you and that which you do?"»1 Likewise, Joseph named the governor 'Lord' when he was not a lord; Allah, Exalted Glory, said: «O two companions of the prison, as for one of you, he will give his lord wine to drink; and as for the other, he will be crucified, and the birds will eat from his head. The matter has been decreed about which you both inquire.»2 "
The King said: "You have narrated from the Scholar, Exalted Glory, that he said: 'If the world knew the Beginning (al-Ibtidā’), no two men would differ'?" My Master said: "The report has been narrated from him."
The King asked: "What then is the nature of the disagreement of the Ummah, when they claim that the Beginning is the time mentioned by Allah, Exalted Glory, in His saying: «And when your Lord took from the children of Adam—from their loins—their descendants and made them testify of themselves, [saying to them], "Am I not your Lord?" They said, "Yes, we have testified"»3?"
My Master said: "The Shias differ on this. Some say that this Call, Covenant, and Taking which Allah took from the children of Adam was a time of manifestation that occurred after the Beginning; they have a lengthy explanation for this. Another group said: The Meaning (al-Ma‘nā) manifested through His Name (al-Ism) at that time. His saying: 'Am I not your Lord?' is the speech of the Meaning from the Name, intending 'your Lord' as the one manifest to them, for 'the Lord' according to them is the Name."
The King said: "In that case, the Meaning is the Tongue of the Name (al-Mīm) and its speech; He manifested through it and spoke from it. This would invalidate the saying of those who claim that the Name is the Tongue of the Meaning and its speech, despite their narration that