"CHAPTER TWO"

"ON THE INDICATION THAT ALLAH IS ONE"

Know that we looked into number, and we found it to be inseparable from the even and the odd. And the belief of those who oppose us and demand the Authority (Al-Wilayah) from us is not free from [the premise] that the Creator is two, or a group; and there is no third division in number after the 'one' other than them [other than it]. Thus we say, and we establish by this a fundamental principle upon which we build the branch, since the definition of dialectic argument is establishing the proof against the adversary from the perspective of whether he is able or unable to repel [it]:

There are not, after the 'one', two divisions:

Either He is two, or a group.

If you say: They are two.

We say to you: Are they incapable or capable?

If you say: Incapable.

We say to you: Is one of them able to prevent his companion from his will?

If you prove that one of them is able to prevent his companion from his will, then incapacity has entered upon them.