who maintains that the world is eternal and considers no sexual union forbidden”—is true of him, but it covers only some of the forms of disbelief mentioned. For that statement was made before his true position had become clear to him and been firmly ascertained. Otherwise, he does not hold that there is a Lord and a world, as do the theistic philosophers who affirm a Necessary Existent and a contingent world. Rather, in his view, the existence of the world is the existence of Allah. This accords with the position of the naturalist eternalists, who deny the existence of a Maker altogether and acknowledge no necessary existence other than the world itself, as Allah related concerning Pharaoh and his followers.

His position accords with Pharaoh’s, except that Pharaoh did not acknowledge Allah, whereas these people acknowledge Allah but interpret Him as the existence that Pharaoh acknowledged. They are therefore more ignorant and more misguided than Pharaoh. Pharaoh, however, is more deeply steeped in disbelief than they are, for his disbelief contains a degree of obstinacy and arrogance absent from theirs. As the Most High said:

“And they rejected them, while their souls were convinced of them, out of injustice and haughtiness.”

And Moses said to him:

“He said, ‘You have already known that none has sent down these signs except the Lord of the heavens and the earth as evidence.’”

The entire enterprise of the author of al-Fusūs and his followers amounts to demolishing the three foundations of faith. These foundations are belief in Allah, belief in His messengers, and belief in the Last Day.

As for belief in Allah, they claim that His existence is the existence of the world, and that the world has no Maker other than the world itself. As for the Messenger, they claim that they know Allah better than he does, and better than all the messengers. Among them is one who