Aligned sentence by sentence
. . ,
Section 4. Then I say: I found through rational inquiry, among the things indicating that He is Living, Omnipotent, and All-Knowing, what has been established for us — namely, that He created things;
, ,
for it is built into the nature of our intellects that only the Omnipotent makes, and only the Living is omnipotent,
,
and a well-crafted product can only come from one who knew how to produce it before producing it;
,
and these three meanings our intellects found for our Maker intuitively, upon our finding Him to be One;
,
for by what He made, it is established that He is Living, Omnipotent, and All-Knowing, as I have explained;
, ,
and it is not possible for the intellect to arrive at one of these three meanings before the others — it arrives at all of them at once,
, , ,
because the intellect finds it impossible that what is not alive makes, that what is not omnipotent makes, and that a complete well-crafted act comes from one who did not know how the act would come to be,
,
for one who does not know how the act comes to be cannot produce a well-crafted or perfectly-wrought act — and since
Aligned sentence by sentence
,
Our intellects arrived at these three meanings simultaneously — and it was impossible for our languages to express them in a single word, since no word was found in language that encompasses all three meanings;
.
and so we were compelled to express them with three words, after qualifying our statement with the explanation that the intellect perceives them intuitively.
, ,
Let no one suppose that the Eternal, blessed and exalted, contains multiple distinct meanings — for all these meanings amount, in their essence, to the single meaning that He is the Maker;
, ,
it is our manner of expression that drove us to formulate this known fact with three words, since we found in established language no word that gathers them together;
, , .
nor was it possible to coin a word for them, since such a coinage would be unknown and would require its own explanation, so we would return again to multiple words in its place.
, ,
If some imaginer imagines that these meanings entail distinction — that is, that one is other than another — I will demonstrate to him the falsity of what he imagines through sound rational inquiry:
, .
for distinction (al-ghayr) and differentiation (al-taghayyur) obtain only among bodies and accidents; but the Creator of bodies and accidents is exalted above all distinction and differentiation.
, ,
Nor will I be satisfied until I give a fuller explanation. I say: just as our saying 'Maker' adds nothing to His essence but only implies that there is here a thing made,
, .
so too our saying 'Living, Omnipotent, All-Knowing' — which are explanations of 'Maker,' for none is a Maker except one in whom all these meanings are simultaneously present — adds nothing to His essence, but only implies that there is here a thing made.
, , ,
And after contemplating this and mastering it, I returned to the sacred scriptures and found in them, regarding the negation of all distinction from Him: 'There is none beside Him' (Deut. 4:35),
Aligned sentence by sentence
, .
...and also: 'Is there any whisper of a word heard about Him?' (Job 26:14), and also: 'The Lord shall be one and His name one' (Zech. 14:9).