the Throne, but holds that He is everywhere in His essence or that He is neither within the world nor outside it, then according to their position it is impossible to draw near to Him. These include both those who say that He is a body and those who say that He is not a body, as previously mentioned concerning them.

The possibility of drawing near to Him Himself has been acknowledged by those who affirm that He is above the heavens: those who say that He is not a body, those who say that He is a body, and those who adopt neither position, neither affirming nor denying that He is a body. Thus, it becomes clear that affirming or denying the possibility of drawing near to Him is not a necessary consequence of saying that He is a body. Rather, among both those who affirm that He is a body and those who deny it, some say that one can draw near to Him Himself; others say that He Himself cannot be approached, and others that one cannot draw near to Him Himself.

Drawing near to Him is a generic term encompassing various kinds. Whoever affirms any one of these kinds has thereby affirmed drawing near to Him in some way. Likewise, whoever affirms that one can ascend to Him Himself in some way, or rise to Him in some way, and whoever holds that one can go to Him Himself in some way, come to Him Himself in some way, stand before Him Himself, or the like, has thereby affirmed drawing near to Him in some way. As for whoever