and that is that the souls before the bodies if they were one then how were they divided? and that which has no greatness or measure cannot be conceived of as being divided. and if he claims that it was not divided then this is impossible since it is necessarily known that the soul of zayd is not the soul of amr. and if they were one then the knowledge of zayd would have been known to amr since knowledge is one of the attributes of the essence of the soul and the attributes of the essence enter with the essence in every relation. and if the souls are multiple then how are they multiple? and they are not multiple in materials nor in places nor in times nor in attributes since there is nothing in them that necessitates a difference in the attribute unlike the souls after
وهو أن النفوس قبل الأبدان، إن كانت واحدة فكيف انقسمت وما لا عظم له ولا مقدار لا يعقل انقسامه. وإن زعم أنه لم ينقسم فهو محال إذ يعلم ضرورة أن نفس زيد غير نفس عمرو ولو كانت واحدة لكانت معلومات زيد معلومة لعمرو فإن العلم من صفات ذات النفس وصفات الذات تدخل مع الذات في كل إضافة، وإن كانت النفوس متكثرة فماذى تكثرت؟ ولم تتكثر بالمواد ولا بالأماكن ولا بالأزمنة ولا بالصفات إذ ليس فيها ما يوجب اختلاف الصفة بخلاف النفوس بعد