monotheism is that none but Allah be worshipped. “Worship” encompasses perfect love and veneration, and perfect hope, fear, reverence, and honour.

“Fanā” (effacement) within this monotheism is the fanā of the messengers and their followers. It means that, through worshipping Him, you cease worshipping anyone else; through obeying Him, you cease obeying anyone else; through asking Him, you cease asking anyone else; through fearing Him, you cease fearing anyone else; through hoping in Him, you cease hoping in anyone else; and through loving Him and loving for His sake, you cease loving anything else and loving for its sake.

As for those who err concerning the path, they may seek Allah, yet fail to follow the revealed command in seeking Him. Sometimes one of them worships Him through what he supposes pleases Him, though it does not. At other times, they contemplate predestination because it is what He wills, and experience fanā in those decrees in which they have no personal interest. Absolute fanā in predestination, however, is impossible. One of these people experiences fanā while following his own spiritual taste and ecstasy contrary to the revealed command, or while contemplating predestination. Many of their foremost figures are afflicted with this.

“Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir” and others like him were among the leading shaykhs of their time who most strongly urged adherence to the revealed law, its commands and prohibitions, and giving it precedence over spiritual taste and predestination. They were also among the shaykhs who most strongly urged the abandonment of personal desires and self-will. For error in the will as such arises only from this source. Thus he instructs the wayfarer