This third group is admittedly closer to adhering to the texts, and further from contradicting them, than the first two groups. The first followed none of the texts, but contradicted them all. The second abandoned the many clear, unambiguous texts and clung to a few texts whose meanings it had misunderstood.

As for this group, it says: “I have followed all the texts.” Yet it too is mistaken. Whoever says that Allah Himself is everywhere contradicts the Quran, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the early generations of this community and its leading scholars. He also contradicts the innate disposition upon which Allah created His servants, sound reason, and numerous proofs.

These people make contradictory statements. They say: “He is above the Throne,” yet they also say: “The Throne’s share of Him is like that of the heart of one who knows Him,” as Abū Tālib and others state.

It is well known that the heart’s share of Him consists in knowledge of Him, faith, and what follows from these. If they say that the same applies to the Throne, they contradict their assertion that He Himself is above the Throne. If they say that He Himself indwells the hearts of those who know Him, this amounts to outright affirmation of indwelling. A group of Sufis has fallen into this—even the author of Manāzil al-Sā’irīn (The Stations of the Wayfarers), in his account of divine oneness at the end of that work, fell into this kind of indwelling.

For this reason, the leading masters among them used to warn against such things. Al-Junayd was asked about affirming divine oneness and replied: “It is to distinguish what originated in time from what has no beginning.” He thus explained that whoever affirms Allah’s oneness must distinguish between the beginningless Creator and the originated creation