They permit a man to hold fast to Judaism or Christianity just as he does to Islam, treating these religions as paths to God on a par with the Muslims’ legal schools. To the Jews and Christians who keep their company they say, “Once you have grasped the ultimate reality, it matters not if you remain on your own creed.” They even say the same to the idol-worshipping polytheists.

Matters went so far that a prominent judge—formerly one of Ibn ʿArabī’s pupils—when the pagan Mongol ruler Hülegü Khan entered greater Syria, appointed him to the bench, and came to Damascus, began to extol that king, despite the atrocities he had visited upon Islam and its people in Baghdad, Aleppo, and elsewhere, deeds notorious to all. One of the law students present said to him, “My lord, if only he were a Muslim!” The judge flew into such a rage that the student grew afraid, retorting, “What need has he of Islam? What could Islam possibly do for him—whether he is Muslim or not?”—and he uttered other words to the same effect.