"Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; behold, my betrayer is at hand."

I say: Many statements have been reported [saying] that he is the Son of God, and many statements [saying] that he is Allah and the Lord—and each has Inward (bāṭina) meanings. These previous witnesses [scriptural proofs] indicate by their Outward (ẓāhir) that Allah the Almighty is like a human, having a face, two hands, two feet, and so forth. Affirming this [literally] is disbelief (kufr), yet calling it a lie is disbelief as well.

As for the one who believes in their Inward (bāṭin), he would have affirmed both statements; because that, in the Inward, is an indication that He shows His manifestation in humanity through these human attributes while He is exalted above them. He only said that because we see Him through them as a kindness from Him—the Almighty—and a mercy for us, for the purpose of instruction, discipline, and divine familiarity (muʾānasa), and that is due to need and necessity.

It is nothing but a result of the darkness of the beholder’s turbidity (kadar) regarding the appearance of the purity of the Essence (al-Dhāt), which is the Witnessed Unseen (al-ghayb al-mashhūd).