and whoever does not find this evident to his reason and innate nature should question the soundness of both.

Once their position is refuted, so too is that of the proponents of unbelief who profess the unity of existence. They hold that there is no eternal, creating existence distinct from an originated, created existence; rather, the existence of this world is identical with Allah’s existence, and He is the very reality of this world’s existence. According to these people, there is no Lord and servant, no master and slave, no giver and recipient of mercy, no worshipper and object of worship, no seeker of help and one whose help is sought, no guide and guided, no bestower and recipient of blessings, and no one who is wrathful and one who incurs wrath. Rather, the Lord is the servant himself and his very reality; the master is identical with the slave; the giver of mercy is identical with its recipient; and the worshipper is the very one worshipped. Distinctions are merely conceptual, corresponding to the manifestations and self-disclosures of the Essence. Thus, it sometimes appears in the form of an object of worship, as it appeared in the form of Pharaoh; in the form of a servant, as it appeared in the form of servants; and in the form of a guide, as in the forms of prophets, messengers, and scholars. All come from one and the same reality; indeed, they are that single reality. Thus, the worshipper’s reality and existence, or his very being, are the reality, existence, and very being of the one worshipped. Al-Fātihah, from beginning to end, demonstrates the falsehood of these heretics’ doctrine and their misguidance.

Section

Those who acknowledge the Lord—glorified and exalted is He—as the Maker of the world fall into two groups.

One group denies that He is distinct from His creation. They say: “He is neither distinct from it nor co-located with it, neither inside the world nor outside it, neither above it nor beneath it, neither to its right nor to its left, neither behind it nor before it, and neither within it nor separate from it.”

Al-Fātihah contains a refutation of these people on two grounds.

The first is its affirmation of His lordship over the world. Lordship as such entails that the Lord is distinct in His Essence from the world, just as He is distinct from created beings in His lordship, attributes, and actions. Thus, whoever