Therefore every existent that has a past of non-existence or...

Therefore every existent that has a past of non-existence or has the possibility to become extinct will never be a necessary existent. This very fact will prove the assumption of material (māddah) as being the necessary existent as wrong. a. Negative attributes Another essentiality of the necessary existent is to be separate and invisible, because every composite thing is a synthesis or in need of parts to be complete. The necessary existent is glorified and independent from needs.

The necessary existent is not made up of parts. This is because a thing, which has the potential to be divided, intellectually then has the possibility of being annihilated. It has already been established that the necessary existent cannot be annihilated. As the distribution of parts in potency (bi-l-quwwah) and in actuality (bi-l-fi’l) is peculiar to corporeality, the necessary existent will be established as being non-corporeal and immaterial.

This will therefore imply that the necessary existent cannot be seen with the corporeal eye and cannot be sensed through the corporeal senses. By disassociating bodily existence from the necessary existent, several other possibilities are also nullified. Necessary existence is thus not limited to or subjected to time (zamān) and space (makān).

This nullification is because space is imagined for a thing, which has a body, and on the other hand every temporal object has the potentiality of being divided at intervals. As temporality is not attributed to the necessary existent, transition, growth and movement can also be invalidated because there is no movement without time and space.

Based on the above, those who believe that God sits on a throne, descends from heaven to earth and can be seen by the naked eye are thus regarding Him as being subjected to space, growth and movement. This indicates that they have failed to fully grasp true recognition of Him. Generally speaking every concept that indicates an imperfection, need or limitation is negated from the Almighty and is classified as His negative attribute. b.

The cause that bestows existence The second result to emerge from the above argument is that the necessary existent is the reason or cause for the possible existent. We now intend to specify the different types of cause and the specialties of the cause that bestows existence. Cause in the regular sense means that every existent is dependent on another existent, and includes the conditions and circumstances as-well.