whereas, in his view, He is the world itself—its form and its very identity—and has no existence other than the world’s existence. Rather, it is as Ibn Sabʿīn, one of the unionists’ leading authorities, accomplished thinkers, and keenest minds, is reported to have said of Ibn ʿArabī’s discourse: ‘Rotten philosophy.’ Yet his own discourse is even more steeped in philosophy and further removed from Islam.

There is no doubt that these people belong to the same category as the heretical, esotericist Qarmatians. He and these philosophers share in misguidance. These philosophers’ doctrines concerning divine matters are among the most confused and contradictory doctrines, containing assertions devoid of substance. Their doctrine is that of concomitance, which in reality negates divine fashioning, creation, and origination. Although they claim to affirm a necessarily existent being other than the world, that is merely their claim. In reality, their position entails that there is no necessarily existent being other than the world. This is the true substance of the unionists’ position, and it is what their leader, Pharaoh, openly proclaimed. The unionists claim him as one of their own and venerate him, as do the esotericists. This accords with the principles of the Sabian philosophers who associate partners with Allah and are among those with the greatest faith in al-jibt and al-tāghūt.

This is not the place to discuss that in detail. Nor was the present passage intended for a discussion of Allah’s creation and origination of the world. Rather,