and spoke with sincerity, so that it may be a proof for me and not against me."

The Muslim said: "As for what I, my sheikhs, and those who follow me upon the Truth say: We say that the Imam, established in existence, who manifested the signs and brought the miracles, is the Manifestor of the Lord in His heavens and His earth. He is Eternity that does not vanish, Justice that does not oppress, a manifest Eternal Resort (Ṣamad), a radiant light, an overpowering Noble One, a competent Strong One, and a complete Scholar. The proof for what I mentioned in this book is the word of the Messengers and the testimony of the angels and the near ones. As for the testimony of the Book, it is His saying — Exalted Glory —: «Indeed, it is We who bring the dead to life and record what they have put forth and their traces, and all things We have accounted for in a manifest Imam». He is the Manifest, the Witness, the Present, and the One whose gnosis is established. And it is His saying, Exalted Glory: «He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden, and He is, of all things, Knowing». The First who is without beginning, and the Last who has no end; the Manifest, the Present, the Established Witness; and the Hidden whom the eyes do not see and thoughts do not reach, who has no goal to be attained nor limit by which parables are struck. The Knowing from whom no secret is hidden, whether in private or in public.

It is related from him — Exalted Glory — that he said in his sermon known as al-Taṭnajiyya: 'I am the First, not starting from anything; and the Last, not ending toward anything; and the Manifest, not appearing from anything; and the Hidden, not concealed by anything; and the Scholar, not having learned through science; and the Competent, not having become capable through power.'

It is related from him — Exalted Glory — that he said in the Sermon of Revelation (Khuṭbat al-Kashf): 'I am the First and the Last, the Hidden and the Manifest, and I am, of all things, Knowing.'