(272) By the same chain of transmission regarding the interpretation of His word, the Almighty: {And when My servants ask you concerning Me, indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the caller when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me and believe in Me that they may be guided}1.
He said: Whoever asks regarding the knowledge of the Ain with sincerity, seeking attainment and salvation, the Meaning—Exalted—facilitates for him a person, either a possessor of a station or a possessor of piety, who establishes him upon the knowledge of God—the Sublime and Exalted. This is His word: {I respond to the invocation of the caller when he calls upon Me}2. He said: "Its meaning is: if he recognizes Me by Divinity (Lahutiyya), recognizes My Veil by Luminousness (Nuraniyya), and enters through My Gate with Knowledge, I shall not deprive him of My vision nor of looking upon Me through the perfection of My knowledge. So let them respond to the Meaning alone and believe in His Oneness, that they may be guided to the Vision and the lofty station."
We shall explain of these Exemplary Manifestations that which illuminates every person who comes across this section.
This is what was narrated to me by the Sheikh Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Baladi—may God be pleased with him—from the Sheikh Abu Sa'id Maymun ibn al-Qasim al-Tabarani—may God sanctify his soul. He said: I asked the Sheikh Abu al-Husayn Muhammad ibn Ali al-Jali—may God brighten his face—regarding the Meaning: does He manifest through His Veil, and does the Veil manifest through His Gate? He answered me—may God reward him—with an answer from which we extracted this section, saying: