This occurs during the "Honoring by Removal" (al-Tashrif bi-l-Izala) and His manifestation in the likeness of their human forms—represented by His luminous manifestation, which corresponds to the luminous attributes of His Name. Yet He transcends any replacement, imagery, change, or transformation.

Rather, He is given the names of the Lords of Attributes (Arbab al-Sifat) through which He shows them [the creatures] His imagery. He is described by those attributes just as He applied to His Essence the names of human manifestations and their descriptions—measure for measure and weight for weight. The proof of this is [the duality of] His transcendence from names and attributes, and His being named and described by names and attributes. For He is the one manifest through them, and He is the one transcendent above them.

The author of Al-Tanbih (may Allah sanctify him) pointed to the meaning of the names Al-Wahid and Al-Ahad by saying:

"It was said that Monotheism (Tawhid) is to realize that Allah—Exalted and Majestic—is the Originator of the Ahad (Mubdi' al-Ahad) and the Creator of the Wahid (Khaliq al-Wahid). The Wahid is a servant among His servants, and the Ahad is a limit among its limits.