refers to the shackles and burdens and the following of the leaders of delusion."

Among the reports mentioned regarding this meaning in the books of Unicity is what was narrated from Mufaddal bin Umar, who said: "I asked: Why did the Christian Law (al-Sharī‘ah al-Masīḥiyyah) become less demanding, lighter in obligation, and closer to the believers than the [Law of the] Jews and all other laws?"

The answer was: "Because Moses (peace be upon him) called the creation to the esoteric of his exoteric (bāṭin ẓuhūrihi) and gestured among them toward the attributes of his Light, but they denied him and rebelled against him. So He poured upon them abasement and poverty, narrowed their demands, and their souls became increasingly estranged and their hearts repelled.

Afterward, He appeared in the Christian Attribute and called the Christians (al-Naṣārā). They answered, and He gestured to them, and they obeyed—except that they spoke plainly to Him and arrived at what He had entrusted to them and manifested it. Thus, they were the closest of nations to Affirmation (al-Iqrār) and the furthest of them from Denial (al-Inkār)."

Had they [the Christians] not believed in a human nature (Nāsūt) alongside the Divine (Lāhūt), and in darkness alongside Light, they would have been among the true believers and would not have been separated from the Gnostics. Yet, He lightened their burden (iṣrahum) and