Chapter Three: Knowing When Negation is Obligatory and When Affirmation is Obligatory

Our noble doctrine is established upon the principle of negation and affirmation (al-nafy wa al-ithbāt). Whoever knows what to negate and what to affirm is among the realized monotheists. This is because the subject of negation and affirmation in the recognition of the Essence is difficult and deemed demanding, a perilous path, and plunging into it is rugged terrain. The one who traverses it requires a vast amount of precision, caution, scrutiny, and contemplation. None shall arrive at its recognition except those possessing enlightened insights and pure intellects, for it is a subtle secret, a thorny path, and a profound enigma that cannot be fully known by everyone. It is not an open watering place for every comer, and none shall know it save one after another among those whom Allah has encompassed with His care and into whose hearts the lights of His guidance have shone. This speech is confirmed by what Sheikh Ibrahim Abd al-Latif,