Belief in Ḥulūl (Incarnation) and Its Dangers
This excerpt is taken from the book Allāh Kahān Hai? by Shaykh Ghulām Muṣṭafā Ẓahīr Amunpūrī.The Creed of Ḥulūl and Its Dangers
Allāh the Most High is above His Throne, separate from His creation. This is the unanimous and agreed-upon belief of Ahl al-Sunnah. In opposition to this unanimous belief, some misguided individuals hold the view that Allāh is present everywhere. Some claim that He has incarnated into His creation, meaning that the distinction between the Creator and the creation has vanished. Both of these beliefs contradict the consensus of Ahl al-Ḥaqq and Ahl al-Sunnah.Below are the statements of scholars regarding the belief of ḥulūl.
Statements of the Scholars
① Imām Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī رحمه الله (d. 505 AH)
He said:“From here arose the imagination of one who claimed incarnation (ḥulūl) and union (ittiḥād), and said: ‘I am the Truth.’ Around this revolves the speech of the Christians regarding the claim of the union of divinity (lāhūt) and humanity (nāsūt), or that it clothed itself in it, or incarnated into it, although their expressions differ. This belief is pure error.”من هنا نشأ خيال من ادعى الحلول والاتحاد وقال: أنا الحق، وحوله يدندن كلام النصارى في دعوى اتحاد اللاهوت والناسوت أو تدرعها بها أو حلولها فيها على ما اختلف فيهم عبارتهم، وهو غلط محض.
Reference: Iḥyā’ ʿUlūm al-Dīn: 2/292
② Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿIrāqī رحمه الله (d. 806 AH)
While refuting Ibn ʿArabī, he wrote:“As for his statement: ‘He is the very essence of what is manifest and what is hidden,’ this is poisonous speech. Apparently, it indicates absolute unity (waḥdat al-wujūd), meaning that all created beings are His very essence... The one who says this and believes in it is a disbeliever according to the consensus of the scholars.”أما قوله: فهو عين ما ظهر وعين ما بطن، فهو كلام مسموم ظاهره القول بالوحدة المطلقة، وأن جميع مخلوقاته هي عينه... وقائل ذلك المعتقد له كافر بإجماع العلماء.
Reference: Tanbīh al-Ghabī ʿalā Takfīr Ibn ʿArabī (Miṣraʿ al-Taṣawwuf), p. 64
③ Abū Ḥayyān al-Andalusī رحمه الله (d. 745 AH)
He wrote that those who outwardly wear the garment of Islam while holding beliefs of ḥulūl and ittiḥād derived these ideas from Christian doctrines. He listed individuals who propagated such beliefs and stated:“By Allāh, I have mentioned these names out of sincere religious concern and fear for weak Muslims in their creed. These people are worse than the philosophers who deny Allāh and His Messengers... Refuting the Christians, the believers in incarnation, and the proponents of waḥdat al-wujūd is part of the knowledge of the fundamentals of religion.”
Reference: Al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ: 3/448
④ Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله (d. 728 AH)
He said:“These statements of the Jahmiyyah are worse than those of the Christians... They sometimes claim incarnation, sometimes waḥdat al-wujūd, and sometimes union. This doctrine is inherently contradictory... It is entirely disbelief outwardly and inwardly, upon which there is consensus among the Muslims. Whoever knows their statements and understands Islam yet doubts their disbelief is himself a disbeliever, just as one who doubts the disbelief of the Jews, Christians, and polytheists.”
Reference: Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā: 2/388
⑤ Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ رحمه الله (d. 544 AH)
He wrote:“This (belief in waḥdat al-wujūd) is disbelief by consensus of the Muslims... Likewise, whoever claims companionship with Allāh, ascension, speaking with Him, or that He incarnates into any person (is a disbeliever), as stated by some Sufis, Bāṭinis, Christians, and Qarmatians.”ذلك كفر بإجماع المسلمين... وكذلك من ادعى مجالسة الله والعروج ومكالمته أو حلوله في أحد من الأشخاص...
Reference: Al-Shifā’ bi-Taʿrīf Ḥuqūq al-Muṣṭafā: 2/585-586
⑥ Imām al-Suyūṭī رحمه الله (d. 911 AH)
He wrote:“The doctrine of incarnation and union was first stated by the Christians... They restricted it to ʿĪsā عليه السلام. However, if this statement is authentically attributed to some extremist Sufis who generalized it, then they have exceeded the Christians in disbelief.”القول بالحلول والاتحاد... أول من قال به النصارى...
Reference: Tanzīh al-Iʿtiqād ʿan al-Ḥulūl wa al-Ittiḥād, in al-Ḥāwī lil-Fatāwā: 2/122-123
⑦ Qāḍī al-Māwardī رحمه الله
He said:“The one who believes in incarnation and union is not among the Muslims in terms of the Sharīʿah, except outwardly in name. Declaring transcendence (tanzīh) does not benefit alongside belief in union and incarnation, for claiming transcendence while holding such beliefs is heresy.”القائل بالحلول والاتحاد ليس من المسلمين بالشريعة... ولا ينفع التنزيه مع القول بالاتحاد والحلول...
Reference: Al-Ḥāwī lil-Fatāwā: 2/125
⑧ ʿIzz al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Salām رحمه الله (d. 660 AH)
He wrote:“Whoever claims that the Deity incarnates into any human body or other body is a disbeliever... Therefore, such a belief is not excused.”من زعم أن الإله يحل في شيء من أجساد الناس أو غيرهم فهو كافر...
Reference: Al-Ḥāwī lil-Fatāwā: 2/126
Imām al-Suyūṭī commented:
“There is no difference of opinion regarding declaring the believers in ḥulūl as disbelievers; rather, there is consensus on their disbelief.”يقطع بتكفير القائلين بالحلول إجماعا...
Reference: Al-Ḥāwī lil-Fatāwā: 2/126
⑨ Abū Muḥammad ʿAbdullāh bin Muḥammad Nūrī
He wrote:“The very foundation of union is false, impossible, and rejected by Sharʿ, intellect, and custom, by consensus of the Prophets, the Awliyā’, the Sufi masters, all scholars, and the Muslims... Whoever says this resembles the Christians who claimed that the humanity of ʿĪsā united with his divinity.”فإذن أصل الاتحاد باطل محال مردود شرعا وعقلا وعرفا بإجماع الأنبياء والأولياء ومشايخ الصوفية وسائر العلماء والمسلمين...
Reference: Al-Ḥāwī lil-Fatāwā: 2/126
Dangers of the Belief in Ḥulūl
◈ If the Creator and the creation are one existence, how would the Creator command or forbid the creation?◈ It necessitates denial of divine creation, because no one can be his own creator.
◈ It negates Allāh’s sovereignty, as no one can be his own master.
◈ It implies that Allāh does not provide sustenance or guidance, because no other existence remains besides Him.
◈ It entails that Allāh Himself fasts, stands in prayer, bows, prostrates, falls ill, and dies.
◈ According to this belief, idol worshippers were worshipping Allāh, since no other existence exists.
◈ Those who claimed divinity, such as Firʿawn and the Dajjāl, would be truthful according to this belief.
◈ It implies that dogs, pigs, and other creatures are divine, since according to waḥdat al-wujūd they have no independent existence.
◈ It leads to rational impossibilities: if two beings unite, either both remain (thus two exist), both vanish (creating a third), or one remains and the other vanishes—none of which constitutes real union.
◈ It contradicts sound human nature and all revealed laws, as no divine Sharīʿah has permitted it, nor does sound intellect accept it.
◈ Some misguided individuals claim that through worship a person reaches a level where he sees Allāh in everything or considers every created being to be Allāh. In Sufi terminology, this is called Waḥdat al-Wujūd. Further progression supposedly leads to merging into Allāh’s essence, termed Waḥdat al-Shuhūd or Fanā’ fī Allāh. They claim the heart becomes so pure that Allāh incarnates into the person — this is the doctrine of ḥulūl.
This is a purely disbelief-based doctrine derived from Christian beliefs. It is categorically opposed to the Qur’ān, Ḥadīth, and sound human nature.
