لكن بمعنى الاحتياج إلى الغير، لا بمعنى سبق العدم عليه
But in the sense of dependence upon another, not in the sense of being preceded by nonexistence.
Dependence (iḥtiyāj ilā al-ghayr) asks whether a being exists through itself or requires another. Preceding nonexistence (sabaq al-ʿadam) asks whether it previously did not exist. The first concerns ontological dependence, the second temporal origination.
Affirming dependence does not, without further argument, amount to affirming a temporal beginning. This distinction is decisive because causal dependence and temporal commencement call for different analyses.