inwardly—so too is He the One intended outwardly when they say, “O Allah,” and make an outward gesture indicating Him, turning toward Him, and seeking Him, just as their inward selves move to indicate Him, turn toward Him, and seek Him. Yet the outward follows and complements the inward. Rejecting this gesture is therefore like rejecting the heart’s indication of Him. This amounts to rejecting making Him one’s aim, which in turn rejects calling upon Him and consequently entails rejecting worship of Him and His being al-Samad (the One to whom all turn).

Thus, the true import of these proponents’ negation is to deny that He is al-Samad, called upon, worshipped, and sought, just as the true import of their position is to deny that He is, in Himself, real, al-Samad, and existent. Their position thus entails His nonexistence and negation, and the absence of knowledge of Him, worship of Him, and seeking Him—even though, from another perspective, they acknowledge His existence, worship Him, call upon Him, and seek Him. They do not negate everything outright; rather, they combine acknowledgment with denial, and affirmation with negation.

For this reason, those who know Allah agree that a servant’s knowledge of his Lord, his seeking Him, his turning toward Him, and his calling upon Him cannot be complete unless he acknowledges that He is above the world. By acknowledging this, recognition of His divinity becomes firmly established in his heart, and he comes to have a Lord whom he worships and seeks. Without this, his heart remains settled and reassured in a god whom he worships and seeks. Rather, there remains within him such doubt and turmoil as anyone who has put his own heart to the test in these matters will find. As Shaykh Abū Jaʿfar al-Hamadhānī said, “No one who knows Allah has ever said, ‘O Allah,’ without finding in his heart