in holding that He is absolute existence, going no further than this. This was also the belief of the author of al-Murshidah (The Guide), as he explicitly stated in a lengthy book in which he explained his position on this matter. There he stated that Allah Most High is absolute existence, as Ibn Sīnā, Ibn Sab‘īn, and others like them maintain.

For this reason, his al-Murshidah does not mention the belief set forth by the leading scholars of knowledge and religion among the people of the Sunnah and the community: scholars of hadith, jurisprudence, Sufism, speculative theology, and others among the followers of the four imams and beyond. This belief is stated by the leading Hanafī, Mālikī, Shāfi‘ī, and Hanbalī scholars; the speculative theologians among the Kullābīs, Ash‘arīs, Karrāmīs, and others; the masters of Sufism and asceticism; and the scholars of hadith. All of them agree that Allah Most High is living, knows by His knowledge, and is powerful by His power.

As Allah Most High says:

“And they encompass nothing of His knowledge except what He wills.”

And He says:

“But Allah bears witness to what He has sent down to you: He sent it down with His knowledge.”

And He says:

“No female conceives or gives birth except with His knowledge.”

And He says:

“Did they not see that Allah, who created them, is mightier than them in strength?”

And He says:

“And the heaven We built with strength”—that is, with power.

In the Sahīh collection, it is reported: “The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—used to teach his Companions to seek Allah’s guidance in all matters, just as he would teach them a surah of the Quran. He would say: