Medieval Islamic Philosophical Writings

of its dimensions is related to the single indivisible intelligible essence

that has been abstracted from matter, or [] it is related to each one
of its supposed parts, or [] it is related to some parts and not others.
If [] none of the material parts is related, then necessarily the whole
thing is not related. If [] some of them are related and not others, then
those that are not related to it are not part of its meaning at all. And
if [] all the supposed parts are related in some way, then either each
supposed part is related to: [a] the essence as a whole, or [b] a part of
the essence. [a] If each supposed part is related to [] the essence as
a whole, then the parts are not the parts of the intelligible concept, but
rather each of them is a single intelligible in its own right, or indeed,
the intelligible itself, and it will be actually intelligible an infinite number
of times at once. [b] If each part is related differently to the essence,
the essence must then be divisible in the intellect. However, it has been
posited to be indivisible, so this leads to a contradiction. Moreover, if
each part is related to something different in the essence than every other
part, the divisibility of the essence is all the more apparent, and this is
irrational.
This shows that the forms that are imprinted in matter are merely
similar to the particular divisible things, and that every part of them
is related either actually or potentially to some part of those things.
Moreover, something that is multiple with regards to the parts of its
definition has a unity with respect to its completeness, which is indi-
visible. How can that unity of definition, insofar as it is a unity, be
imprinted in something divisible? If it could, the same would occur to
it as we mentioned above to the parts of the definition of the nonmultiple
thing.
In addition, it may be determined that the supposed intelligibles about
which the rational faculty can reason one by one in actuality are potentially
infinite, and none have precedence over any others. It has also been
verified that something that is capable of a potentially infinite number of
things cannot possibly have a receptacle that is a body or a bodily faculty.
This has been demonstrated in the Physics. Thus, it is impossible for
the essence that receives the intelligibles to subsist in a body at all, nor is
it possible for its action to be in a body or through a body.
 Reading ashbāh for ashbāh. (apparitions).
 It is not clear what Ibn Sı̄nā means by saying that none has precedence (awlā).
 Possibly, the second section of Kitāb al-Najāt, which deals with physics or natural science.

