Thus al-Shiblī and others like him sought to distinguish the creation from the Creator, rejecting the doctrines of union and indwelling. Likewise, al-Junayd is reported to have said, “Distinguishing the eternal from the originated.” Abū Tālib al-Makkī, author of Qūt al-qulūb, similarly said, “Nothing of His essence is in His creatures, and nothing of His creatures is in His essence.” He therefore stated that Allah was known before limits and letters—that is, the known limits and letters of created beings. Since He was known before these, He is not bounded by their limits, nor is His speech theirs.

The third point: The foundational beliefs of the leading masters of the path to Allah are not to be derived from accounts related about someone like al-Shiblī, even if the account is true. For al-Shiblī’s condition was well known: spiritual ecstasy would overwhelm him until he lost his reason, his beard would be shaved, and he would be taken to the hospital, having lost the ability to distinguish truth from falsehood.

The words of someone in such a condition cannot, on their own, be made a basis for distinguishing between leaders of guidance and leaders of misguidance, between the Sunnah and innovation, and between truth and falsehood. Rather, one accepts