the Tent of Meeting is an image, the River of Saul is an image, and the Ewes the Davidic ewes are an image, the trial of Job is an image, the whale of Jonah is an image, the treasure and the wall are an image, the birth of Jesus is an image, the Wall of Alexander is an image, darkness and light are an image, the lofty palace is an image, the Ascension [Mi'raj] is an image, the Cave is an image, the dog is an image, as well as the images of the degrees of the ranks of the Macrocosm, the images of the twelve zodiac signs, the images of the earthly minerals, the images of the smelled scents, the images of the Hajj rituals, and all images of outward worship—for they follow this path... Likewise, the images of the physical limbs are all outward images pointing to inward meanings.

If it were permissible to profess religion and believe in the images of these outward acts of worship, it would be mandatory for us to believe in all that we have mentioned of the outward worldly images—such as the Paradise that the righteous were promised as being palaces, gardens, rivers, birds, trees, fruits, women, men, marriage, cups, wines, food, drink, silk clothing, and bracelets of silver, gold, and pearls, and the like—for the Exalted made them with these descriptions for inward meanings.