This is not a case where tanzīh (declaring Allah free from resemblance to created things, seeing Him as transcendent above attributes unbefitting Him) descends to the level of tashbīh (likening Allah to created things), nor where the Necessary Being becomes contingent, or the One without equal becomes like others. For all of these are kufr (disbelief), ilḥād (heresy), misguidance, and zandaqa (heresy). At this point, there is neither ittihād, nor ayniyyat (identity), nor tanzīl (descent of rank), nor tashbīh.
In this ḥāl (spiritual state), the Real (al-Ḥaqq) is as He is at this very moment. He is exalted above undergoing any change in His Essence, attributes, or names through the events of the cosmos. He remains ever in the state of absolute purity, abiding, and does not incline from the loftiness of necessity to the lowness of contingency.
The (true) meaning of all these views is that things are non-existent (maʿdūm), and He alone is existent (mawjūd). The intent behind Ḥusayn Manṣūr Ḥallāj's (ecstatic utterance) "Ana'l-Ḥaqq" (I am the Real!) is not to say, "I am the Real, I have united (ittihād) with Him." For such a statement is kufr and necessitates the death of its utterer. Rather, the meaning of this statement is: "I am non-existent; the only existent is the Real (al-Ḥaqq)."
The final word on this matter is as follows: The Sufis have seen things as mirrors of the manifestations of the Real (al-Ḥaqq), without any suspicion of tanzīl, change, or transformation (connection).
They believe that things are loci of manifestation for His names and attributes, without any suspicion of injustice or the idea that they are identical to Him. Just as, when the shadow of a person stretches out, it is not possible to say, "This shadow has united (ittihād) with this person, it is identical (aynīyyat) with him," or "This person has descended and appeared in the form of a shadow." Similarly, such things cannot be said about the Real (al-Ḥaqq). Rather, that person remains in his original purity (it is impossible for him to become a shadow). The shadow, too, comes into existence from him without any suspicion of descent or change. In fact, sometimes, due to the perfection of a group's love for that person's existence, the existence of the shadow becomes hidden. So much so that sometimes nothing remains except that person; perhaps at that time, they say, "The shadow is identical to the person," meaning the shadow does not exist, only the person exists.
What we must take from this investigation is the following: According to the Sufis, things are not identical to the Real (al-Ḥaqq), but are only mirrors of His manifestations. Thus, things are from the Real, but are not the Real. Therefore, the meaning of all their statements is: Everything is from Him. This is also the view preferred by the great scholars. On this matter, there can be no disagreement between the great scholars and the venerable Sufis. May Allah increase their number and establish them firmly in reality until the Resurrection.
The end point of both views is the same. The only difference is that, while the Sufis say, "Things are mirrors of the manifestations of the Real," the scholars refrain from such statements in order to avoid the suspicion of ḥulūl (indwelling) and ittihād. (Maktūbāt, II, 72)
Ittihād is the contemplation (tamāshā edilmesi) of the absolute, one, and true existence in which the whole exists. Things that are non-existent in themselves but exist by virtue of another, during this contemplation, appear united and as one. Here, it is not a matter of the union of two different original existents possessing existence. The contemplation of the One is only possible when the Absolute One is meant, that is, when everything is united only with Him. For beyond the Absolute Existence, it is inconceivable to imagine an external existence that is not encompassed by Him. Otherwise, an absurdity would arise, as if two separate existents became one. The contemplation of the Absolute One is only realized through drawing near to Allah by supererogatory acts. (Kāshānī, 24; Jāmiʿ, 75)