BİRİNCİ FEN · BİRİNCİ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL · Üçüncü Madde
Here are the nine aspects of possible accidents (ārāz), briefly explained:
O esteemed one! Know that the philosophers have said: With regard to this matter, there exist nine kinds of accidents. These are, in order: quantity (kam), how (keyfe), where (eyne), when (metā), relation (izāfet), ownership (mülk), posture (vaz‘), action (fiil), and being affected (infī’āl). As follows:
Quantity (Kam): It is a thing that admits of equality and inequality in its essence. This is like a line (hat) which establishes or joins points, a surface (satıh), and symbols used for instruction; it is something with volume, or something that unites without establishing an essence, like time.
How (Keyfe): This is a state pertaining to a thing whereby division and proportion are not predicated in its essence, but can be divided in specific circumstances. Like the sweetness of honey and the saltiness of seawater. Beyond this, it can be divisible in states which are neither fixed nor certain. Keyfe (how) is divisible by distinctions that are fundamentally weak, such as redness from shame and paleness from fear—divisible with respect to personal qualities. It is divisible regarding abilities given at first creation, like learning and writing. Divisible concerning talents bestowed by nature, such as being of a harsh temperament or a gentle disposition. Or it can be divisible due to states pertaining to quantities, for example, divisible with respect to surfaces like triangles and quadrilaterals. Divisible from the perspective of oddness and evenness—with respect to numbers.
Where (Eyne): It is a state that a thing acquires by virtue of its existence in a place.
When (Metā): It is a state that a thing acquires by virtue of its existence at a time.
Relation (Izāfet): It is a state wherein connection and belonging recur. Like fatherhood and sonship.
Ownership (Mülk): It is a state that a thing acquires by encompassing other things and being able to be carried with them. As in the case of a turban (takke) and shirt possessed by a person.
Posture (Vaz‘): It is a state that occurs in a thing due to the proportion of one part of it to another. This state arises due to relations with the external world, such as sitting and standing.
Action (Fiil): It is a state that occurs in a thing due to its effects—like a cutting tool because of its sharpness.
Being Affected (Infī’āl): It is a state that a thing acquires by being affected by other things—like an object that becomes heated because it has been heated.
They have called the five aforementioned essential qualities one quality, and added nine accidents to them, designating all as ten *makūlāt*. However, the essence exists with its own essence and is fixed. Accidents, however, exist only together with the essence and qualify it. The entire universe, with all its parts, is a single body composed of these ten *makūlāt*. It expresses and bears witness to the singular existence of the Necessary Reality (Hak teʿālā), whose being is obligatory. The following couplet contains the ten *makūlāt*:
Know the essence; from it comes quantity and how, with relation and when.
Posture, where, ownership, action, and being affected—O youth!
CHAPTER TWO
It explains in detail the order and arrangement in the emergence of intellects, souls, and celestial spheres, the compositions of the four basic elements, their natures and transformations, the proofs of the transmutations of fire, air, water, and earth, the genesis of minerals, plants, animals, and humans, and what brings about change among them; also, the origin of spirits and where they go, the manner of the transformation of bodily existence, all with a wise method using the four elements.