"THE FOURTH CHAPTER"

"On the Attribute and the Attributed, and the Name and the Named"

The Attribute (al-Sifah) is the adornment [manifestation] of the Attributed (al-Mawsuf) by that through which he is known. The Name (al-Ism) is an utterance that indicates a meaning in itself. The Attribute stands in for the Name, takes its place, fills its position, and conveys the meaning of pointing to it, because it adds another state to it.

The Attribute was established to clarify the Attributed. An example of this is: [white foam]. The foam is the white [thing], and the white [thing] is the foam, except that the Attribute has distinguished between it and what is black.

The Name is an utterance that indicates the Named (al-Musamma). It is the sound understood through segmented letters according to a type of spelling, not associated with time, like your saying: "O Zayd," "O 'Amr."

The Attribute shares with the Name in what it conveys about it, but increases it in clarity. This is the difference between the Name and the Attribute: The Name is other than the Named, and the Attribute is other than the Attributed.