Argument#7
Statement No. 7
Stone-on-rope example and the claimed repulsive force
Explanations and summaries are editorial material. Consult the source to verify the original wording.
Faithful reading
Statement No. 7: Here the repulsive force is assumed without proof, and the example of the stone tied to a rope is not suitable. What appears to you as the stone's power against the opposite side is only the effect of the restraint that you are applying. In fact, the stone itself has neither a repulsive force against the person or the center nor an attractive force toward them. So, when forms of forced motion are being considered, this should not be treated as the stone's own repulsion. For careful investigation, we would like to set aside all forces that act on the body as coercive agents in proportion to the motion.
Easy explanation
The line just before Statement 7 gives the example of a stone tied to a rope. It says that when the stone is swung around in a circle, it seems to want to move away from the center, and that this effect becomes stronger when the stone is swung faster. This is an example of , and the preceding assumption treats the apparent outward tendency as a .
Imam Ahmad Raza (rahmatullahi alayh) challenges that first step. He says the repulsive force has been assumed rather than proved. A tight rope and a strong pull on the hand do not, by themselves, show that the stone contains a separate power whose job is to push it away from the center.
His main distinction is between the stone itself and the restraint placed on it. Your hand and the rope keep controlling the stone's path. The resistance you feel while holding the rope can therefore arise from that imposed restraint; it should not automatically be counted as a force that belongs to the stone itself.
That is why Statement 7 says the stone has neither its own repulsion from the person or center nor an attraction toward them. The point is not that nothing is happening. The point is to identify the cause carefully: is the effect coming from the stone itself, or from the hand and rope that are controlling its motion?
The source also speaks of motion being imposed by an outside agent. In simple words, this means that something outside the stone is making it move, stopping it, or changing its path. Imam Ahmad Raza (rahmatullahi alayh) wants such outside effects to be kept separate from any force claimed to be naturally present in the stone.
A simple modern picture can make the rope example easier to imagine. If the rope is released, the stone continues for the moment in the direction in which it was already moving. The straight direction that touches the circle at the release point is called the . This is a modern clarification, not extra wording from Statement 7.
While the rope is still attached, it keeps turning the stone's direction toward the center. In modern terms, the inward force that keeps an object following a circular path is called . This helps distinguish the inward action of the rope from the claim that the stone has an independent outward repulsive force.
So the logical question in Statement 7 is a question about cause. A tight rope, a pull on the hand, and the stone's changing direction are things that can be observed, but the source says these observations do not by themselves prove the particular outward force being claimed.
The final sentence asks for a cleaner test. When studying the stone's supposed repulsion, do not mix it with forces imposed by the person, the rope, or other outside agents. First separate those effects; then ask what force, if any, belongs to the stone itself. That is the core of Statement 7.
Imam Ahmad Raza (rahmatullahi alayh) challenges that first step. He says the repulsive force has been assumed rather than proved. A tight rope and a strong pull on the hand do not, by themselves, show that the stone contains a separate power whose job is to push it away from the center.
His main distinction is between the stone itself and the restraint placed on it. Your hand and the rope keep controlling the stone's path. The resistance you feel while holding the rope can therefore arise from that imposed restraint; it should not automatically be counted as a force that belongs to the stone itself.
That is why Statement 7 says the stone has neither its own repulsion from the person or center nor an attraction toward them. The point is not that nothing is happening. The point is to identify the cause carefully: is the effect coming from the stone itself, or from the hand and rope that are controlling its motion?
The source also speaks of motion being imposed by an outside agent. In simple words, this means that something outside the stone is making it move, stopping it, or changing its path. Imam Ahmad Raza (rahmatullahi alayh) wants such outside effects to be kept separate from any force claimed to be naturally present in the stone.
A simple modern picture can make the rope example easier to imagine. If the rope is released, the stone continues for the moment in the direction in which it was already moving. The straight direction that touches the circle at the release point is called the . This is a modern clarification, not extra wording from Statement 7.
While the rope is still attached, it keeps turning the stone's direction toward the center. In modern terms, the inward force that keeps an object following a circular path is called . This helps distinguish the inward action of the rope from the claim that the stone has an independent outward repulsive force.
So the logical question in Statement 7 is a question about cause. A tight rope, a pull on the hand, and the stone's changing direction are things that can be observed, but the source says these observations do not by themselves prove the particular outward force being claimed.
The final sentence asks for a cleaner test. When studying the stone's supposed repulsion, do not mix it with forces imposed by the person, the rope, or other outside agents. First separate those effects; then ask what force, if any, belongs to the stone itself. That is the core of Statement 7.
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