, their methods of inquiry are not discursive—that is, based on premises and syllogisms. Rather, they claim to attain knowledge of Allah and other existing things through something imparted to the soul when it is stripped of the distractions of desire and they turn their hearts toward what they seek.”

The response is that this man derived these ideas only from the statements of Abū Hāmid, who frequently mentions in his books that this is the path to knowledge. He mentions this in works in which he cites the sayings of the Sufi shaykhs, such as al-Ihyā’ and others, and mentions some of what is found in the scriptural texts and transmitted reports