A group of Sufis—even the author of Manāzil al-Sā’irīn (The Stations of the Wayfarers), in his discussion of monotheism at the end of that work—have fallen into this kind of indwelling. This is why the leading scholars among the Sufis used to warn against such things. Al-Junayd was asked about monotheism and replied:

“It is to distinguish what has come into existence from what has existed eternally.”

He thus explained that anyone who affirms Allah’s oneness must distinguish between the eternal Creator and His creation, which has come into existence, without confusing the two. These people say about those who know Allah what the Christians say about the Messiah and the Shia about their imams. Many proponents of indwelling and antinomianism criticize al-Junayd and other spiritual masters who know Allah and follow the Quran and Sunnah for rejecting indwelling and affirming divine commands and prohibitions. They believe that these masters have not perfected their knowledge of reality as they themselves and their fellow proponents of indwelling and antinomianism have.

(The fourth group consists of “the early generations of the Muslim community and its leading scholars”: the foremost people of knowledge and religion, masters of learning and worship. They affirmed and believed in everything conveyed by the Quran and Sunnah, without distorting words from their proper meanings. They affirmed that Allah is above His heavens, over His Throne, distinct from His creation, and that His creation is distinct from Him. He is also with His servants generally through His knowledge, and with His prophets and His allies through victory, support, and sufficiency. He is also near and answers supplications. The verse concerning private conversation indicates that He knows them.

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to say:

“O Allah, You are the Companion on the journey;