the words of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, against His Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), who conveys His message, against the entire community of Muhammad, against all those versed in the language, and against everyone who understands the meanings of the Quran.

Third: The account of Allah’s close friend, peace be upon him, is evidence against you. When he saw a star and it moved towards the horizon, it had indeed moved, yet he did not regard it as having set. When he saw the moon rising, he saw it in motion, yet he did not regard it as having set. When he saw the sun rising, he knew that it was moving, yet he did not regard it as having set. As it moved until it disappeared—and likewise the moon until it disappeared—he did not regard it as having set.

Fourth: Regarding his statement that setting means change: if by change he means transformation, then the sun, moon, and stars did not undergo transformation by disappearing from view. If he means motion, the celestial body is continually moving.

The words,

“But when it set,”

indicate that it sometimes sets and at other times does not. For lammā (“when”) is a temporal adverb that links the time of one action to that of the other. The meaning is that, when it set,

“he said, ‘I do not love those that set.’”

He said this only when it set.

The words,

“But when it set,”

indicate that setting occurs anew, whereas motion is inseparable from it. Setting, therefore, is not motion. The terms “change” and “motion” are ambiguous. If what is meant is motion or the occurrence of temporal events within a thing, that is not the linguistic meaning of change. Setting is not motion, nor is motion change. Rather, setting is narrower in scope than motion, and change is narrower in scope than motion. As for change and setting, each is broader in one respect and narrower in another. Thus, a thing may undergo change without