and this is because he extolled those who worship the Truth for His own sake. Worshipping the Truth, exalted is He, for His own sake is a great principle: it is the foundation of the upright monotheistic faith and the basis of the prophets’ call. Yet this is realized in what the messengers brought, not in the way of the companions. His associates neither worship Allah nor love Him at all; indeed, they do not even obey Him. For them, acts of worship are merely exercises that train souls to attain the knowledge they claim constitutes the soul’s perfection. In their view, perfection lies in resembling Him, not in His being loved and sought.

This is why none of them spoke about the stations of those who know Allah as Ibn Sīnā did. He sought to combine their way with that of the Sufis who know Allah, adopting ambiguous expressions. Once the intended meaning of each expression is explained, it becomes clear that these people are among those furthest removed from loving and worshipping Allah—far, far further removed than the Jews and Christians.

Hence, they display a neglect of worship, regular devotions, remembrance, and supplications not seen among Jews and Christians. Whoever among them follows the path of worship will ultimately become a heretic like Ibn ‘Arabī, Ibn Sab‘īn, and others of their kind, unless Allah guides him to the true nature of the religion of Islam.

Moreover, he disparaged the various forms of bliss promised to people in the Hereafter and sought to turn them away from what Allah had encouraged them to desire. This stands in opposition to the prophets. In reality, he denies that such bliss exists, just as he actually denies the reality of loving Allah, knowing Him, and beholding Him. What he affirms of these things is merely an illusion. Likewise, the pleasure of knowledge that he affirms consists merely in his being an intelligible world corresponding to the world