And some of those very faults are also found among the innovators (Ahl al-Bid‘ah). These are people who, both inwardly and outwardly, acknowledge the universality of the Prophet’s mission—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—yet certain matters that bewildered the earlier communities likewise confused them. Consequently, they clung to the ambiguous texts and abandoned the decisive ones, just as the Khawarij and other sectarian groups driven by their whims have done.

The Christians went astray concerning the divine attributes of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, and in their claim that He unites with created beings. Many of those innovators share that very deviation with them, and among the atheists are some whose error is even graver than that of the Christians.

Indwelling (ḥulūl) and union (ittiḥād) are of two kinds: general and specific.

1. The general form is espoused by those who say that Allah, in His very essence, is present in every place, or that His existence is identical to the existence of created things.

2. The specific form is held by those who assert that indwelling and union occur in certain members of the Prophet’s Household—such as ‘Alī and others—like the Nusayriyyah and their ilk, or in some who claim affiliation