there is no impediment to the action except one of the kind that would prevent the existence of an object of power distinct from Him, and it is established that this distinct object of power is possible and that He has power over it, then His action is all the more deserving of being possible and within His power.

(Their third argument:

They said: If temporal events subsisted in Him, this would necessarily entail “His changing,” and change is impossible for Allah. They themselves—al-Rāzī and others—refuted “this argument” by saying:

What do you mean when you say, “If they subsisted in Him, He would change”? By change, do you mean their very subsistence in Him, or something else? If you mean the former, then the antecedent is identical to the consequent, and what entails is identical to what is entailed. This serves no purpose, for the statement would amount to saying: “If temporal events subsisted in Him, temporal events would subsist in Him.” Such a statement conveys nothing. If, however, by change you mean something else, that implication is disputed: we do not concede that, if they subsisted in Him, this would necessarily entail any “change” other than the inherence of temporal events. This is their answer.

To clarify: “The term ‘change’” is ambiguous. In ordinary language, change does not mean merely that temporal events subsist in a subject. People do not say that the sun, moon, and stars have changed when they move. Nor do they say that someone has changed when he speaks and walks, or when he circumambulates, prays, commands, forbids, or rides, if these are his customary activities. Rather, they say that something has changed when it passes from one condition to another. Thus, when the sun’s light visibly recedes, it is not said to have changed; but when it turns yellow, it is said to have changed.

Likewise, when someone falls ill, or his body changes through hunger or exhaustion, people say that he has changed. The same applies when his character and religious conduct change—for example, when he turns from wickedness to righteousness, or from righteousness to wickedness: people say that he has changed. In the hadith: “I saw the face of the Messenger of Allah