Abū Yūsuf is Abū Ḥanīfah.

Another instance of this usage is what is related from the Messiah, peace be upon him: “I and the Father are one; whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” Likewise, the Exalted says in the ḥadīth qudsī narrated by His Messenger: “My servant, I was sick and you did not visit Me; My servant, I was hungry and you did not feed Me.” A similar expression occurs in His words: “Indeed, those who pledge allegiance to you are actually pledging allegiance to Allah” (Al-Fath 48:10).

One must be aware of this mode of expression, for understanding it resolves many perplexities. It appears in the speech of Allah and His messengers as well as in the speech of human beings among virtually every group, while the meaning is plain and both speaker and hearer know that what is not intended is the fusion of one entity’s essence with that of another.

Indeed, an even stronger form occurs when the very terms “indwelling” (ḥulūl) and “union” (ittiḥād) are used with a sound meaning, as when people say, “So-and-so and so-and-so have an ittihād (union),” meaning they are in complete agreement over what they love and hate, whom they support and whom they oppose. Because their aims and purposes coincide, it is said, “They are united,” and, “There is a union between them,” without implying that the being of one has merged with the being of the other, as fire unites with iron, water with milk, or the soul with the body. The same applies to the words “ḥulūl,” “residence,” “permeation,” and the like, as in the saying: