"I am the Supreme Divinity (al-Lāhūtiyya al-ʿUẓmā); I am the Possessor of the Greater Lordship (al-Rubūbiyya al-Kubrā); I am the blasting thunder; I am the stormy wind."

Indeed, all these statements contradict one another. Can the intellect find it correct to believe them except by affirming the Inward (al-Bāṭin) and rejecting the Outward (al-Ẓāhir)? For he who is Allah cannot be a servant (ʿabd) of Allah, and if he is a servant of Allah, he cannot be Allah.

So perceive, O seeker, through this statement: He manifested being killed upon himself and said that he is the servant of Allah—meaning a mortal (bashar) from among the servants of Allah. This was due to their seeing him through the human attribute, which stems from the density (kadūra) of their own dark [material] bodies. He manifested the fifteen states to them; and just as he showed them Power (al-Qudra) from every perspective, he showed them Weakness (al-ʿAjz) from every perspective, and concealment (al-talbīs) from every perspective. And that the manifestation [of weakness] is the perfection of Power; for he who is unable to manifest weakness from every perspective, just as he is able to manifest Power from every perspective, would be limited—and the limited cannot be a Lord.