that are counted include a dirham, a grain, and a human being, while those subject to measurement include the earth, which has length, breadth, and depth. Every surface has a reality by which it is distinguished from other surfaces, just as earth is distinguished from water and the surface of each body is distinguished from that of another.

If they say:

‘The indivisible entities are the immaterial intellects whose existence the philosophers affirm,’

then proving their existence would be next to impossible (1). Nothing concerning them can be established beyond what is conceived in minds, as opposed to what exists as concrete entities.

The angels described by the messengers, belief in whom they commanded, differ from these immaterial entities in ways apparent to all but the blind, as has been discussed at length elsewhere.

If, by that which admits no division, they mean the Necessary Existent and say:

‘He is one and admits neither division nor partition,’

the reply is: If by this you mean denying His attributes and maintaining that Allah has no life, knowledge, or power inhering in Him, it is well known that the great majority of Muslims and all other religious communities—indeed, rational people from every group of humankind—disagree with you on this.

This is the very point at issue. You—and indeed any rational person—may know some of His attributes but not others. What is known is distinct from what is unknown, so how can you deny that He possesses multiple distinct attributes?

The proofs establishing the existence of the Creator are numerous, but this is not the place to discuss them. Why, then, do you assert that something of this kind could exist in external reality, let alone establish that it actually exists?