A Short Treatise on The Divine Invitation

Mystics are Guests of Allāh

Some mystics like Ibn al-’Arabī consider the sūfīs (those who possess the purity of heart and have attained proximity to God) to be the guests of Allāh (SwT).  In his Futūhāt al-Makkiyyah he says:
 

ألصوفية أضياف الله، فإِنهم سافروا من حظوظ أنفسهم وجميع الاكـوان إيثاراً للجناب الإلهي، فنـزلوا به، فلا يعملون عملاً إلا بإذن من نزلوا عليه، وهو الله، فلا يتصرفون ولا يسكنون ولا يتحركون إلا عن أمر إلهي، ومن ليست هذه صفته فهو في الطريق يمشي يقطع مناهل نفسه حتى يصل إلى ربه، فحينئذ يـكون ضيفاً...

“‘The mystics (al-sūfiyyah) are guests of Allāh, for they journeyed from the pleasures of their lower self and everything in sacrifice for the neighborhood of God; so they alighted in His neighborhood, and hence do not perform any action save by the permission of He, Whose neighborhood they alighted as guests, and that is Allāh; therefore they do not do anything, nor settle down, nor move save by the Divine Command; and one who does not have such a character, he is [still] walking on the way, crossing the springs of his self until he reaches his Lord, and then it is when he is a guest…’”[^1]

[^1]: al-Futūhāt al-Makkiyyah, vol. 9, pg. 416.