The Report of Muhammad ibn Sinan—peace be upon him—regarding Tawhid

And in the report from the Book of Tawhid (Kitab al-Tawhid), from Muhammad ibn Sinan—peace be upon him—who said:

We entered upon him, and we were thirty-four men—[among us] seventeen men [versed] in the realities of the secrets of religion—and every one of us claimed that he had attained the knowledge [Ma'rifa] of Tawhid.

So Muhammad ibn Sinan—peace be upon him—said to us: "Do you declare the Oneness of Allah?" We said: "Yes, we declare His Oneness." He said: "How do you declare His Oneness?" We said: "We testify that the Meaning [al-Ma'na] is the Lord of the Worlds, who has not ceased and will not cease to be Manifest [Zahiran] by His Beautiful Names, and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger."

So Muhammad ibn Sinan—peace be upon him—said: "Upon which meaning do you declare His Oneness: that He is Apparent [Zahir] or Veiled [Muhtajib]?" We said: "That He is Apparent, and He is the Veiled Meaning."