for(1) everything other than Allah’s dependence upon Him is itself a judgment and an attribute that holds true of everything other than Him. Thus, everything other than Him—whether termed temporally originated, contingent, created, or anything else—is dependent upon and in need of Him. It can never be independent of Him in any respect or under any circumstances. Just as the Lord’s self-sufficiency is inseparable from His essence, so the dependence of contingent things is inseparable from their essences. Yet they have no reality unless they exist, for that which is nonexistent is nothing. Thus, everything [that is](2) existent other than Allah is perpetually dependent upon Him, both when it comes into being and throughout its continued existence.

If, however, by the cause of the need for an efficient cause one means the evidence by which that need is demonstrated, then it may be said:

A thing’s being temporally originated after previously not existing is evidence that it needs an originator to bring it into being(3). Its being contingent—such that its existence cannot prevail(4) over its nonexistence without a fully sufficient determining factor—is evidence that it needs a necessary being to bring it into existence. Its being contingent and temporally originated constitute two proofs, because each of them(5) proves its dependence. These attributes, as well as its other attributes—such as its being temporally originated(6), needy, [and created](7), and the like—demonstrate its need for its Creator. The proofs of its need for its Creator(8) are therefore numerous, while it needs Him by virtue of its very essence, not because of any further cause.