For this reason, a trustworthy man told me that Ibn Sab‘īn wished to go to India and said that the lands of Islam had no room for him; for the people of India are polytheists who worship everything, even plants and animals. This is the true substance of the doctrine of the proponents of union.

I know people engaged in philosophy and speculative theology who have adopted the devotional ways of these proponents of union. When they begin describing the Lord—glorified is He—through speculative theology, they say, “He is not this; He is not that.” They describe Him as not being the Lord of created beings in the sense affirmed by Muslims. Instead, they deny the attributes of the Creator taught by the messengers, peace be upon them.

But when one of them acquires spiritual experience and feeling, he turns to devotion, follows the path of the proponents of union, and says, “He is all existing things.” When asked, “How can that negation be reconciled with this affirmation?” he replies, “That is my spiritual feeling, and this is my spiritual experience.”

This misguided person should be told: Whenever spiritual experience or feeling conflicts with belief, one or both must be false. Spiritual experiences and feelings are nothing other than the products of understanding and beliefs. The heart’s knowledge and its state are inseparably linked: its spiritual feeling, love, and state correspond to the extent of its knowledge and understanding.

Had these people followed the path of the prophets and messengers, peace be upon them—who commanded the worship of Allah Most High alone, without any partner, and described Him as He described Himself and as His messengers described Him—and followed the path of the earliest forerunners, they would have followed the path of guidance and found the soothing comfort of certainty and the delight of their hearts. For it is as someone said: “The messengers