was confined within the heavens, which covered and held Him, and that He needed a throne to bear Him, then retracted that belief.

The most that can be said is that he had believed that rising over the Throne was one of the attributes of action that occur anew—an act He Himself performs—then abandoned this view for the belief that He remains as He was, while being established over the Throne. On this view, He created the Throne after it had not existed, which necessarily entails that He is described as being above it. Many of those who affirm the divine attributes hold this view, though this is not the place to discuss it.

As for saying that Abū ‘Uthmān retracted his belief that Allah is above His creation, and that He, glorified be He, is distinct from His creatures and high above them, nothing in his words suggests this in any way. Moreover, even supposing that Abū ‘Uthmān made an erroneous statement, it would not be valid to make it a basis for the beliefs of the Sufis as a whole. Statements by their leading shaykhs explicitly affirming that Allah is above the Throne are numerous and widespread. If a statement contrary to this is found from one of them, it constitutes a departure from their position.

Among the Sufis are those who are correct and those who err, just as there are among others. In this respect, they are no greater than the Companions and the Successors. No one is infallible in everything he says except the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

Indeed, the occurrence of error in such matters calls for what we always say: one who exercises independent judgment concerning