DENYING ALLĀH'S EXCLUSIVE LORDSHIP

 FAJR REMINDER: DENYING ALLĀH'S EXCLUSIVE LORDSHIP

By: Umm Affān

Muḥarram 29, 1448 (14-July-2026)

Not everyone who affirms the Existence of Allāh truly affirms His Lordship as it deserves to be affirmed. Sadly, some believe in Allāh's Existence, yet also claim that certain so-called great saints—referred to in Ṣūfī terminology as “Qutb”—possess authority over the affairs of the universe. Such a belief contradicts the fundamental creed that Allāh (alone) is the Wakīl (Trustee, Disposer of affairs, Guardian, etc.) over all creation, and that everything occurs only by His Will, Knowledge, and Decree.

Ironically, this belief is even more misguided than that of the pagan Arabs at the time of the Prophet (ﷺ). Although they associated partners with Allāh in worship, they never denied that He alone controlled the affairs of the heavens and the earth. Allāh (ﷻ) says: “Say (O Muḥammad ﷺ): ‘Who provides for you from the sky and the earth? Or who owns hearing and sight? And who brings out the living from the dead and brings out the dead from the living? And who disposes the affairs?’ They will say: ‘Allāh.’” [Sūrah Yūnus (10): 31]

When those who openly rejected the Prophet (ﷺ) still acknowledged Allāh's exclusive Lordship, how tragic is it that some who identify as Muslims attribute aspects of His Dominion to created beings. Such beliefs are, without doubt, among the gravest forms of defaming and diminishing the Rights of Allāh, thereby nullifying one's Islām and Eemān. 

Allāh is far above every false description attributed to Him. He (alone) controls every affair in existence. Nothing moves, changes, benefits, harms, lives, or dies except by His Permission. He is the Creator, the Lord, the Sovereign, the Master, and the Absolute Controller of all that exists. Every creature remains under His Dominion, Power, and Guardianship. Allāh (ﷻ) says: “Blessed is He in Whose Hand is the dominion, and He is Able to do all things.” [Sūrah Al-Mulk (67): 1]

Another dangerous belief found within certain strands of Ṣūfism is the claim that Allāh pervades His creation or becomes incarnate within it. Such ideas directly oppose the clear teachings of the Qur'ān and the Sunnah regarding the absolute distinction between the Creator and His creation.

Among the statements often cited in this regard are the words of the Ṣūfī mystic Muḥyī al-Dīn Ibn ‘Arabī: “Al-‘abdu rabbun wa ar-rabbu ‘abdun. Yā layta shi‘rī man al-mukallafu?”

(Meaning: The slave is the lord and the lord is the slave. Would that I knew which one is the Mukallaf [legally responsible]?). [Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam, p. 90]

It is well known that many scholars, including Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn al-Qayyim, Adh-Dhahabī, and others, strongly criticized Ibn ‘Arabī's doctrine of waḥdat al-wujūd (unity of being) because of the theological implications it carries.

Likewise, the statement “I am He, and He is I” has been authentically attributed to Al-Ḥuṣayn Ibn Manṣūr al-Ḥallāj, another prominent Ṣūfī. The fuller wording appears in one of his poems: “Anā man ahwā wa man ahwā anā. Naḥnu rūḥāni ḥalalnā badanā. Fa-idhā abṣartanī abṣartahu. Wa idhā abṣartahu abṣartanā.” (Meaning: I am He whom I love, and He whom I love is I. We are two spirits dwelling in one body. If you see me, you see Him. And if you see Him, you see us).

Despite the seriousness of such expressions, some Ṣūfīs have claimed that these statements represent the highest level of Islamic mysticism and are simply beyond the comprehension of ordinary people. However, no statement—regardless of who utters it—is accepted in Islām unless it agrees with the Qur'ān, the authentic Sunnah, and the understanding of the righteous predecessors of this Ummah. The religion of Allāh is founded upon clarity, not esoteric expressions that blur the distinction between the Creator and His creation.

I beseech Allāh to keep our hearts firm upon pure Tawḥīd, to protect us from every form of disbelief, innovation, and misguidance, and to allow us to meet Him upon sound faith. Aameen.