Abū al-Maʿālī, who mentioned the Throne and said, “Allah existed when there was no Throne,” and other such things. Shaykh Abū Jaʿfar stood up and addressed him: “Shaykh, leave aside the discussion of the Throne and tell us about this compelling impulse we find in our hearts. No one who knows Allah ever says, ‘O Allah,’ without finding within his heart an irresistible urge to turn upward, looking neither right nor left.” He related that Abū al-Maʿālī struck his own head and said, “Al-Hamadhānī has bewildered me!”

This shaykh thus reported that everyone who knows Allah finds within his heart an irresistible movement upward whenever he says, “O Allah.” This implies that knowing Allah is above, seeking Him, and turning toward Him above are part of their innate disposition and created nature.

The fifth point: People, despite their differing beliefs and religions,