THE ASPECTS OF UNITY 59

the most fundamental distinction and the identity of
essence and is thus a resume of the whole of meta-
physic.

According to this ‘“testimony’ God is distinct
from all things and nothing can be compared to Him,
for between realities which can be compared one to
another there is something in common in their nature
or else an equality of condition whereas the Divinity is
transcendent in both respects. Now perfect incom-
parability requires that nothing can be set face to face
with the incomparable and have any relationship what-
ever with it; this amounts to saying that nothing exists
in face of the Divine Reality so that, in It, all things
are annihilated. ‘“God was and nothing with Him
and He is now such as He was” (hadith qudsi).!

Thus extreme ““ remoteness’ (Tanzih) must imply
its opposite. Since nothing can be opposed to God—
for it would then be another “divinity”’ (ilah)—every
reality can only be a reflection of the Divine Reality.
Moreover every positive meaning one might give to
the expression ilah (divinity) will be transposed in
divinis: ‘““there is no reality if it be not The Reality,”
“there is no force if it be not The Force’’, ¢ there is
no truth if it is not The Truth.”2 We must not seek
to conceive God by bringing Him down to the level of
things; on the contrary, things are reabsorbed into
God so soon as one recognises the essential qualities
of which they are constituted. This is the point of view

1. Sayings of the Prophet which are divinely inspired.

2. Cf. Frithjof Schuon: Shahadah et Fatihah in Voile d’Isis, July,
1933.