As our Sheikh [al-Khasibi]—peace be upon him—stated: 'It is He' in affirmation, existence, beholding, and certainty; yet 'He is not it' in the sense of composite union, totality, confinement, or encompassment."

I say—and the grace belongs to Allah and to those who preceded [us]: "That Visible Image is not the 'totality' of the Creator, yet the Creator is not other than it." The Visible Image is the Ultimate Goal and the Meaning of Meanings; to it the Prophets pointed and the Messengers directed from the beginning of time until the end of days. None utters this discourse or points to it except for Allah, the Most High, the Grand, in the sense of the Meaning (al-Ma'na), not in the sense of the Name (al-Ism). [The Name] directs, clarifies, and alludes, while the Meaning manifests and speaks explicitly.

Thus, whoever says: "That Image is the Mim ($م$ [the Name]) and the Meaning is above it, being an Unseen that is not seen," has returned to Short-coming (al-Taqsir), referring us back to the "Unseen" and the "Other," and we would thus [Allah forbid] be retreating backwards.

Discourse of the Trustworthy Sheikh, al-Jali, in his treatise "al-Fatq wa-al-Ratq"

(The Opening and the Closing)

From the treatise al-Fatq wa-al-Ratq (may Allah sanctify him), regarding what was said concerning the Visible Image: