food, weave clothes and build houses, yet He has not created the like of these for them. Likewise, they manufacture glass from sand and pebbles, yet He has not created its like.

This is among the arguments alchemists have advanced to establish the validity of alchemy. It is an invalid argument for the reason already mentioned: if glass had been created naturally and its like had then been manufactured, this would constitute evidence. But that is not the case. The vast majority of rational thinkers, past and present, who have spoken knowledgeably on this subject know that alchemy produces an imitation, and that the like of gold created naturally in mines cannot be manufactured; indeed, gold itself cannot be manufactured. Every imitation is exposed sooner or later, though some resemble the original very closely and others less so. This subject has been discussed at length elsewhere.

He was asked:

A man bought a slave who was free of defects, then sold him as such. The slave subsequently stole a sum of money from the second purchaser and absconded. May the purchaser recover the purchase price from the first seller or the second, or claim compensation for the defect, or not?

He replied:

The purchaser may demand compensation for the defect, without any disagreement among the scholars. The meaning of