mutlaq (Sufism Glossary)

The mutlaq (absolute) that is universal in intellect (kullī-yi ʿaqlī) and dependent on the condition of itlāq (absoluteness) exists not in external realities but only in minds. The mutlaq that is unconditional is the universal of nature (kullī-yi ṭabīʿī, universal related to nature). Since the kullī-yi ṭabīʿī exists externally, it is found as determined (taʿayyun, concretized). According to those who say that this is established externally, it is a part (juzʾ) of the determined existent. Accordingly, the existence of the Lord (Rabb) must be either external, or negated externally, or a part of the existence of the created beings (makhlūqāt), or identical to the existence of the created beings. One may then ask: Is the part creating the whole, or is the thing creating itself? Or is nonexistence (ʿadam, absence) creating existence, or is a part of the thing creating the whole? (al-Furqān 25:89)