Indeed, it is the One, the Ancient, the Great Light, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful, the one brought forth (al-munfatir) from the light of the Essence of the One (al-Ahad). The Unseen is its inward reality; and by the Oneness of the light of the One, it has not begotten, nor was it begotten, and there is none co-equal to it. It is like the 'Waw' from the 'Ha' ([the two letters of Huwa or 'He']). If you say they are two letters, their meaning is one and their Unseen is the One: {Vision perceives Him not, but He perceives [all] vision; and He is the Subtle, the Acquainted} (Al-An'am: 103). Regions do not contain Him, yet He contains them. He is the Subtle in thought, the Acquainted, the Hidden in the Unseen, the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing."

Who is the Reason

(18) My Master, the Sheikh Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Baladi, may Allah brighten his face and sanctify his soul, narrated: Abu al-Qasim Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Isa al-Nu'mani told us, from the trustworthy Sheikh Abi al-Husayn Muhammad ibn Ali al-Jali, may Allah be pleased with them both, that he said: "The Meaning (al-Ma'na), exalted be His mention, existed when there was no place, no era, and no time. Then He, Glory be to Him, willed to create a creation with perfection, so He originated His most Exalted and Greatest Name from the light of His Essence, and that is the Reason (al-Aql)—of which the Knower, the Negligent, the Ally, and the Opponent have all narrated:

'Verily, the first thing Allah created was the Reason. He established it in the Praiseworthy Station (al-Maqam al-Mahmud), then He addressed it from Himself and communed with it through it, saying: "Come forward," and it came forward and returned in union. Then He said to it: "Go back," and it went back. He then said: "By My Might and My Majesty, I have not created a creation more beloved to Me than you, nor closer to My Essence than your attribute. Through you I take, through you I give, through you I reward, and through you I punish."'