This act proceeds like the act He performed in the Hashemite Cycle: His manifesting ophthalmia and coming to the Messenger until he spat in his eyes; and like the strike on the day of Amr ibn Wudd al-Amiri; and similar instances of "incapacity" manifested by the Lord. It is a miracle in the view of the People of Reality. They do not know that these Tribes, whom He manifested as brothers, are the Proofs of the Meaning and the locations of His veiling of the world. Know that and ponder it; you shall find it so. And His word, the Mighty and Sublime: {And there came a company of travelers; they sent their water-drawer, and he let down his bucket. He said, "Good news! Here is a boy." And they concealed him as merchandise; and God was Knowing of what they were doing.}1
The "bucket" (al-dalw) here is the establishment of the proof (al-hujja), just as it is said, "So-and-so lowered (adla) his proof." Likewise, it is said to a speaker among a group: "Lower your bucket among the buckets"—meaning: clarify your speech. And His word: {And they brought upon his shirt false blood. [Jacob] said, "Rather, your souls have enticed you to something, so patience is most fitting. And God is the one sought for help against that which you describe."}2
The "shirts" in my view are three:
This shirt: which is His manifestation as a mortal; the "false blood" is their saying that Joseph is a mortal like them.
The word of the Sublime and Exalted: {And they both raced to the door, and she tore his shirt from the back, and they found her master at the door. She said, "What is the recompense of one who intended evil for your family but that he be imprisoned or a painful punishment?"}3 Meaning Zulaikha—who in this Hashemite Cycle is Asma bint Umays al-Khath'amiyya—peace be upon her. Zulaikha wanted to take the knowledge of God without an intermediary, so she tore the shirt—which in the language of the Arabs is the very essence of the thing. A poet said: