The Answer: We have informed you that he [the Prophet] established an Outward (Zahir) form, making it a guide to the Inward (Batin); had he not done this, neither the outward nor the inward would have been recognized.

Al-Sayyid Hasan ibn Makzun excelled in what he established in his epistle regarding this meaning, saying: "The Speaking Prophets (Al-Nutuqa’) among the Messengers—may God's blessings be upon them—did not command the preservation of any form of outward worship except as an alert to their hidden secrets; {And Allah sets forth parables for mankind that they may reflect}."

He—may God sanctify him—also explicitly stated in the fifth chapter of the epistle Purification of the Soul (Tazkiyat al-Nafs): "That the outward obligations (Al-Fara’id al-Zahira) are mandated upon the commoners (Al-‘Amma), who are the Opposites (Al-Addad)."

He further graced us with the gnosis of Hajj, saying: "Know, O brother—may God grant you success in walking His path—that the Hajj which God obligated upon every capable person, and its performance according to His—the Almighty's—saying: {And [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House—for whoever is able to find thereto a way} (Aal Imran: 97), is such that its outward matter is known to the People of the Outward (Ahl al-Zahir).