposite entities. Yet a composite must be preceded by something.

Al-Rāzī said: “Second, we cannot rationally conceive of anything coming into being and being formed except at a particular time. Yet we judge that time itself came into being without being in any time whatsoever.”

The response is: Had he said, “We cannot picture or imagine it,” or “We cannot perceive it through the senses,” this would have accorded with the wording of his claim. For he claimed that knowledge of Allah’s acts runs counter to sense perception and imagination; he did not claim that it runs counter to reason, for