who deny the pairs of opposites and, in their discourse, combine the negation of both contraries. Their extremists proclaim, “He is neither existent nor nonexistent, neither living nor dead,” and the like. Their more moderate followers say, “He is neither separate from the universe nor inside it; nothing draws near to Him, nor does He draw near to anything; nothing ascends to Him, and He cannot be pointed out,” and similar statements.

The stance of these negators inevitably entails absolute nullification and the denial of the Maker—just as Pharaoh himself avowed. For that reason, the worshippers among them, as well as their Sufis, common folk, and even their supposed sages, have drifted toward the doctrines of oneness-of-being, indwelling, and union. A heart engaged in worship seeks a real, existent Being to turn to and to petition, whereas theoretical inquiry and disputation may busy themselves with both existence and non-existence. Acts of devotion, supplication, and entreaty, however, can only be directed toward One who truly exists. Thus, when these people reflect on the wholesale negations advanced by the first group, their hearts find them intolerable. Yet, sharing with that group the denial that God is distinct from creation and exalted above it, they begin searching for a deity located within the world rather than beyond it, and so they waver between indwelling and union and fall into other forms of unbelief.

There is, nevertheless, a third faction—better than the previous two—that combines indwelling with transcendence. This is the view of certain individuals, such as Abu Muʿadh al-Tumani and others, and something similar may also be found in the writings of Abu Talib al-Makki.