as for you if you deny will and creation and claim that what proceeds from him proceeds necessarily and naturally then what is it after his essence is an essence whose nature is that only the first effect comes into being from him and then the first effect necessitates the second effect until the order of existents is complete? but despite that he does not perceive his essence just as fire necessitates heat and the sun necessitates light and neither of them knows his essence as it does not know the other. rather what knows his essence knows what proceeds from him and thus knows the other. we have shown from their doctrine that he does not know the other and we have obliged whoever disagrees with them in that to agree with them by virtue of their position. and if he does not know the other it is not farfetched that he does not know himself.
فأما أنتم فإذا نفيتم الإرادة والإحداث وزعمتم أن ما يصدر منه يصدر بلزوم على سبيل الضرورة والطبع، فأي بعد أن تكون ذاته ذاتا من شأنها أن يوجد منه المعلول الأول فقط ثم يلزم المعلول الأول المعلول الثاني إلى تمام ترتيب الموجودات؟ ولكنه مع ذلك لا يشعر بذاته كالنار يلزم منها السخونة والشمس يلزم منها النور، ولا يعرف واحد منهما ذاته كما لا يعرف غيره بل ما يعرف ذاته يعرف ما يصدر منه فيعرف غيره. وقد بينا من مذهبهم أنه لا يعرف غيره وألزمنا من خالفهم في ذلك موافقتهم بحكم وضعهم، وإذا لم يعرف غيره لم يبعد أن لا يعرف نفسه.