what is denoted by its very being. Its dependence on another for some of the effects it produces entails dependence with respect to its act and the attribute subsisting in it, since its effect proceeds from these. If its essence were sufficient and self-sufficient, it would not depend on another for its action. Thus, its dependence on another in any respect demonstrates its lack of self-sufficiency and its need for another. This is precisely the contingency that contradicts its being necessarily existent in itself.

Since necessary existence and independence of all others are exclusive to the Lord of all worlds, independence in action is likewise exclusive to Him, as is freedom from any partner in His action or in what He produces. Nothing among created things independently produces any effect; nothing among them is, on its own, a complete cause; and nothing among them dispenses with a partner in producing any effect. Indeed, nothing in the world comes into existence through a cause without another cause sharing in its production. Thus, even if it is called a cause, it is a causal factor tending to produce the effect, not a complete cause, and each of the two is a condition for the other.

Likewise, there is no cause in the world without an impediment that prevents it from acting. Everything among created things described as a cause, a means, something possessing power, an agent, or something producing an effect has a partner that serves as a condition for it, and an opposing factor that serves as an impediment and an antagonist. He, glorified be He, has said:

“And of all things We created two mates.”

A “mate” may mean a similar counterpart or a contrasting opposite.