his creation from a woman without a man, the creation of Eve from a man without a woman is more wondrous still. He was created in a woman’s womb, which is familiar, unlike creation from a man’s rib, which is not. Nothing is mentioned concerning Christ, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, without some other descendant of Adam having shared it, or something greater. It is therefore known with certainty that singling Christ out is groundless: if what they claim for him is possible, it is not exclusive to him; if it is impossible, it exists neither in him nor in anyone else.

For this reason, these advocates of union say: “The Christians fell into unbelief only by making it exclusive to Christ.” This, too, is false, for union has both general and particular forms.

The point here is that these advocates of union contradict their doctrine of oneness when they liken one of themselves to a changing shadow). The same applies to another’s words:

“I yearn for Him, though He is my heart;
Is any man of ardent longing seen, other than me, yearning for his own heart?
He veils my gaze from Him, for He is my very eye;
His distance is only due to His exceeding nearness.”

Quite apart from the unbelief and union he intends by these words, they are self-contradictory, for a thing’s yearning for itself is contradictory. Hence his words:

“Is any man of ardent longing seen, other than me, yearning for his own heart?”

His statement, “His distance is only due to His exceeding nearness,” is also contradictory, for there is neither nearness nor distance according to