and that the Lord of all creation could be subdued and taken captive by a band of the vilest Jews. Such a notion is among the greatest acts of unbelief and of belittling the Lord of the worlds—indeed, it is even worse than their saying that God has a child, that He is stingy, that He is poor, and the rest of the blasphemies with which the unbelievers revile the Lord of the worlds.

If, on the other hand, they claim that He was in fact able, then—if that assault by the unbelievers upon His nāsūt (human nature) occurred against His will—the established way of God in such situations is to help His messengers when they call upon Him for aid. Why, then, did He not rescue His own nāsūt when it cried out in distress? This is unlike the prophets who were killed while steadfast, for they remained patient until they were martyred.

According to them, the nāsūt implored, saying, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?”

Yet if He did all of this as a stratagem—just as they allege that He outwitted Satan by concealing Himself until He could seize him in all truth—then His nāsūt would have been more aware of that plan than anyone else. In that case, it should not have panicked or fled, given the wisdom involved. Nevertheless, they report of the nāsūt such fear, flight, and supplication as to suggest that everything that befell him happened without his own choice.

Some of them even say, “Their wills are one.” How, then, could He will this and yet flee from something the nāsūt detested? Rather, were the lāhūt (divine nature) to will what the nāsūt hates, the two would necessarily be distinct. Indeed, they claim that both natures agreed to outwit the enemy and that the nāsūt felt no fear—just as Joseph did with