And among it is what was established by the noble master, the scholar, and practitioner Hamza ibn Ali ibn Shu'ba al-Harrani (may Allah sanctify him) in the book Hujjat al-'Arif (The Proof of the Gnostic), saying:

"Indeed, the table placed in the Book of Ranks and Degrees and in the Book of the Realities of the Secrets of Religion for the purpose of knowing the numbers of the Ranks (al-Maratib) and their people, indicates that all that Allah the Almighty mentioned in His Book—of date palms, pomegranates, olives, fasting, prayer, Hajj, Zakat, Jihad, easts, wests, seas, mountains, houses, mosques, cloisters, churches, bees, birds, cattle... and other such things—are Persons (Ashkhas) whom Allah has commanded us to know and obey, not literal date palms, pomegranates, mountains, trees, or beasts.

And He (Exalted and Majestic is He) transcends making His obligations consist of what is vanishing, changing, and decaying; Exalted is Allah above making His commands and prohibitions concerning such things..." up to his saying: "Likewise, all that Allah the Almighty blamed in the Quran refers to Persons whom Allah the Almighty blamed and commanded us to disassociate from, such as Jibt and Taghut and the like."

I say: Meaning, that which Allah the Almighty has blamed among these worldly names intends nothing but blamed persons; likewise, that which He has praised.