4.7. CONTINGENCY IS ESSENTIAL TO QUIDDITY
Contingency is a conceptual construct (i’tibâr ‘aqlî), for it is associated with quiddity as conceived by the intellect without taking existence or non-existence into account. Quiddity conceived in this manner is undoubtedly a conceptual construct; hence that which is associated with it is also undoubtedly a mental construct. However, being a conceptual construct does not preclude quiddity’s existence or non-existence in actual fact, nor does being bracketed by two necessities or impossibilities.
As to contingency being inseparable from quiddity, when we conceive quiddity as such without taking into account anything else, we do not find in it either the logical necessity of existence or that of non-existence. Contingency is nothing except negation of the two necessities. Hence quiddity is contingent in its essence. Although there are two negations involved here, the intellect substitutes them with their implication - that is, equality of relation to existence and non-existence - and thus contingency becomes a positive concept (ma‘nâ tsubûtiyyan) despite the negative import of the two negations.