The shaykh, the devout imam, Shaykh al-Islām, the ocean of knowledge, the imam of imams, the defender of the Sunnah, the preeminent scholar of mankind, the heir of the prophets, Abū al-‘Abbās Ahmad ibn ‘Abd al-Halīm ibn Taymiyyah—may Allah be pleased with him—was asked about statements found in the handwriting of a trustworthy person and reported on his authority by a number of people, including some who professed adherence to religion.

Among these were the following:

One of the predecessors said: “Allah made His essence subtle and called it the Real; He unveiled it and called it creation.”

Shaykh Najm al-Dīn ibn Isrā’īl said: “Allah manifested Himself in things in reality and concealed Himself through them metaphorically. Those who belong to the people of reality and unity behold them as sites of manifestation and disclosure; those who belong to the people of metaphor and differentiation behold them as screens and veils.”

He related: “He also said in a poem of his:

Indeed, it is right for me to renounce existence and its inhabitants …
For both my hands together have clung to my Maker.”