a Harūrī; whoever worships Him through hope alone is a Murji’ī; and whoever worships Him through love, hope, and fear is a believer who affirms His oneness.”

As for the words:

“When shall I reach the path of those who hope, while I remain lost in the bewilderment of the perplexed?”

This is a description of a blameworthy state in which the speaker finds himself, just as someone might describe the deficiency of his faith, the weakness of his knowledge, and the doubts that mar his certainty. Such a state is not something to seek; rather, it is something from which one seeks refuge in Allah.

As for Muhammad ibn al-Fadl’s statement:

“Whenever one who knows Allah passes from one state to another, astonishment and bewilderment confront him.”

This may mean that whenever he advances to a station of knowledge and certainty, he begins to yearn for a station of knowledge he has not yet reached. He is thus bewildered concerning what he has not attained, not what he has attained.

His statement:

“Those who know Allah best are the most bewildered concerning Him”

means that they are the most eager to increase in knowledge and understanding. Their extensive knowledge and understanding make them aware of matters they do not yet know. They remain bewildered concerning these matters, seeking to know and understand them. Undoubtedly, the one who knew Allah best of all creation said:

“I cannot encompass all praise of You; You are as You have praised Yourself.”

And created beings have been given only a little knowledge. As for the report that al-Junayd said, “The reasoning of rational people ends in bewilderment”—