Neither tanzīh (declaring Allah free from resemblance to created beings, seeing Him as transcendent above attributes unbefitting Him) nor tashbīh (likening Allah to created beings) entails the rank of wahdat al-wujūd (unity of being) or wahdat al-shuhūd (unity of witnessing) descending to the level of the possible, nor does it mean that the Unique (Wājib) becomes possible or that the Incomparable becomes comparable. For all of these are kufr (disbelief), ilḥād (heresy), deviation, and zandaqa (heresy). At this point, there is neither ittiḥād (union), 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 occurring in the cosmos. He remains ever in the state of absolute purity, abiding, and does not incline from the loftiness of necessity (wujūb) to the baseness of possibility (imkān).
The (true) meaning of all these views is that things are non-existent (maʿdūm), and He alone is existent. The intent behind Ḥusayn Manṣūr Ḥallāj’s (ecstatic utterance) “Ana al-Ḥaqq” (I am the Real!) is not to say, “I am the Real, I have united (ittiḥād) with Him.” For such a statement is kufr and necessitates the execution of its utterer. Rather, the meaning of this statement is: “I am non-existent (maʿdūm), the One who exists is the Real (al-Ḥaqq).”
The final word to be said on this matter is as follows: The Sufis (Sufiyya) have seen things as mirrors of the manifestations (zuhūrāt) of the Real (al-Ḥaqq), and they believe that, without any suspicion of tanzīl (descent), taghayyur (change), or tabaddul (alteration and corruption), these things are loci of manifestation for His names and attributes. Just as, when the shadow of a person is extended, it is not possible to say, “This shadow has united (ittiḥād) with this person, it is identical (aynīyyat) with him, or this person has descended (tanzīl) and appeared in the form of the 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 tanzīl or taghayyur. In fact, at times, due to the perfection of a group’s love for that person’s existence, the existence of the shadow becomes hidden. Sometimes, nothing remains except that person himself. Perhaps at that time, they say, “The shadow is the very person,” meaning there is no shadow; the only existent is that person.
What we must take from this investigation is as follows: According to the Sufis, things are not identical with the Exalted Real (al-Ḥaqq Taʿālā), but are only mirrors of His manifestations. Thus, things are from the Real (al-Ḥaqq), but the Real is not them. Therefore, the meaning of all their statements is: Everything is from Him. This is also the view preferred by the great scholars. There can be no real disagreement between the great scholars and the venerable Sufis on this matter. May Allah increase their number and establish them in reality until the Day of Resurrection.
The conclusion of both views is the same. The only difference is that, while the Sufis say, “Things are mirrors of the manifestations of the Real (al-Ḥaqq),” the scholars avoid such expressions in order to protect themselves from the suspicion of ḥulūl (indwelling) and ittiḥād (union). (Maktūbāt, II, 72)
Ayn al-wāḥid; …, that is, the very essence of a single reality… That is, in terms of names and attributes… it is manifold in its ayn (essence)… that is, the various realities found in beings other than the Real (al-Ḥaqq). Its meaning may also be as follows: That is, in terms of the diversity of forms upon it, the state of the created is manifold in its ayn. (1164 wāḥid)
However, the first definition is more appropriate to the station. For what is meant by his statement is negation, even to the extent of abandoning any expression that would suggest otherness. This abandonment is only possible by affirming that, in terms of existence (wujūd), there is nothing besides the Real (al-Ḥaqq). This meaning is found in the first, not the second. (Sofyavi, 98)