nothing other than Him exists—not in the sense that things subsist through Him and owe their existence to Him, as expressed in the Prophet’s saying (may Allah bless him and grant him peace):

“The truest words ever spoken by a poet are these words of Labīd:
‘Indeed, everything apart from Allah is vain.’”

And as has been said concerning His words:

“Everything will perish except His Face.”

Had they meant that, this would have been sound spiritual witnessing. But they mean that He is identical with existing things. This is disbelief and misguidance. Its adherents sometimes seize upon ambiguous expressions found in the words of certain spiritual masters, just as Christians seize upon ambiguous expressions reported from the Messiah. They rely on an unsound spiritual experience or faulty reasoning. Reflect, then, on this classification, for it makes the straight path clear.