What must be affirmed are both matters: that He—Glorified is He—is the Lord of all things and the God of all things. Thus, if volitional movements can arise only from something willed for its own sake, (1 and without that they become disordered (1), while nothing may be willed for its own sake except Allah 1) (2), just as nothing exists in itself except Allah, then it is known (3) that, had there been gods in the heavens and the earth besides Allah, both would surely have fallen into ruin.

This verse establishes that (4) there is no deity except Allah (5), and that, had there been gods therein besides Him, both would have fallen into ruin. In the other verse (6), He says:

“Then each god would have taken away what it had created.”

[Surah al-Mu’minūn: 91]

The way this establishes that ruin must necessarily ensue is as follows: if (7) two governors are posited, (8 as previously established, namely that 8) (8) they cannot be unequal, since the one overpowered would be governed rather than a lord. If they were equal, neither could govern, whether they acted in agreement or disagreement. The world would therefore fall into ruin through the absence (9) of governance, since they could govern neither independently nor jointly, as previously explained.

This (10) is from the standpoint of the impossibility of lordship belonging to two (11); and from the impossibility of the two follows (12) the impossibility of