takes hold of the created being’s soul so inescapably that he cannot free himself from it. Thus, what makes it necessary is his inability to dispel it from his soul.

The shaykh explained that their knowledge was necessary and came upon souls in a way they could not repel. The two asked him, “How can one attain that?”

He replied, “Abandon what you are engaged in, and practise the remembrance and worship that Allah has commanded you.”

Al-Rāzī said, “I am too occupied for this.”

The Mu‘tazilī said, “My heart has been scorched by doubts, and I long for these impressions.” He remained with the shaykh for a time, then came out of his place of worship, saying, “By Allah, my master, the truth lies only in what these people who liken Allah to His creation say!” He meant those who affirm the divine attributes, for the Mu‘tazilah call those who affirm the attributes people who liken Allah to His creation.

This was because he had come to know, with necessary knowledge that he could not dispel from his heart, that the Lord of the universe must be distinct from the universe and separate from it, possessing attributes peculiar to Him, and that the Lord described by the Jahmiyyah is nothing but sheer nonexistence.

The well-known account of what the shaykh Abū Ja‘far al-Hamdānī, a man with deep knowledge of Allah, said to Abū al-Ma‘ālī al-Juwaynī is relevant here. When the latter began saying from the pulpit, “Allah existed when there was no Throne,” Abū Ja‘far said, “Master, let us leave aside mention of the Throne”—meaning that this is known only through revelation—“and tell us about this inescapable impulse we find in our hearts. No one with knowledge of Allah has ever said ‘O Allah’ without finding in his heart an irresistible impulse that seeks what is above, turning neither right nor left. How, then, can we dispel this impulse from our hearts?”

He related: Abū al-Ma‘ālī slapped his head and said, “Al-Hamdānī has bewildered me! Al-Hamdānī has bewildered me!” Then he stepped down.