bodies—which came into existence after the descent of the faithful spirits—perish and disappear, and the believers return to the luminous purity that is free from mixture and murkiness, they will not see their Master in this image which transforms through increase, decrease, perfection, darkness, absence, and annihilation. Rather, they see Him as their state will be after reaching purity through luminosity—a state we cannot speak of as it truly is as long as we remain in these dense bodies, let alone speaking of the existence of the Essence of our Master as it is, or as it is seen by one of the worlds of purity. For it has been related that the smallest star in this sky is seventeen times the size of this world, let alone the larger stars, and let alone the Creator who is not grasped by a Name, a Gate, or any of the other creatures. Indeed, the discourse regarding that is immense, and the Creator is greater and even greater.

Our Sheikh of Light (Al-Nurani) —may Allah sanctify him—related regarding this meaning in the book Al-Maratib wa al-Daraj (The Ranks and Degrees), on the authority of Abdullah ibn Ayyub al-Qummi, who said: Umar ibn al-Muthanna ibn Mukhtar al-Khuzai informed us that he asked Abu al-Hasan Abdullah ibn Mu'awiya ibn Abdullah ibn Ja'far ibn Abi Talib, saying to him: "May I be your ransom, can the Light that is above this sky be described or seen? And does it have a witness or a proof by which we may argue if we are questioned?"

He said: "O Umar, do you not see that when Allah cleaves a side of this sky, a measure of a sandal-strap of light appears, which is called