But whenever it returns, turning toward Unity and departing from composition and association, it perceives the solitary, eternal things and leaves behind the composite, temporal ones.
It has become clear from this explanation that the life of the soul lies in its departure from the world of nature, while its death and the length of its torment lie in its remaining within it 1 .
Footnotes
1This is in accordance with the tradition among the scholars of the exoteric (Ahl al-Zahir), and it is the saying of the Master Muhammad (may his might be exalted): "Die before you die," which Al-Fayd al-Kashani described as a famous tradition, and Al-Majlisi followed him in that.