And we shall set forth what is appropriate here in fulfilment of Allah’s rights and in defence of His Book and His religion. For the statements he has cited contain contradictions and flaws that I doubt he can keep track of, in several respects.

First: At the beginning, he said, “Light is a quality inhering in corporeality.” Then, at the end, he said, “A subtle, transparent body.” Thus, at the beginning he described it as an accident and an attribute, but at the end as a body—a self-subsisting substance.

Second: He reported that the Quran commentators interpreted this as meaning “the Guide,” and questioned that interpretation. Yet, at the end, he mentioned that among the sayings of those who know Allah is that “the Light” is He who illuminates the hearts of the sincere with belief in His oneness, illuminates the inmost hearts of those who love Him with His support, and gives life to the hearts of those who know Him through the light of knowing Him. This is precisely the meaning of “the Guide,” which he initially questioned. Thus, he first questions it, then presents it as a saying of “those who know Allah”—an expression that holds powerful sway over hearts. In fact, it is merely a saying of certain shaykhs who engage in a kind of exhortation that lacks rigorous examination.

Shaykh Abū ‘Abd al-Rahmān included in Haqā’iq al-tafsīr various allusions: some are sound and beneficial statements; some are fabrications falsely attributed to their purported speakers, such as those transmitted from Ja‘far and others; and some are invalid, rejected reports.

The “allusions of the Sufi shaykhs” fall into two categories. One consists of allusions pertaining to spiritual states—those they make with their hearts. This is what distinguishes them, but this is not the place to discuss it. The other consists of allusions connected with words, such as those they derive from the Quran