Explanation of the doctrine of the unity of existence and the doctrine of indwelling, and their relationship to the issue of refining expressions.

You must all have heard of a sect known as the Sufis, and of a science or path known as Sufism. Naturally, the people who belong to this Sufism are of different degrees. Some of them have gone to extremes and left Islam in the name of Islamic Sufism. They left Islam just as a hair comes out of dough. Why? Because they interpreted and explained verses from the noble Qur'an with interpretations that are the same as atheistic philosophy. Those who are known among Muslim scholars as the people of the unity of existence are those who say, as the materialists say, but with words different from the words of the materialists. They say that there is only one, so the universe we see is Allah, whom Muslims call Allah. Therefore, they are called the people of unity. Muslims say, "There is no god but Allah," which contains a negation and an affirmation. It contains a negation of every deity worshipped without right, and then an affirmation of the true Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). As for those Sufis, they say, "It is He and only He," and then they shortened it and made it their refrain: "He is He, He is He..." .
This is a serious deviation, as you see. It means denying the existence of the true Allah, and consequently denying the laws. There is no Islam, no Judaism, and no Christianity, because there is no servant and no Lord. A Lord who imposes obligations, and a servant—what is he obligated to? Therefore, one of their poets said:
"The Lord is a servant and the servant is a Lord... So tell me, who is the one obligated?
If you say a servant, that is a negation... Or if you say a Lord, how can he be obligated?"
So it is He and only He... And in the end, He is He. In words that take one out of the Muslims, who testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and who are not among those materialists, but who sometimes utter words that lead them to that false belief. This is a very serious matter, and few are safe from it. Now, in our usual gatherings, one of them says, on occasion and without occasion, "Allah is in all existence," "Allah is in all existence." This is equivalent to saying, "It is He and only He."

The questioner: Is Allah present in all existence?

The Shaykh: Yes, you hear it a lot. "Allah is present in all existence." When you look carefully at its implication and content, it is equivalent to the explicit statement of the extreme Sufis, their most radical ones, "It is He and only He." Why? Because if we reflect on the testimony of truth, which is... when the believer truly says, "There is no god but Allah," he affirms two existences. "There is no god but Allah" negates the false gods. Are they non-existent or existent? Those worshipped besides Allah are, of course, existent in the Qur'an, regarding the people of Noah: These are the gods worshipped besides Allah. And so, when Allah (Mighty and Majestic) sent Noah (peace be upon him) to his people, He had commanded them to worship Allah alone. So "There is no god" is a negation of the false gods, which are existent, and "but Allah" is an affirmation of the true existence, which is Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). So there are two existences. It is not possible for a Muslim who understands his Islam first, and then believes that he is a creation of Allah second, to do anything but affirm two existences. The scholars of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) refer to the first existence, which is the existence of the Creator (Glorified and Exalted is He). He exists by His own essence, meaning He is eternal with no beginning, so His existence is necessary existence, as they call it. As for the other existence, it is possible existence, which is man and all creations wherever they are. Then Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said to them, "Be," and they were. So they preceded by non-existence, unlike the existence of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), who is the First with no beginning, as is known to all. So when the heedless Muslim says, "Allah is present in all existence," he either means these two truths, which are completely contradictory: the true existence, which is Allah, and the possible existence, which is creation. Or he means this meaning. In that case, he has fallen into another belief other than the unity of existence, which is indwelling.
Do you know, for example, that some Islamic sects believe that Allah indwells in some great persons, in their claim? For example, among us in Syria, the Alawites and the Ismailis. You can read a lot about the Ismailis. Their Aga used to be weighed in gold in America every year. They believe that this deity incarnates in him, indwells in him. This is called indwelling. This is more specific than the unity of existence we spoke of earlier. The unity of existence is something where no part is separated from another. As for indwelling, Allah is separate and distinct from His creation, as the scholars say, but He indwells and incarnates in some humans, they claimed. So if the one who says "Allah is present in all existence" means two existences, that means one of them indwells in the other. Instead of indwelling in a person, He indwells in the whole universe. And this is, of course, disbelief. No Muslim doubts that at all. And if he means the first meaning, that Allah is present in all existence, meaning there is no Creator and no created, but only one thing, then that is even more disbelief. You see these Muslims who fast with us and pray with us, and we follow them in prayer, and so on. When one of them says, "Allah is present in all existence," do you think he means one of the two meanings? Does he mean the absolute unity of the Sufis, meaning no Creator and no created, or does he mean indwelling, that Allah created the universe and then indwelled in it? I do not think a Muslim believes in this belief or that. So when they say this word, why do they not conduct themselves with the conduct of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: The meaning is that it became bad and it became bad, but the Messenger wanted us to speak about ourselves with gentle words, even if the meaning is the same. What about us when we speak about our Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He)? In this case, it is not permissible to speak a word that suggests disbelief and suggests misguidance. Often, when such a discussion is raised, most of those present actually pay attention, as if they were in heedlessness. But some of them will tell you: "We do not intend that Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) indwells in His creations by His essence, and we did not say that they intend this. Because if they intended this, that would be a different discussion, it would be disbelief. But our discussion is about refining expressions. So what do you mean by 'Allah is present in all existence'? You mean His knowledge? Ah, that is good. Allah, without doubt, encompasses with His knowledge, and He encompasses all things (Blessed and Exalted is He). But the expression is wrong. If you want to speak about the knowledge of Allah, you say: "He encompassed all things with knowledge." There is a text in the noble Qur'an: Nothing is hidden from Him on earth or in the sky. Do not say "Allah," which is the divine essence characterized by all attributes of perfection and free from attributes of imperfection, do not say "Allah is present in every place," "Allah is present in all existence." But say: "He encompassed all things with knowledge." This discussion was in the way of correcting expressions... Welcome, please, Professor. So when it is clear what I intended, that one of the objectives of the Lawgiver is also to refine expressions, instead of saying "Allah is present in all existence," "Allah is present in every place," and we mean His knowledge, we say "He encompassed all things with knowledge," because the first expression, "Allah is present in all existence," is connected to the belief of the extreme Sufis, who say: "It is He and only He," so there is no Creator and no created. And as one of their poets said, when the Magians worshipped fire, they did not worship but the One the Subduer; because it is a fire of Paradise, a Creator, a created, all these things mean they have no reality. And in short, their statement is: "It is He and only He." They say everything you see with your eye, you see Allah. Everything you see with your eye, you see Allah. So it is not fitting for a Muslim to speak a word that he has to interpret afterwards. Say it clearly, and there is nothing more eloquent than the Qur'an . As for speaking a word and then saying, "By Allah, I meant such and such," he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, and this is part of his discipline for us, if we obeyed him we would succeed: And another narration is shorter than this: So do not say: "Allah is present in every place," "Allah is present in all existence." You will get objections and criticisms that you have no capacity to refute.
You will be asked: What about the place where a Muslim is forced to enter twice or three times, and wishes he did not have to enter that place? Is your Lord there too? And so on for corridors, sewers, and so forth. What would a Muslim say if you pulled this statement out of him? Do not say it. Here, the matter is complex, as they say. So what do we believe and what do we say instead of saying "Allah is in every place"? I mean, when we speak about the Divine Essence, which is referred to by the word of Majesty, "Allah." This name of the Essence is known to all Muslims. Some of them say "Allah is in every place." We know that this is an error, and that what is intended is knowledge. So, if you intend the Divine knowledge, let your expression be correct and say, "He has encompassed all things in knowledge." But if we want to speak about Allah (Mighty and Majestic), about the Divine Essence, what do we say?