The Taswawwuf Debate

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

One of the great Sufi a’immah who was also known as a muhaddits, preacher, and Maliki jurist, Shaykh Taj ad-Din Abu al-Fadhl Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Atha’illah as-Sakandari (q.s.) is the author of al-Hikam, Miftah al-Falah, Qaswd al-Mujarrad fi Ma’rifat al-Ism al-Mufrad, Taj al-‘Arus al-Hawi li Tadzhib an-Nufus, ‘Unwan at-Tawfiq fi Adab ath-Thariq, the biographical Latha’if fi Manaqib Abu al-‘Abbas al-Mursi wa Shaykhihi Abu al-Hasan, and others.  He was Shaykh Shahab ad-Din Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn ‘Umar al-Mursi’s (q.s.) student and the second successor of the Sufi founder, Imam Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn ‘Abdullah ash-Shadzili (q.s.). 

Shaykh ibn ‘Atha’illah as-Sakandari (q.s.) was one of those who confronted Shaykh Taqi’ ad-Din Ahmad ibn ‘Abd al-Halim ibn Taymiyyah (r.a.) for his excesses in attacking those of the Sufis with whom he disagreed.  Shaykh ibn ‘Atha’illah as-Sakandari (q.s.) never referred to Shaykh ibn Taymiyyah (r.a.) by name in his works, but it is clearly of him that he speaks when he says, in his Latha’if, that Allah (s.w.t.) put the Sufis to the test through what he termed “the scholars of external learning.”  This is found on the margins of Shaykh ‘Abd al-Wahhab ibn Ahmad ash-Sha’rani’s (r.a.) Latha’if al-Minan wa al-Akhlaq fi bayan Wujub at-Taḥadduts bi-Ni’mat Allah ‘ala al-Ithlaq al-Ma’ruf bi al-Minan al-Kubra. 

Shaykh ibn Taymiyyah (r.a.) had been imprisoned in Alexandria.  When the Sultan pardoned him, he came back to Cairo.  At the time of the evening prayer, he went to al-Azhar Mosque, where swalat al-maghrib was being led by Shaykh ibn ‘Atha’illah as-Sakandari (q.s.).  Following the prayer, Shaykh ibn ‘Atha’illah as-Sakandari (q.s.) was surprised to discover that Shaykh ibn Taymiyyah (r.a.) had been praying behind him.  Greeting him with a smile, the Sufi shaykh cordially welcomed Shaykh ibn Taymiyyah’s (r.a.) arrival to Cairo, saying, “as-Salaamu ‘Alaykum”. Then, Shaykh ibn ‘Atha’illah as-Sakandari (q.s.) started to talk with the learned visitor. 

Shaykh ibn ‘Atha’illah as-Sakandari (q.s.) said, “Ordinarily, I pray the evening prayer in the Mosque of Imam Husayn and the night prayer here.  But look how the Divine Plan Works Itself out!  Allah has Ordained that I should be the first one to greet you.  Tell me, O faqih, do you blame me for what happened?” 

Shaykh ibn Taymiyyah (r.a.) replied, “I know you intended me no harm, but our differences of opinion still stand.  In any case, whoever has harmed me in any way, from this day on I hereby exonerate and free him from any blame in the matter.” 

Shaykh ibn ‘Atha’illah as-Sakandari (q.s.) said, “What is it you know about me, ibn Taymiyyah?” 

Shaykh ibn Taymiyyah (r.a.) replied, “I know you to be a man of scrupulous piety, abundant learning, integrity and truthfulness in speech.  I bear witness that I have seen no one like you either in Egypt or Syria who loves Allah more nor who is more self-effacing in Him nor who is more obedient in carrying out what He has Commanded and in refraining from what He has Forbidden.  Nevertheless, we have our differences.  What do you know about me?  Are you claiming that I am misguided when I deny the validity of calling on anyone save Allah for aid?” 

Shaykh ibn ‘Atha’illah as-Sakandari (q.s.) replied, “Surely, my dear colleague, you know that calling for help is the same as seeking a means and asking for intercession; and that the Messenger is the one whose help is sought since he is our means and he the one whose intercession we seek.” 

Shaykh ibn Taymiyyah (r.a.) said, “In this matter, I follow what the Prophet’s (s.a.w.) sunnah has laid down in the shari’ah, for it has been transmitted in a sound hadits, ‘I have been Granted the power of intercession.” 

He was quoting a nation found in ash-Shaykhayn, the hadits of Sayyidina Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah al-Answari (r.a.), where the Prophet (s.a.w.) said, “I have been given five things which no prophet was given before me ...” 

Shaykh ibn Taymiyyah (r.a.) continued, “I have also collected the sayings on the Qur’an: 

سُوۡرَةُ بنیٓ اسرآئیل / الإسرَاء

… أَن يَبۡعَثَكَ رَبُّكَ مَقَامً۬ا مَّحۡمُودً۬ا (٧٩) 

… soon will your Lord Raise you to a station of Praise and Glory! (Surah al-Isra’:79) 

I concluded to the effect that the ‘praised estate’ is intercession.  Moreover, when the mother of the Commander of the Faithful, ‘Ali died, the Prophet (s.a.w.) prayed to Allah at her grave and said, ‘O Allah Who Lives and never dies, Who Quickens and Puts to death, Forgive the sins of my mother, Fathimah bint Asad, Make wide the place wherein she enters through the intercession of me, Your prophet, and the prophets who came before me.  For You are the most merciful of those capable of having mercy.” 

Imam Abu al-Qasim Sulayman ibn Ayyub ath-Thabarani (r.a.) related this hadits in his Mu’jam al-Kabir.  Imam Abu Hatim Muhammad ibn Fayswal at-Tamimi ibn Hibban (r.a.) and Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah al-Hakim an-Nishaburi (r.a.) declared it sound.  Imam Abu Bakr ‘Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Shaybah (r.a.), on the authority of Sayyidina Jabir (r.a.) related a similar narration.  Similar, also, is what Imam Abu ‘Umar Yusuf ibn ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (r.a.) on the authority of Sayyidina ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (r.a.); and Imam Abu Nu’aym Ahmad ibn ‘Abdullah al-Aswbahani (r.a.) in his Hilyat al-Awliya, on the authority of Sayyidina Anas ibn Malik (r.a.) relate; as Imam Abu al-Fadhl ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad Jalal ad-Din as-Suyuthi (q.s.) mentioned in the Jami’ al-Kabir.  Imam Shibab ad-Din Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hajr al-Haytsami (r.a.) wrote, in Majmu’ az-Zawa’id wa Manba’ al-Fawa’id, “ath-Thabarani’s chain contains Rawh ibn Swalah, who has some weakness but ibn Hibban and al-Hakim declared him trustworthy.  The rest of its sub-narrators are the men of sound hadits.” 

Shaykh ibn Taymiyyah (r.a.) said, “This is the intercession that belongs to the Prophet (s.a.w.).  As for seeking the help of someone other than Allah, it smacks of idolatry; for the Prophet (s.a.w.) commanded his cousin, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas, not to ask of anyone to help him other than Allah.” 

He was referring to the hadits found in Imam Abu ‘Isa Muhammad ibn ‘Isa as-Sulami at-Tirmidzi’s (r.a.) Jami’, Imam Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Husayn al-Bayhaqi’s (r.a.) Asma’ wa asw-Swifat and Shu’ab al-Iman, and by Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal (r.a.), Imam ath-Tabarani (r.a.), Imam ibn Hibban (r.a.), Imam Abu Dawud Sulayman ibn al-Ash’ats as-Sijistani (r.a.), Imam al-Hakim (r.a.).  Imam Abu Zakariya Yahya ibn Sharaf an-Nawawi included it in his Hadits al-Arba’in, but Imam Abu al-Faraj ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn ‘Ali ibn al-Jawzy (r.a.) placed it among the forgeries. 

Shaykh ibn ‘Atha’illah as-Sakandari (q.s.) said, “May Allah cause you to prosper, O faqih!  As for the advice which the Prophet (s.a.w.) gave to his cousin, ibn ‘Abbas, he wanted him to draw near to Allah not through his familial relationship to the Prophet (s.a.w.) but through his knowledge.  With regard to your understanding of istighatha’ as being seeking the aid of someone other than Allah (s.a.w.) which is idolatry, I ask you, is there any Muslim possessed of real faith and believing in Allah and His Prophet (s.a.w.) who thinks there is someone other than Allah Who has Autonomous Power over events and Who is Able to Carry Out what He has Willed with regard to them?  Is there any true believer who believes that there is someone who can reward him for his good deeds and punish him for his bad ones other than Allah? 

Besides this, we must consider that there are expressions which should not be taken just in their literal sense.  This is not because of fear of associating a partner with Allah and in order to block the means to idolatry.  For whoever seeks help from the Prophet (s.a.w.) only seeks his power of intercession with Allah as when you yourself say, ‘This food satisfies my appetite.’  Does the food itself satisfy your appetite?  Or is it the case that it is Allah Who Satisfies your appetite through the food? 

As for your statement that Allah has Forbidden Muslims to call upon anyone other than Himself in seeking help, have you actually seen any Muslim calling on someone other than Allah?  The verse you cite from the Qur’an was Revealed concerning the idolaters and those who used to call on their false gods and ignore Allah.  Whereas, the only way Muslims seek the help of the Prophet (s.a.w.) is in the sense of seeking a means, by virtue of the privilege he has received from Allah, and seeking intercession, by virtue of the power of intercession which Allah has Bestowed on him. 

As for your pronouncement that seeking help is forbidden in the shari’ah because it can lead to idolatry, if this is the case, then we ought also to prohibit grapes because they are means to making wine, and to castrate unmarried men because not to do so leaves in the world a means to commit fornication and adultery.” 

At the latter comment, both the shuyukh laughed.  Shaykh ibn ‘Atha’illah as-Sakandari (q.s.) continued, “I am acquainted with the all-inclusiveness and foresight of the legal school founded by your shaykh, Imam Ahmad, and know the comprehensiveness of your own legal theory and about its principle of blocking the means to evil, as well as the sense of moral obligation a man of your proficiency in Islamic jurisprudence and integrity must feel.  But I realise, also, that your knowledge of language demands that you search out the hidden meanings of words which are often shrouded behind their obvious senses.  As for the Sufis, meaning for them is like a spirit, and the words themselves are like its body.  You must penetrate deeply into what is behind the verbal body in order to seize the deeper reality of the word’s spirit. 

Now you have found a basis in your ruling against ibn ‘Arabi in the Fuswusw al-Hikam, the text of which has been tampered with by his opponents, not only with things he did not say, but with statements he could not even have intended saying.  When Shaykh al-Islam al-‘Izz ibn ‘Abd as-Salam understood what Shaykh ibn ‘Arabi had actually said and analysed, grasped and comprehended the real meaning of his symbolic utterances, he asked Allah’s Pardon for his former opinion about the Shaykh and acknowledged that Muhyi ad-Din ibn ‘Arabi was an imam of Islam.”  This is found in Imam ‘Izz ad-Din ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn ‘Abd as-Salam ash-Shafi’i’s (r.a.) Zabad Khulaswat at-Taswawwuf. 

Shaykh ibn ‘Atha’illah as-Sakandari (q.s.) continued, “As for the statement of ash-Shadzili against ibn ‘Arabi, you should know that Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadzili is not the person who said it, but one of the students of the Shadziliyyah.  Furthermore, in making this statement, that student was talking about some of the followers of ash-Shadzili.  Thus, his words were taken in a fashion he himself never intended. 

What do you think about the Commander of the Faithful, Sayyidina ‘Ali ibn Abu Thali (k.w.)?” 

Shaykh ibn Taymiyyah (r.a.) said, “In the hadits, the Prophet (s.a.w.) said, ‘I am the city of knowledge and ‘Ali is its door.’” 

This is found in Imam Shihab ad-Din Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn an-Naqib al-Miswri’s (r.a.) ‘Umdat as-Salik wa ‘Uddat an-Nasik.  In it, Mulla Nur ad-Din Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn Sulthan Muhammad al-Hirawi al-Qari (r.a.) is quoted as saying that the hadits, “I am the city of knowledge and ‘Ali is its gate” was mentioned by Imam at-Tirmidzi (r.a.), who said it was unacknowledgeable.  Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Isma’il al-Bukhari (r.a.) also said this, and that it was without legitimate claim to authenticity.  Imam Yahya ibn Ma’in (r.a.) said that it was a baseless lie, as did Imam Abu Hatim Muhammad ibn Fayswal at-Tamimi ibn Hibban (r.a.) and Imam Yahya ibn Sa’id al-Answari (r.a.).  Imam ibn al-Jawzy (r.a.) recorded it in his book of hadits forgeries, and was confirmed by Imam Shams ad-Din Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad adz-Dzahabi (r.a.), and others in this. 

Imam Taqi’ ad-Din Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn Daqiq al-‘Iyd, (r.a.) said, “This hadits is not confirmed by scholars, and is held by some to be spurious.”  Imam Abu Hasan ‘Ali ibn ‘Umar ad-Daraquthni (r.a.) stated that it was uncorroborated.  Imam Shihab ad-Din Abu al-Fadhl Ahmad ibn ‘Ali ibn Hajr al-‘Asqalani (r.a.) was asked about it and answered that it was well authenticated, not rigorously authenticated, as Imam Hakim (r.a.) had said, but not a forgery, as Imam ibn al-Jawzy (r.a.) had said.  This was mentioned by Imam as-Suyuthi (q.s.). 

The hafizh, Imam Swalah ad-Din Abu Sa’id Khalil ibn Kaykaldi al-‘Ala’i (r.a.), said, in Risalah al-Mawdu’at, “The truth is that the hadits is well authenticated, in view of its multiple means of transmission, being neither rigorously authenticated nor weak, much less a forgery.” 

Shaykh ibn Taymiyyah (r.a.) continued, “Sayyidina ‘Ali is the one mujahid who never went out to battle except to return victoriously.  What scholar or jurist who came after him struggled for the sake of Allah using tongue, pen and sword at the same time?  He was a most accomplished Companion of the Prophet (s.a.w.).  His words are a radiant lamp which have illumined me during the entire course of my life after the Qur’an and sunnah.  Ah!  One who is ever short of provision and long in his journeying.” 

Shaykh ibn ‘Atha’illah as-Sakandari (q.s.) said, “Now, did ‘Ali ask anyone to take his side in a faction?  For this faction has claimed that the angel, Gabriel, made a mistake and delivered Revelation to Muhammad (s.a.w.) instead of ‘Ali!  Or, did he ask them to claim that Allah had become incarnate in his body and the Imam had become divine?  Or, did he not fight and slay them and give a legal opinion that they should be killed wherever they were found?” 

Shaykh ibn Taymiyyah (r.a.) said, “On the basis of this very fatwa, I went out to fight them in the mountains of Syria for more than ten years.” 

Shaykh ibn ‘Atha’illah as-Sakandari (q.s.) said, “And Imam Ahmad (r.a.) questioned the actions of some of his followers who were in the habit of going on patrols, breaking open casks of wine, spilling their contents on the floor, beating up singing girls, and confronting people in the street.  All of this they did in the name of enjoining good and prohibiting what is forbidden.  However, the Imam had not given any fatwa that they should censure or rebuke all those people.  Consequently, these followers of his were flogged, thrown into jail, and paraded mounted on assback facing the tail.  Now, is Imam Ahmad himself responsible for the bad behavior which the worst and most vicious Hanabilah continue to perpetrate right down to our own day, in the name of enjoining good and prohibiting what is forbidden?” 

All this is to say that Shaykh Muhyi ad-Din ibn ‘Arabi is innocent with respect to what those of his followers do who absolve people of legal and moral obligations set down by the religion and from committing deeds that are prohibited.  Do you not see this?” 

Shaykh ibn Taymiyyah (r.a.) said, “But where do they stand with respect to Allah?  Among you Sufis are those who assert that when the Prophet (s.a.w.) gave glad tidings to the poor and said that they would enter Paradise before the rich, the poor fell into ecstasy and began to tear their garments into pieces; that at that moment the angel, Gabriel descended from Heaven and said to the Prophet (s.a.w.) that Allah had sought his rightful portion from among these torn garments; and that the angel Gabriel carried one of them and hung it on Allah’s Throne.  For this reason, they claim, Sufis wear patchworked garments and call themselves ‘the poor’!” 

Shaykh ibn ‘Atha’illah as-Sakandari (q.s.) said, “Not all Sufis wear patchworked vests and clothing.  Here I am before you: what do you disapprove of in my appearance?” 

Shaykh ibn Taymiyyah (r.a.) said, “You are from the men of shari’ah and teach in al-Azhar.” 

Shaykh ibn ‘Atha’illah as-Sakandari (q.s.) said, “al-Ghazali was equally an Imam both in shari’ah and taswawwuf.  He treated legal rulings, the sunnah, and the shari’ah with the spirit of the Sufi.  And by applying this method, he was able to revive the religious sciences.  We know that taswawwuf recognises that what is sullied has no part in religion and that cleanliness has the character of faith.  The true and sincere Sufi must cultivate in his heart the faith recognised by the Ahl as-Sunnah. 

Two centuries ago, the very phenomena of pseudo-Sufis appeared, which you yourself criticise and reject.  There were persons who sought to diminish the performance of worship and religious obligations, lighten fasting and belittle the five daily prayers.  They ran wild into the vast arenas of sloth and heedlessness, claiming that they had been liberated from the shackles of the slavery of divine worship.  Not satisfied with their own vile deeds until they have claimed intimations of the most extravagant realities and mystical states just as Imam al-Qushayri himself described in his well-known, Risalah, which he directed against them.  He also set down, in detail, what constituted the true path to Allah, which consists in taking a firm hold upon the Qur’an and the sunnah.  The a’immah of taswawwuf desire to arrive at the true reality not only by means of rational evidence thought up by the human mind which are capable of being false as well as true, but by means of purifying the heart and purging the ego through a course of spiritual exercises.  They cast aside concerns for the life of this world inasmuch as the true servant of Allah does not busy himself with anything else except love of Allah and His Prophet (s.a.w.).  This is a high order of business and one which makes a servant pious and healthy and prosperous.  It is an occupation that reforms those things that corrupt the human creature, such as love of money and ambition for personal standing in society.  However, it is an order of business which is constituted by nothing less than spiritual warfare for the sake of Allah. 

My learned friend, interpreting texts according to their literal meanings can sometimes land a person in error.  Literalism is what has caused your judgements about ibn ‘Arabi who is one of the a’immah of our faith known for his scrupulous piety.  You have understood what he wrote in a superficial fashion; whereas Sufis are masters of literary figures which intimate much deeper meanings, hyperbolic language that indicates heightened spiritual awareness and words which convey secrets concerning the realm of the unseen.” 

Shaykh ibn Taymiyyah (r.a.) said, “This argument is against you, not in your favour.  For when Imam al-Qushayri saw his followers deviating from the path to Allah, he took steps to improve them.  What do the Sufi shuyukh in our day do?  I only ask that Sufis follow the path of the sunnah of these great and pious ancestors of our faith, the ascetics among the Companions, the generation which succeeded them, and the generation that followed in their footsteps to their best!  Whoever acts in this way, I esteem him highly and consider him to be an imam of the religion.  As for unwarranted innovation and the insertion of the ideas of idolaters such as the Greek philosophers and the Indian Buddhists, or like the idea that man can incarnate Allah or attain unity with Him, or the theory that all existence is one in being, and other such things to which your shaykh summons people: this is clearly godlessness and unbelief.” 

Shaykh ibn ‘Atha’illah as-Sakandari (q.s.) said, “ibn ‘Arabi was one of the greatest of the jurists who followed the school of Dawud az-Zahiri after ibn Hazm al-Andalusi, who is close to your methodology in Islamic law, O Hanabilah!  But although ibn ‘Arabi was a Zhahiri, the method he applied to understand ultimate reality was to search out the hidden, spiritual meaning, that is, to purify the inward self.” 

This is a key equivalence in Shaykh ibn ‘Atha’illah as-Sakandari’s (q.s.) Hikam, for example, “Sometimes lights come upon you and find the heart stuffed with forms of created things, so they go back from whence they descended.” 

Shaykh ibn ‘Atha’illah as-Sakandari (q.s.) continued, “However, not all followers of the hidden are alike.  In order that you not err or forget, repeat your reading of ibn ‘Arabi with fresh understanding of his symbols and inspirations.  You will find him to be very much like al-Qushayri.  He has taken his path in taswawwuf under the umbrella of the Qur’an and sunnah just like the Proof of Islam, Imam al-Ghazali, who carried on debates about doctrinal differences in matters of creed and issues of worship but considered them occupations lacking in real value and benefit.  He invited people to see that the Love of Allah is the way of a proper servant of Allah with respect to faith. 

Do you have anything to object to in this, O faqih?  Or, do you love the disputations of Islamic jurists?  Imam Malik (r.a.) exercised extreme caution about such wrangling in matters of creed and used to say, ‘Whenever a man enters into arguing about issues of creed it diminishes his faith.’ 

Similarly, al-Ghazali said, ‘The quickest means of drawing near to Allah is through the heart, not the body.  I do not mean by heart this fleshy thing palpable to seeing, hearing, sight and touch.  Rather, I have in mind the inner most secret of Allah Himself, which is imperceptible to sight or touch.  Indeed, the Ahl as-Sunnah are the very ones who named the Sufi Shaykh al-Ghazali, ‘the Proof of Islam.’”  This is as illustrated by Imam Swalah ad-Din Abu asw-Swafa’ Khalil ibn Aybak asw-Swafadi (r.a.) for Imam Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali’s (r.a.) entry in his al-Wafi bi al-Wafayat, “Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad, the Proof of Islam, the Ornament of the Faith, Abu Hamid ath-Thusi ...” 

Shaykh ibn ‘Atha’illah as-Sakandari (q.s.) continued, “The carrying out of religious obligation in the view of ibn ‘Arabi and ibn al-Farid is a worship whose prayer-niche indicating the orientation of prayer, is its inward aspect, not merely its external ritual.  For what is the good of you standing and sitting in prayer if your heart is preoccupied with something other than Allah.  Allah Praises people when He Says, in the Qur’an: 

سُوۡرَةُ المؤمنون

ٱلَّذِينَ هُمۡ فِى صَلَاتِہِمۡ خَـٰشِعُونَ (٢) 

Those who humble themselves in their prayers; (Surah al-Mu’minun:2) 

And He Blames peoples when He Says: 

سُوۡرَةُ المَاعون

ٱلَّذِينَ هُمۡ عَن صَلَاتِہِمۡ سَاهُونَ (٥) 

Who are neglectful of their Prayers, (Surah al-Ma’un:5) 

This is what ibn ‘Arabi means when he says, ‘Worship is the mihrab of the heart, that is, the inward aspect of prayer not the outward.’ 

The Muslim is unable to arrive at the knowledge of certitude, nor at certitude itself, of which the Qur’an Speaks unless he evacuates his heart from whatever distracts it in the way of worldly cravings and centre himself on inward contemplation.  Then, the outpourings of Divine Reality will fill his heart, and from there will spring his sustenance.  The real Sufi is not the one who derives his sustenance from asking and begging people for alms.  The only one who is sincere is he who rouses his heart and spirit to self-obliteration in Allah by obedience to Allah.  Perhaps, ibn ‘Arabi caused the jurists to rise up against him because of his contempt of their preoccupation with arguing and wrangling about credal matters, actual legal cases, and hypothetical legal situations, since he saw how much it distracted them from purifying the heart.  He named them ‘the jurists of women’s menses’.  May Allah Grant you Refuge from being among them!  Have you read ibn ‘Arabi’s statement, ‘Whoever builds his faith exclusively on demonstrative proofs and deductive arguments, builds a faith on which it is impossible to rely.  For he is affected by the negativities of constant objections.  Certainty does not derive from the evidence of the mind but pours out from the depths of the heart.’  Have you ever read talk as pure and sweet as this?” 

Shaykh ibn Taymiyyah (r.a.) said, “You have spoken well if only your master were as you say, for he would then be as far as possible from unbelief.  But what he has said cannot sustain the meanings that you have given in my view.”  This is found in in Shaykh Muhammad Zaki Ibrahim ibn Katsir al-Azhari ash-Shadzili’s (r.a.) Uswul al-Wuswul.