as people crowd together to see something difficult to discern, such as the crescent moon. The same applies to the readings “tudārrūna” and “tudārūna.”

But to transmit “lā tadāmmūna,” with the consonant doubled, and explain it as “no single direction will gather you together” is false, because tadāmm means people crowding together. It is a reciprocal verbal form, tafāʿul, like tamāss (mutual contact), tarādd (reciprocation), and similar forms. It is also transmitted as “lā tudāmmūna,” with an initial u-vowel and the consonant doubled, meaning that you will not crowd against one another. In either case, it derives from tadāmm: people crowding against one another. It does not mean that something else will not gather you together. That meaning is not expressed by “lā tadāmmūna,” for he did not say, “Nothing will gather you together.”

Furthermore, all those who see Him are in one direction, on the earth. Even supposing that the One seen is not in a direction, how can it be said, “No single direction will gather you together,” when they are all on the earth—the earth of the Resurrection—or in Paradise? Each of these constitutes a direction. For them themselves to exist without direction or place is impossible according to both sensory perception and reason.

As for his assertion, “He is seen without being in a direction, and likewise others see Him,” this is a false analogy. A person can see his own body, but he cannot see anyone else unless that person is in a direction relative to him: namely, in front of him, whether above him or below him.