Islam > Glossary > Brhaan al-tṭbyq
Discover the meaning of the term Brhaan al-tṭbyq (برهَان التطبيق) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 2 min readAmong the most famous proofs refuting infinite regress. It consists in supposing, either from the last effect or from the first cause, an infinity of terms as a whole, and from what precedes it by one, for example, another infinite set. Then one applies the two sets by placing the first part of the first set opposite the first part of the second set, and the second part of the first part opposite the second part of the second set, and so on. If to each one of the first set there corresponds one of the second set, then the deficient is like the excessive, which is impossible. If not, then there is found in the first set that for which no counterpart is found in the second set, so the second set terminates and reaches a limit, and it follows necessarily that the first set reaches a limit because it does not exceed the second set except by a finite amount, and that which exceeds the finite by a finite amount is necessarily finite. It is not hidden from you the reason for naming this proof from this explanation, and that this proof invalidates infinite regress in both directions of causes and effects, whether simultaneous or successive, meaning not simultaneous in existence, such as celestial movements.