and nothing but his own desire has enslaved him, whether or not this accords with what is divinely prescribed. He said: “The perfected knower is one who sees every object of worship as a locus where the Real manifests Himself and is worshipped. That is why they all call it a god, alongside its particular designation as a stone, tree, animal, human being, celestial body, or angel.”

Third: We have been told that when He manifests Himself to them on the Day of Resurrection in the form they recognize, all the believers will prostrate to Him. But the backs of the hypocrites, who used to prostrate to Him in this world for show and reputation, will remain rigid as a board. Yet according to these polytheistic, heretical hypocrites who used to prostrate to Him in this world, the One to whom prostration is offered, the believers, the hypocrites, and all those forms are a form of Him, with no distinction whatsoever.

Fourth: It is authentically reported from the Prophet, through more than one route, that he said: “You will not see your Lord until you die.” And the preceding hadiths state that