and power and will, are not separate from one another when they subsist in a single subject. Rather, they share the same subject, just as taste, colour and fragrance subsist in a single citron, or in other fruits and things of this kind. Thus, when one speaks of “instances of knowledge and acts of willing,” there is no physical separation between one and another; rather, it is a single kind subsisting in the soul.

When someone comes to know one thing after knowing another, this kind has increased and become more abundant—or, if you wish, greater. Here, the increase in quantity does not exceed the increase in quality. Rather, one speaks of “abundant knowledge and great knowledge,” with greatness referring to its strength, the nobility of what is known, and similar considerations.

Thus the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said to Ubayy ibn Kaʿb:

“Do you know which verse of the Book of Allah that you know is the greatest?”

He replied: “Allah—there is no deity worthy of worship except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all.”

He said: “May your knowledge bring you joy, Abū al-Mundhir!”

Salmān wrote to Abū al-Dardāʾ: “Goodness does not lie in having abundant wealth and children. Rather, goodness lies in having abundant knowledge and great forbearance.”

The addition of knowledge to knowledge, willing to willing, and power to power resembles the joining of continuous bodies, as when water is added to water and its amount increases. Yet this is a continuous quantity, not a discrete one, unlike dirhams.