or of another. If it is an attribute of Allah, it cannot be the one designated by the name “the Most Merciful,” for that is a name of Allah Himself, not of His attributes. Prostration is to Allah, not to His attributes, and supplication is addressed to Allah, not to His attributes. If it is an attribute of another, the implication is all the more grave.

There is no escaping this division of possibilities. For this man, who deviates concerning Allah’s names, made this knot—which he called “the knot of the reality of prophethood” and regarded as the form of the Real’s knowledge of Himself and as a mirror reflecting absolute existence—a locus in which His eternal attributes become distinct. He also held that the Real appeared in it in His form and with His attribute, as one who describes Himself and encompasses Him, and who is designated by the name “the Most Merciful.” He then stated that He gave Muhammad this knot.

It is well known that the one designated by the name “the Most Merciful” is the same as the one designated by the name “Allah,” as the Most High says:

“Say, ‘Call upon Allah or call upon the Most Merciful. Whichever you call upon, to Him belong the most beautiful names.’”

Thus, He—glory be to Him—would Himself be this knot that He gave to Muhammad. If, however, it is an attribute of Him or of another, then that attribute would be the Most Merciful. This deviant’s position therefore entails either that the Most Merciful is one of Allah’s creatures or one of His attributes, or that Allah has bestowed the Most Merciful upon Muhammad. Both alternatives are among the most repugnant and abhorrent forms of unbelief.

(The fifth point)

His statement is: “This reality has two ends: one directed toward the Real facing it, in whom the highest existence appeared as one who describes; and another directed toward the world’s emergence from it, which is designated the relational spirit.”

In this statement, he mentioned the manifestation of existence and the manifestation of the world. It has already been stated that the Real existed when nothing existed with Him, manifesting Himself through His essential unity, and that when the khaliyya descended