did not create the heavens and the earth and all that lies between them in six days. [Rather, the true implication of their position is that Allah created nothing, as has been explained elsewhere] (1). This is disbelief by the consensus of the adherents of all religions: Muslims, Jews, and Christians.

Those who maintain the world’s pre-eternity affirm the beginninglessness of events among contingent beings. By contrast, those who say that Allah is the Creator of all things, [their Lord and Sovereign] (2), and that all besides Him is created and originated, having come into being after not having existed, distinguish—with regard to the perpetual succession of events—between the Creator, whose existence is necessary, and the created being, whose existence is contingent. This is the view of the leading authorities of the religious communities and the [ancient] (3) philosophers. Thus, even though they say, “The Lord has always spoken whenever He wills and has (4) always been living and acting,” they also say that everything besides Him is created and originated, having come into being after not having existed.

The point here is that if the philosophers who maintain the pre-eternity of the world allow events to arise without a newly arising cause, the mainstay of their argument for the world’s pre-eternity collapses. If they deny this, then it is impossible for the world to be devoid of events, yet they [do not] concede (5) that it has never been devoid of events.

And if [every] (6) particular existent is among the things Allah wills and creates, then it is concomitant (7)