and the coming into being of night and day, and other such things. It is self-evident to reason that whatever comes into being must have an originator, and that an infinite regress of originated things is impossible: an originated thing has an originator, which in turn has an originator, and so on without end. This is called an infinite regress of causal agents, causes, and efficient causation. It is impossible by the consensus of rational people, as has been explained at length elsewhere, where the objections raised against it were also discussed—including the statements of al-Āmidī and al-Abharī alongside those of al-Rāzī and others. Yet this is self-evident and necessarily known to reason, and those thoughts are Satan’s whisperings. Hence, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, instructed a person who experiences such thoughts to seek refuge in Allah from Satan and to stop pursuing them. He said:

“Satan comes to one of you and asks, ‘Who created such-and-such? Who created such-and-such?’ He replies, ‘Allah.’ Then Satan asks, ‘Who, then, created Allah?’ If any of you experiences this, let him seek refuge in Allah and stop pursuing it.”

It is known that even a single thing cannot come into being without an originator. When things that come into being multiply and form a succession, their need for an originator is all the more evident. They are all originated, so they all need an originator. That dependence can end only with an originator who needs no other, but is eternal and beginningless in Himself—glorified and exalted is He.

If it is said, “Whatever exists is either eternal or originated, and whatever is originated must depend on something eternal; therefore, something eternal must exist in either case,” this is a sound demonstration.