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^Ghayat Al-Hakimfc
totality. Accordingly, the whole human exists by reason and not
by sensory perception. Thus, the essence of the reasonable part
does not change or transform to another form. In fact,
transformation is adjoining it in order to achieve perfect sensory
perception.
I am giving you examples to make this subject easy to
understand because it may seem peculiar to the mind. The
singular part of the Elements gains its partial Elemental status
only by virtue of the arrangement of each in its position and by
whatever internal accidental effects, which it may be subjected
to, that pertains to its particular characteristics in this state.
Water, for example, gains its wet and cool nature by its position
and whatever adjoins it in the world order. However, its
existence prior to its Element status survives as a whole. These
totalities exist by nature whether perceived mentally and
discovered by man or not. Existence to it is subjective and so is
the whole human; his existence is also subjective. The evidence
on the truth of what I have said is that there is fire in water and
water in fire and that the Elements are intertwined and
transform from one to another. Without this transformation,
none of their characteristics could have existed.
Similar to that is the attachment of the human being's
willingness and volition to the first willingness and volition
which are influenced and affected by other beings, although that
may not be recognized by the partial human being. That is
because this human whose will and volition may not be
enforced in every situation and behavior, will find that they
may be enforced in some, although he will not realize their
influence on the whole. Only those who attain and experience
theoretical arts can realize this.
I would like you to know that if a human is able to find fire
stripped of the accidentally acquired characteristics, the variable
situations and whatever affects it when it joins its sisters, he
would find it incapable of burning. That is because its share of
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