He says: 'Abu al-Husayn Muhammad bin 'Ali al-Jilli, the Savior of Aleppo, said: "Whoever claims that this Manifest Form—which pointed to its own Essence—has an Inward different from its Outward, and that she [the Form] is a Being whoever claims she is a body (jism) and a soul (ruh), has denied and rejected the Worshiped One. Whoever likens her [to anything] or measures the knowledge of her by his own intellect: he is the partner of Iblis (Satan). For Iblis was the first to use analogy (qiyas), saying: "I am better than him; You created me from fire and created him from clay" 1 .
Whoever claims that there is anything else behind the Form: he has associated partners with God, the Sublime and Magnificent, and has nullified the Essence (abtala al-dhat). Furthermore, had it been necessary for the manifestation of the Meaning to have no reality, then His existence and affirmation would have been void.
Rather, I say—and have always said: That Manifestation is a proof for the believers and a punishment for the disbelieving deniers, so that they may not say [on the Day of Judgment]: "Indeed, we were unaware of this" 2 . He is the One who is perceived by sights, yet He is the One who encompasses them.
It does not follow that just because sights fail to [fully] encompass Him, that the One being gazed upon has no reality.