Distinction and Unity of Substance and Accident: A Detailed View

Four views exist regarding the relationship between substance (jawhar) and accident (ʿaraḍ): 1) existential unity - mental distinction, 2) existential unity - analytical distinction, 3) existential distinction, and 4) non-mutually exclusive existential distinction. This study accepts three of the four views and proposes a detailed view, such that uniform application of each of these three views to all accidents is rejected. The theory of "existential unity - mental distinction" applies only to accidents like numbers, relative categories, and dispositional qualities. "Existential unity - analytical distinction" theory applies to continuous quantity and qualities specific to quantity. Finally, "non-mutually exclusive existential distinction" applies only to accidents, such as psychic  qualities (kayf nafsānī)  and sensible qualities (kayf maḥsūs).