and absorption in the One he knows makes him lose awareness of his own knowing, to the point that he may lose awareness of his own perception of anything other than Allah Most High. This is an imperfect state that may arise in some who travel the path to Allah; it is not an essential part of that path. Hence, nothing like this is known to have occurred to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, or to the earliest believers. Whoever regards this as the ultimate attainment of those travelling the path is manifestly astray. Likewise, whoever regards it as an essential part of the path to Allah is mistaken. Rather, it is an incidental state that arises in some people but not others, not something that necessarily occurs to everyone travelling the path.
The third kind is self-effacement that denies the existence of anything other than Allah: a person regards the existence of creation as identical to the existence of the Creator, and existence as one and the same reality. This is the doctrine of those who espouse heresy and the identity of Creator and creation, who are among the most misguided of Allah’s servants.
As for their contradiction of self-evident reason and logical inference, none of them can apply his position consistently. If someone contemplates divine decree without distinguishing between what is commanded and what is forbidden, and is then treated accordingly—for example, beaten and starved until he suffers severe illnesses and pains—then, if he blames and censures the person who does this to him, he has contradicted his own position and departed from the fundamental principle of his doctrine. He would be told: “What this person has done was decreed and ordained. Allah’s creation, decree and will encompass both you and him and apply to you both. If divine decree is a valid argument in your defence, then it is a valid argument in his defence too. Otherwise, it is a valid argument for neither you nor him.”
Self-evident reason thus demonstrates the invalidity of the position of anyone who considers divine decree and turns away