The Twenty-Eighth Flash

The Seventh Subtlety

My esteemed brother,

You ask for some explanation of wahdat al-wujūdA school of thought that regards all created existence as insignificant or shadow-like in comparison with the absolute existence of Allah, with some of its adherents maintaining that nothing besides Allah possesses true existence. (the unity of existence). In one of the Flashes of the Thirty-First Letter, there is a powerful and detailed response to the view of Muhyiddīn Ibn Arabī(1165–1240) A renowned Andalusian Islamic scholar, Sufi mystic, and philosopher, known for his profound writings on divine unity, spiritual knowledge, and the relationship between Allah and creation. His most famous works include Al-Futūhāt al-Makkiyya and Fusūs al-Hikam. concerning this matter. For the present, we shall say only this:

To proclaim the doctrine of wahdat al-wujūdA school of thought that regards all created existence as insignificant or shadow-like in comparison with the absolute existence of Allah, with some of its adherents maintaining that nothing besides Allah possesses true existence. among the people of this age may cause serious harm.

Just as comparisons and metaphors, when they pass from the hands of scholars into those of ordinary people, and from the realm of knowledge into that of ignorance, may come to be taken as literal realities, so too may exalted truths such as wahdat al-wujūdA school of thought that regards all created existence as insignificant or shadow-like in comparison with the absolute existence of Allah, with some of its adherents maintaining that nothing besides Allah possesses true existence., when they reach heedless people whose minds are absorbed in causes, come to be understood as referring to nature itself.

This gives rise to three grave dangers.

Firstly:

The path of wahdat al-wujūdA school of thought that regards all created existence as insignificant or shadow-like in comparison with the absolute existence of Allah, with some of its adherents maintaining that nothing besides Allah possesses true existence., as it were, denies the universe for the sake of Allah. Yet when this doctrine reaches ordinary people—especially those whose minds have been tainted by materialistic ideas—it may lead them, instead of denying the universe for the sake of Allah, to deny Divinity for the sake of the universe and matter.

Secondly:

The path of wahdat al-wujūdA school of thought that regards all created existence as insignificant or shadow-like in comparison with the absolute existence of Allah, with some of its adherents maintaining that nothing besides Allah possesses true existence. rejects the sovereignty of everything other than Allah so absolutely that it denies the independent existence of all else and abolishes every form of duality.

Although this path entails denying the independent existence not only of the nufūs al-ammārah“The souls that command evil”; the plural of nafs al-ammārah, referring to souls dominated by selfish desires and impulses that continually incline toward evil and wrongdoing. (the evil-commanding selves), but even of all things, proclaiming wahdat al-wujūdA school of thought that regards all created existence as insignificant or shadow-like in comparison with the absolute existence of Allah, with some of its adherents maintaining that nothing besides Allah possesses true existence. in this age may produce precisely the opposite effect.

For naturalistic thinking has become dominant, pride and egotism have inflated the nafs-i ammārahThe aspect of the soul that incites a person toward evil and harbors negative traits and desires., and people have, to some extent, forgotten the Hereafter and the Creator.

Consequently, proclaiming this doctrine to people whose nafs-i ammārahThe aspect of the soul that incites a person toward evil and harbors negative traits and desires. is inclined to act like a little PharaohThe ruler of ancient Egypt who opposed Prophet Mūsā (peace be upon him). and regard itself as an idol may so flatter and inflate that self that it can no longer be brought under restraint.

Thirdly:

It may give rise to conceptions incompatible with the necessary existence, holiness, and exalted transcendence of the Dhāt-i Dhul-JalālAllah, the Majestic Lord Whose greatness and majesty are boundless., Who is utterly free from change, transformation, divisibility, and confinement to place. Thus, erroneous imaginings may arise and false notions become deeply rooted.