My sheikh Muhammad ibn Jundub—peace be upon him—the Orphan of the Time and the Hour, narrated to me: I was in the presence of the Lord al-Hasan the final, al-Askari—exalted be his glory—when a discussion took place before him regarding: {The Compassionate [who] is established on the Throne}. He said to my lord Abu Shu'ayb Muhammad al-Numayri—peace be upon him: "O my Gate through whom I am approached, speak what we have taught you regarding the Compassionate, the Merciful."
Lord Abu Shu'ayb—peace be upon him—said: "The Compassionate (al-Rahman) and the Merciful (al-Rahim) are two gentle names, one gentler than the other; they are al-Hasan and al-Husayn, two names for God—the Mighty and Sublime."
Our Master al-Hasan—exalted be his glory—said to those present, pointing with his hand to Lord Abu Shu'ayb: "The Compassionate: {So ask regarding Him one who is aware}."
The commoners say of the philosophers that they discard the intermediaries; they speak the truth, but they are blind to the reality of that. The philosophers only say: God—glory be to Him—has no need for intermediaries; He is self-subsisting, manifesting in the world and passing among them, showing them that what happens to them happens to Him, so that the people of knowledge among them recognize Him.
It is related in some narrations: "God the Almighty used to manifest among the Greeks as Aristoteles; the Name used to manifest as Plato; the Gate used to manifest as Socrates; and the two Orphans used to manifest as Hippocrates and Galen. The Adversary—may God curse him—was Sophista."
(355) Al-Abadani related in the Book of Manifestations: "The Meaning—Exalted—manifested as al-Humaysa’ and his Gate was Adad. The Adversary was manifest through three persons: Yaghuth, Ya’uq, and Nasra. It is related that the Gate in the time of the Lord Joseph—exalted be his glory—was manifest through his brother Benjamin; and in the era of the Messiah, he was manifest through John the Daylamite. The Adversary was Paul, and his Gate was Dimudir (the Manager)—also called Admas."