And what is more striking is that, after all this, not one of them wished—or rather, dared—to accept departing from the school of Al-Sayyid Abi ‘Abdillah; even though they stated explicitly, and did not merely hint at, matters which, if placed against his definitive (Muhkam) word, would be its absolute antithesis. We began to recognize our present positions through the patterns of bygone times, and we understood much regarding them in the saying of our Master al-Sadiq (Exalted be His Might): "Iblis was only confounded by the Image."

Then, in the context of discussing "Otherness" (al-Ghayriyya), there occurred to our minds what the Master al-Sadiq (Exalted be His Might) replied to one who asked him about the meaning of "Muhammad is the Soul (Nafs) of Allah." According to the questioner's understanding of the meanings of "soul," it meant the essence of the thing itself; so [the Imam] corrected his error, saying: "It is not according to the meaning of 'souls' as you have assumed."

Then, there passed through the mind the countless fallacies of the atheists and their objections even against the verses of the Wise Remembrance (al-Dhikr al-Hakim), in which the deceivers and doubters imagined there were contradictions and discrepancies. [We recalled] how, in every instance, they repel confusion by placing the verses in their proper contexts and providing their correct explanation from other verses, until those guided by Allah were led to the rule that is free from any flaw, which is: "The Holy Quran explains itself."