Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (2/355)

Minhaj as-SunnahIbn Taimiya

a spatially located entity, a spatial location, and something subsisting in the spatially located entity. Thus, the existent things other than Allah would be three in number, all of them originated according to them.

This contradicts their assertion:

“Everything other than Allah is either spatially located or subsists in something spatially located.”

As for al-Tūsī’s objection to him, it is based on the assumption that occupation of spatial location is identical with place. This, however, is not the commonly held position among the theologians; rather, they commonly distinguish between the two. The two positions he mentioned concerning place represent a dispute between the philosophers who follow Plato and those who follow Aristotle.

The former say:

“Place is a self-subsisting substance in which bodies inhere.”

This is not the position of many theologians. Rather, according to them, everything that subsists by itself is a body, since the substance they recognize is a body. They recognize no self-subsisting substance apart from these two. Those among them who affirm a substance other than a body nevertheless hold it to be originated, because, by the consensus of the adherents of the revealed religions, everything other than Allah is originated and preceded by nonexistence. This applies whether they affirm perpetual divine agency—maintaining that He never ceases bringing one thing into being after another—or do not affirm perpetual agency.

The theologians who say:

“Everything other than Allah is either a body or subsists in a body,”

may contradict themselves, for most of them affirm the void to be something existent and say:

“It has no determinate dimensions; rather, dimensions are merely hypothetically imposed upon it.”

This void is the substance affirmed by Plato.

Yet, according to the adherents of the revealed religions, it is impossible for any eternal existent to be alongside Allah, for Allah is the Creator of all things, and every created thing is preceded by its own nonexistence. Even if it is also maintained that He has always been Creator, His perpetually creating one thing after another does not preclude everything

مُتَحَيِّزٌ وَحَيِّزٌ وَقَائِمٌ بِالْمُتَحَيِّزِ، فَتَكُونُ الْمَوْجُودَاتُ سِوَى اللَّهِ ثَلَاثَةً وَهِيَ مُحْدَثَةٌ عِنْدَهُمْ. وَهَذَا يُنَاقِضُ قَوْلَهُمْ: إِنَّ مَا سِوَى اللَّهِ: إِمَّا مُتَحَيِّزٌ، وَإِمَّا قَائِمٌ بِمُتَحَيِّزٍ. وَأَمَّا اعْتِرَاضُ الطُّوسِيِّ عَلَيْهِ فَإِنَّهُ مِنِّي عَلَى أَنَّ التَّحَيُّزَ هُوَ الْمَكَانُ، وَلَيْسَ هَذَا هُوَ الْمَشْهُورُ عِنْدَ الْمُتَكَلِّمِينَ، بَلِ الْمَشْهُورُ عِنْدَهُمُ الْفَرْقُ بَيْنَهُمَا. وَمَا ذَكَرَهُ مِنَ الْقَوْلَيْنِ فِي الْمَكَانِ هُوَ نِزَاعٌ بَيْنَ الْمُتَفَلْسِفَةِ أَصْحَابِ أَفْلَاطُنَ وَأَصْحَابِ أَرِسْطُو، فَأُولَئِكَ يَقُولُونَ: هُوَ جَوْهَرٌ قَائِمٌ بِنَفْسِهِ تَحِلُّ بِهِ الْأَجْسَامُ، وَلَيْسَ هَذَا قَوْلَ كَثِيرٍ مِنَ الْمُتَكَلِّمِينَ، بَلْ كُلُّ مَا قَامَ بِنَفْسِهِ فَهُوَ عِنْدَهُمْ جِسْمٌ، إِذِ الْجَوْهَرُ الَّذِي لَهُ هُوَ جِسْمٌ، لَيْسَ عِنْدَهُمْ جَوْهَرٌ قَائِمٌ بِنَفْسِهِ غَيْرَ هَذَيْنِ، وَمَنْ أَثْبَتَ مِنْهُمْ جَوْهَرًا غَيْرَ جِسْمٍ فَإِنَّهُ مُحْدَثٌ عِنْدَهُمْ، لِأَنَّ كُلَّ مَا سِوَى اللَّهِ فَإِنَّهُ مُحْدَثٌ مَسْبُوقٌ بِالْعَدَمِ بِاتِّفَاقِ أَهْلِ الْمِلَلِ، سَوَاءٌ قَالُوا بِدَوَامِ الْفَاعِلِيَّةِ وَأَنَّهُ لَا يَزَالُ يُحْدِثُ شَيْئًا بَعْدَ شَيْءٍ، أَوْ لَمْ يَقُولُوا بِدَوَامِ الْفَاعِلِيَّةِ. وَالْمُتَكَلِّمُونَ الَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ: كُلُّ مَا سِوَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ جِسْمٌ أَوْ قَائِمٌ بِجِسْمٍ قَدْ يَتَنَاقَضُونَ، حَيْثُ يُثْبِتُ أَكْثَرُهُمُ الْخَلَاءَ أَمْرًا مَوْجُودًا، وَيَقُولُونَ: إِنَّهُ لَا يَتَقَدَّرُ بَلْ يُفْرَضُ فِيهِ التَّقْدِيرُ فَرْضًا، وَهَذَا الْخَلَاءُ هُوَ الْجَوْهَرُ الَّذِي يُثْبِتُهُ أَفْلَاطُنُ. وَلَكِنْ يَمْتَنِعُ عِنْدَ أَهْلِ الْمِلَلِ أَنْ يَكُونَ مَوْجُودٌ قَدِيمٌ مَعَ اللَّهِ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، وَكُلُّ مَخْلُوقٍ مَسْبُوقٌ بِعَدَمِ نَفْسِهِ، وَإِنْ قِيلَ مَعَ ذَلِكَ بِدَوَامِ كَوْنِهِ خَالِقًا، فَخَلْقُهُ شَيْئًا بَعْدَ شَيْءٍ دَائِمًا لَا يُنَافِي أَنْ يَكُونَ كُلُّ مَا