(361) What appeared regarding this sense in the Book of the Path (Kitab al-Sirat) from our Master al-Sadiq—exalted be his glory—is that he said to al-Mufaddal ibn Umar—peace be upon him: "O Mufaddal, do you wish for me to strike a parable for you in this?" He replied: "If You so favor me, O my Master." He said: "O Mufaddal, do you not know that the earth is one, the wells are one, and the plow is one?" Al-Mufaddal said: "Yes, O my Master." Our Master—exalted be his glory—said: "Does all the wheat emerge with a single meaning, each resembling the other? Is there not among it that which is beautiful in appearance and ultimate in quality, and that which is mediocre unlike the first, and that which is below them all? Likewise is whoever hears the Call—and it is the Call of Truth. Among them is he who, when he hears it, excels in it and reaches the limit in seeking it; and among them is he who, when he hears it, accepts it but has no desire for recognition or the pursuit of knowledge, as we previously mentioned; and among them is he who hears it and believes it but does not act upon its conditions—and he is the third we mentioned.

The believer is likewise: whenever he knows and acts, he is elevated until he reaches the first obstacle of the obstacles of the Path. He attains therein from the people of knowledge the ability to act upon it, thus deserving to ascend to the second obstacle. He continues thus, ascending from one obstacle to the next through his action and striving, from one degree to what is higher, until he reaches the seventh obstacle mentioned by God in His Book, where He—exalted be His mention—said: {But he has not broken through the obstacle. And what can make you know what the obstacle is? It is the freeing of a neck.}¹ This obstacle is the knowledge of the Gate—peace be upon him. If he recognizes the Gate in reality, he has indeed freed his neck and become truly free and liberated in description, saved from the world of turbidity.