As for “motion in position,” this is exemplified by something rotating in one place, such as the rotation of the “celestial sphere” or a “wheel,” also called a dūlāb, or the movement of a millstone. It does not pass from one region of space to another; rather, it occupies the same region, but its orientation changes. Thus, one of its parts may face upward and then come to face downward, or face right and then come to face left. This is the type they say Ibn Sīnā added.
The fourth is “motion in place,” meaning spatial motion: passing from one region of space to another. Linguists generally, however, apply the term “motion” to action as a whole. In their usage, anyone who performs an action has moved. They also describe states of the soul as motion, saying: “Love stirred within him,” “Zeal stirred within him,” and “His anger was stirred.” These states are described in terms of motion and stillness; thus, one says: “His anger subsided.” Allah, Most High, says:
“When Moses’ anger subsided, he took up the Tablets.”
He thus describes anger as falling silent. In the reading of Ibn Masʿūd—may Allah be pleased with him—Muʿāwiyah ibn Qurrah, and ʿIkrimah, it reads: “And when it became still,” using a nūn in sakana. Regarding the well-known reading, with a tāʾ in sakata, the commentators said: “The anger fell silent” means “it became still.” The lexicographers, including al-Zajjāj and others, said the same.
Al-Jawharī said: Anger “falling silent” is like its “becoming still.” Stillness is therefore more specific; every