prime matter (hayula), and form, and that nature is acted upon by the Perfection that has no beginning. Accordingly, they have affirmed monotheism and acknowledged the Trinity.
Thus, we have affirmed through what we have explained and clarified the reality of monotheism and the validity of the Trinity according to [most] 1 of the views and the most famous of them. Whoever finds an inadequacy within it should blame nothing but the shortcomings of his own understanding. When a matter is established by the consensus of a single community, it must not be rejected except by the people of knowledge, understanding, and merit, using arguments stronger than theirs; as for the one with limited understanding, it is not permissible for him to challenge it. We have affirmed what we mentioned through the consensus of most adherents of the religious laws, clarifying it with rational proofs, mathematical examples, and geometrical arguments, and we have demonstrated it according to the views of the most eminent astrologers, philosophers, and physicians.
Ponder these arguments, O Sheikh, for within them is a sufficiency for those who possess [eyesight] 2 .