or possess attributes, or have such reality, attributes, and magnitude as entail that it cannot be where another is and cannot be nonexistent—indeed, as require it to subsist in itself, distinct from others—is, like other such existential matters, established through reasoning from the seen to the unseen in accordance with this straight path. The closer something is to existent reality, the closer it is to Him; the closer it is to nonexistence, the further removed it is from Him.

The second response is to say: It is well known that the word wujūd (existence), in its original linguistic usage, is the verbal noun of wajadtu al-shay’a, ajiduhu wujūdan (“I found the thing; I find it”). Examples include Allah Most High’s words:

“and find no water” [al-Mā’idah 6]

“until, when he comes to it, he finds it to be nothing, but finds Allah before him” [al-Nūr 39]

“Did He not find you an orphan and give you refuge? {6} And He found you lost and guided you. {7}” [al-Duhā 6, 7]

There are other similar examples. Thus, the mawjūd (existent) is that which a finder finds. The relation of what is found to the finder is like that of what is known to knowledge, what is mentioned to mention, what is sensed or perceived to sensory perception, what is witnessed to witnessing, and what is seen to sight. This designation properly applies only to something found by a finder who finds it. Yet, in such cases, they may use expressions such as “witnessed,” “seen,” “found,” and the like for something that a witness can witness and that can be seen by