I say—and through Allah is success: These praised and censured names confirm and establish that He, the Exalted, intends by them only the knowledge of praised and censured persons. Otherwise, He would have contradicted His own word with His word.

Likewise is the discourse regarding the outward aspects of these acts of worship and their inward aspects. Their inward aspects are luminous persons, while their outward aspects are eating, hunger, movements of the limbs, and washing and ablution, travel, taking, giving, war, fighting, and other such things. Like our saying regarding the inward prayer: it is the Meaning, and it is said [to be] the Name and their manifestations in humanity and light. Every manifestation is called prayer because it is a connection between the servant and his Lord.

As for the outward prayer, it is nothing but physical movements and verbal utterances—of standing, sitting, bowing, prostration, dry ablution, washing, ablution, facing, witnessing, magnification, and other things.