So when Knowledge and Power appeared from Him, and the inability of creatures to [match] it, they knew that for that Form there is a Meaning (Ma'na), and that the humanity which He manifested had no [ultimate] Reality1, and that the Reality lies in the Lordship (Rububiyyah) to manifest Power, not in the humanity to manifest [weakness]. And indeed, Allah manifested in whatever He willed, however He willed, from the great of creation and the small of it. He inspired you with His Gnosis within the Human Nature (Nasutiyyah) so that you would not doubt nor go astray.
Then he said: "Indeed, the Meaning (Al-Ma'na) is the Ancient Eternity (Al-Azal al-Qadim), and the Goal (Al-Ghaya) is the Veil (Al-Hijab) by which He veils Himself.
Footnotes
1There is no reality to the existence of the "Human Nature" (Nasutiyyah) in the Essence of the Creator. Those are the attributes of humans, not His Attributes (Exalted is He). The Fixed Reality (Al-Haqiqa al-Thabita) lies in the Lordship for the purpose of manifesting dazzling Power, not in the humanity for manifesting weakness.It is stated in Qala'id al-Durar by Sheikh Hussein Ahmad (Sanctified be his secret): "The weakness we saw is attributed to the Form, and the Power that appeared is attributed to the First, the Powerful."To prevent anyone from imagining that the Visible Form is other than the Meaning, we say to him: "It is Him in Reality and Substance (Jawhar), not in Vision and Appearance."And we quote the saying of the Trustworthy Youth (Peace be upon him): "The Visible Form to which the eyes of creation gaze is in the Essence by way of Existence and Affirmation, not by way of Containment and Encompassment.""Reality" (Haqiqa) means the Truth, which is the opposite of Metaphor (Majaz). You say: "A real thing," meaning certain and fixed. The "Ta" (feminine marker) was added to move it from a descriptive to a nominal form. Philosophers use the term "Reality" as a synonym for Quiddity (Mahiyya) or Essence, opposite to Existence; or it is used to mean the Core (Kunh) or Abstract Existence. It may also be used as a synonym for Concrete Existence.In definitions: It is the thing that is definitely and certainly fixed. The reality of a thing is that by which it is what it is.Regarding the Ranks of Precedence: (Precedence by Rank + by Honor + by Time + by Nature/Causality + by Substance + by Right/Truth + by Reality + by Metaphor + by Eon). I leave it to the intelligent reader to deduce the precedence of the Essence over the Attributes.