gayri (Sufism Glossary)

It has been said: All these are flowers gathered from the branch of ru'yet (the vision of the One, i.e., seeing Allah, the One). In these, with respect to the One, there is nothing that indicates the tawhid (the oneness of God) of existence. It was Shaykh Muhyiddin Arabi who divided the issue of wahdat al-wujud (the unity of being) into chapters, sections, and even further subdivisions, systematizing it like the sciences of morphology and grammar. Indeed, he reserved for himself some intricate maʿrifa (gnoses, experiential knowledges of God) found among these discussions, and said: The Seal of Prophethood derives certain sciences and maʿrifa from khātam (the Seal) of walāya (sainthood). Here, he refers to himself as the Seal of Muhammadan Walāya. The commentators, in explaining this statement, have said: If the Sultan takes something from his treasurer, what is diminished from him? In summary, for the realization of fanāʾ (annihilation in God) and baqāʾ (subsistence in God), and for the attainment of minor and major walāya, there is no need for the tawhid of existence. On the contrary, in the verification of fanāʾ,