The line (al-khatt) possesses length only, and its extremities are two points; it is acted upon (munfa'il) by the movement of the point towards a certain direction. From the line, the surface (al-sath) is acted upon by a movement in a direction contrary to that which the point moved towards, and it possesses length and width.
The body (al-jism) is acted upon by the movement of the surface towards a direction completely distinct from the two preceding directions, and it possesses length, width, and depth.
These three together comprise a single entity, which is the body, [and the substance of the entirety] 1 is the point, which stands in the position of the One.
Likewise is the shape (al-shakl), which is that which is bounded by a single boundary. The single boundary is divided into two types: simple (basit) and solid (mujassam). The simple is the surface of the circle, since a single line surrounds it, and the solid is like the sphere, since a single surface surrounds it. Each one of these two stands in the position of the line,