And this manifestation—His manifestation, glorified is He, to the world of human beings—is the subject of our discussion.
So how did He, glorified is He, manifest Himself in His Essence to His servants? Was He absent and then became present, or hidden and then appeared? Or concealed and then unveiled?
And in answer to all of this, we say: "The Creator, glorified is He, is ever manifest, eternally existing; His absence is impossible just as His non-existence is impossible, and He is the greatest of things in existence and the most intense of them
in appearance, due to His, the Exalted's, saying: {Say, "What thing is greatest in testimony?" Say, "Allah is witness between me and you."} 1
And He, glorified is He, is light, by the evidence of His, the Exalted's, saying: {Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth.} 2 And it is not possible for light to be hidden, and by it every concealed thing appears. So if He, glorified is He, is ever manifest, eternally existing, and the greatest of things in existence, how did they say of Him that He manifested Himself, and how was His manifestation?