And this is the World of the Abstract Soul connected to its Creator, supported by an Originating Power, as a subtlety and mercy to His servants, so that they do not doubt or go astray.
Then the Soul—which is the Gate—manifested a subtle, noble Substance (Jawhar), from which arose the Seven Spheres indicated as "The Heavens".1
And He displayed within them Shining Souls and Blooming Stars. And He scattered within them His Angels, and manifested in them the wonders of His handiwork.
And He appeared to them as them (Zahara lahum bima azharahum bihi)—as a subtlety and mercy.
Footnotes
1Yunus bin Zabyan (Peace be upon him) asked our Master Musa al-Kazim (Exalted be His Might) about the first thing Allah created.He said: "The First Light. Then He divided it into Shades (Azilla). Then He divided the Shades into Figures (Ashbah). Then He made them Paths (Tara'iq), then Luminous Persons (Ashkhas Nuriyya), and He made them sensitive and perceptive.Then He appeared to them as them (Kahum), and called them to Himself, and they answered Him.Then He changed the Manifestation for them, and they answered Him.He did this to them seven times, and they answered Him without hesitation, thought, or pause. And in every time, a Name applied to Him and that Manifestation by which they saw Him and from which He addressed them—though He is Majestic and Great above that.Then He arranged them according to stations and degrees, as He informed about them saying: 'There is not among us any except that he has a known station,' and 'Indeed, we are the arranged ones,' and 'Indeed, we are the ones who glorify.'Then He surfaced a second Surface (Sataha Sat'han), as He did with the First... then divided it into Shades, Figures, Paths, and Persons. Then He appeared to them as them and called them... and they affirmed and answered.He did this with them seven times...Then a third, fourth, fifth, and sixth Surface, until He ended at the creation of the Seventh Light. And He placed Capacity (Istita'a) in them just as He placed in those before them from the people of every Universe, as Justice from Him.Then He established them as Shades, Figures, Paths, and Persons, then appeared to them as them and called them to Himself, and they answered Him.And these are the Seven Luminous Adams.