the inward gnosis (al-maʿārif al-bāṭina), the inward manifestations, and the inward ranks.
The People of Monotheism (Ahl al-Tawḥīd) established the foundation of their inward path upon these outward images because the Quran and all the Heavenly Books spoke only through these outward images, just as they [the Holy Ranks] did not appear on this earth except in human forms and human states.




