"It is not permissible for any creature to abandon the exoteric (al-Ẓāhir),

Until he is knowledgeable of that which is esoteric (al-Baṭin).

It is not for them to say: 'We have known, it is enough for us

To abandon worship altogether,' for that is [not] for us.

For that, by God, is a matter that is not valid, nor

Did the Book bring it—and truth is our pursuit.

Nor were we commanded except to strive, and that Our deeds for God be [according to] our capacity."

As for the word "Until" (ḥattā), the intention behind it is similar to the saying of the son of Jacob [Joseph's brother]: {I will never leave the land until my father permits me} (Yūsuf: 80). That is, if his father Jacob—peace be upon him—permits him, he would leave the land of Egypt; otherwise, no. Or like the saying of the Samaritans: {They said: 'We will never cease being devoted to it [the calf] until Moses returns to us'} (Ṭāhā: 91).

Likewise is the intention of our Sheikh in his saying: (Until he is knowledgeable of that which is esoteric).

He means that if the believer knows the esoteric reality of these exoteric limits, the performance of their exoteric obligations is dropped