from the created beings, and there is nothing in His creation from His essence, nor in His essence from His creation, and that it is necessary to distinguish the Eternal from the transient and to differentiate the Creator from the created. This is mentioned in their discourse more than can be recounted here. They have spoken about the diseases and doubts that afflict the hearts, for some people may witness the existence of created beings and mistakenly think it is the Creator of the earth and the heavens due to a lack of discernment and differentiation in their hearts, similar to one who sees the rays of the sun and thinks that is the sun in the sky. They also speak about differentiation and unification, and within this, various expressions are included similar to what is involved in annihilation. For when a servant witnesses the diversity and multitude in the created beings, his heart remains attached to them, scattered, and looking towards them, and his attachment to them is either out of love, fear, or hope. But when he moves to unification, his heart unites in the oneness of Allāh and His worship alone, without any partner, so his heart turns to Allāh after having turned to the created beings. Thus, his love becomes for his Lord, his fear from his Lord, his hope for his Lord, and his seeking help from his Lord, and in this state, his heart may not accommodate looking at the created to differentiate between the Creator and the created. He may be focused on the truth, turning away from creation in both intention and view, which is similar to the second type of annihilation. But after that, the second differentiation is that he witnesses that the created beings..