(170) It is narrated that a questioner asked one of the scholars, saying: "By what did you recognize God?" He replied: "He appeared, and so I found Him." The man asked: "At what time did He appear such that you found Him?" He replied: "At the time when He said: {Am I not your Lord? They said: Yes} [7:172]. And He became hidden, so I worshipped Him." The man asked: "At what time did He become hidden such that you worshipped Him?" He replied: "At the appearance of His actions within me. And He became absent, so I witnessed Him." The man asked: "How did He become absent such that you witnessed Him?" He replied: "He did not become absent through the absence of non-existence; rather, He was hidden from observation due to my own ill deeds."

(171) Among what we have transmitted from the Book of al-Aswas and added to this section: The Knower, Mighty is His Might, said: "Then God willed, intended, decreed, ordained, spoke, and appeared to the creation. They saw Him truly and affirmed Him sincerely. That was because they were spiritual beings, so they were able to look by the subtlety of their own essences. At that moment, attributes occurred, and there arose a need for recognitions and the attribution of places."

The questioner asked: "Does the Lord, Glory be to Him, appear from trees and stones just as He appears from humans?" The Knower, Mighty is His Might, said: "The Lord appears from wherever He wills, for power and will belong to Him. He may appear in the human form because it is according to His form, Exalted and Loftiest is He; whereas the form of water, stone, or tree is not according to His form."

The questioner asked: "Did He intend to resemble the creation?" The Knower, Mighty is His Might, said: "Resemblance only occurs between species, and He—Mighty is His Might—is not of their species." The questioner asked: "Does He, Glory be to Him, appear as if He is His creation, or does He create a being to hide within and speak through?"