but they are mistaken. Visions of the heart occur in a representational form, according to the servant’s faith and knowledge, as has been explained at length elsewhere.

(The second position)

The position of the negationists among the Jahmiyya is that He is seen neither in this world nor in the Hereafter.

(The third)

The position of those who claim that He is seen both in this world and in the Hereafter.

The proponents of divine indwelling among the Jahmiyya combine negation and affirmation, saying that He is seen neither in this world nor in the Hereafter, and that He is seen both in this world and in the Hereafter. This is the position of Ibn Arabī—the author of al-Fusūs—and others like him, because the absolute existence pervading all beings cannot be seen, and this, according to them, is the existence of the Real.

Those who affirm the essence say: “He is seen manifesting Himself in it.” Those who distinguish between the absolute and the particular say: “He is seen only as restricted to a form.”

Their position revolves around two things: denying that Allah is seen and affirming that created beings are seen. They identify the created being with the Creator, or hold that the Creator indwells the created being. Otherwise, their distinction between entities established in external reality and their existence amounts to the position of those who say that the nonexistent is a thing in external reality. This is a false position, to which they have added the claim that the very existence of the created being is the existence of the Creator.

As for distinguishing between the absolute and the particular—although the absolute does not itself exist in external reality as something absolute—this entails that the Lord is nonexistent. This is denial and negation of the Lord.