in the form of a further drawing near, in which the Lord draws nearer to him than he draws near to Him. Those holding this latter view deny that Allah Himself can be described as moving, drawing near, or the like, whereas those holding the former view do not rule this out. We have discussed this at length in al-Ajwiba al-Misriyya (The Egyptian Responses) and elsewhere.

The point here is that His statement, “Had you visited him, you would have found Me with him,” and the exchange, “Where shall I find You?” to which He replied, “With those whose hearts are broken for My sake. I draw nearer to them by a handspan each day; were it not for that, they would burn,” do not, in their apparent meaning, imply that Allah’s Essence is present in the place where that person is. Rather, Allah is present with him—that is, within his soul. This sense of being “with him” is nearer to him than the other sense, for a location connected to a person is nearer to him than a location separate from him. It is therefore more appropriate to understand the words in this sense.

When the location in question is his own self, His words, “You would have found Me with him,” are like saying, “You would have found Me in his heart,” “You would have found Me within his soul,” “You would have found Me present in his heart,” “You would have found Me firmly established in his heart,” and similar expressions.