Philosophy and Logic

Energy and heat flow from a hot body to a cold one because matter has an inherent capacity for motion and activity. Heat is the expression of this capacity. When the bodies come into contact, the molecules in the hot body share their energy with those in the cold body through successive collisions, until thermal equilibrium is reached.

The Face of God—which refers to religion and God’s proofs—has no connection with the philosophers’ doctrine of the unity of being. The Face of God consists of realities through which God turns His servants toward Himself. God is the Creator of existence and transcends it; His oneness means that He is unique and without equal, not that He is one with His creatures.

We can move beyond our limited human perspective on time and draw closer to a timeless understanding by passing from divine decree to divine will. In its aspect of divine will, time is without limit; in its aspect of volition, it has temporal existence; and in its aspect of decree, it encompasses distinct units and instances of time.

The status of created beings is distinct from that of the Creator. Created beings share in having existence, whereas the Creator brings existence into being and shares nothing with any created being; He is beyond description. To imagine the Creator in human terms is a mark of ignorance. Allah, the All-Powerful, brought existence into being and granted existence to all beings.

Philosophical theories can be regarded as Islamic only when they are confirmed by the explicit text of the Two Weighty Things—the Qur’an and the Prophet’s Household. The material world was created by God’s will, and by His will it will also cease to exist. The continuation of divine effusion likewise depends solely on His will, and He has complete mastery over His acts. There is no consensus in support of the theory of the personal unity of existence.