“Some of it is superior to the rest, and what is superior deserves to be lord over what is inferior.”

They also say that Pharaoh was truthful when he said:

“I am your lord most high.”

This is the view of a group of heretical, philosophizing Sufi monists, such as al-Tilimsānī. The doctrine of universal union, known as “the unity of existence,” is held by Ibn ʿArabī al-Tāʾī, his companion al-Qūnawī, Ibn Sabʿīn, Ibn al-Fārid, and others like them. They disagree, however, about resurrection and recompense, just as they disagree over whether existence is something distinct from the entities themselves. These people have gone astray in several respects, including their failure to distinguish between the existence of the Creator and that of created beings.

As for witnessing divine decree, the response is this: there is no doubt that Allah Most High is the Creator and Sovereign of everything. Divine decree is Allah’s power—as Imam Ahmad said—and He decrees everything that comes to pass. Yet this does not negate the reality of commands and prohibitions, promises of reward and threats of punishment, or the fact that some actions benefit those who perform them, bringing them bliss, while others harm those who perform them, bringing them punishment.

We do not deny what all things have in common with respect to divine will, lordship, and their beginnings. But we affirm a further distinction with respect to wisdom, divine commands, and ultimate outcomes. For the good final outcome belongs to the God-fearing, not to those devoid of piety.

Allah Most High says:

“Or should We treat those who believe and do righteous deeds like those who spread corruption in the land? Or should We treat the God-fearing like the wicked?”

And He Most High says:

“Then shall We treat the Muslims like the criminals?”

Since this is so, the distinction essentially consists in this: some things are agreeable and beneficial to a person, bringing him pleasure, while others are contrary and harmful to him, bringing him pain. This brings us back