Yet, is this moving froth anything other than the water? Is it not the exact same water in substance and reality? It is the water itself, without a doubt. Consequently, our sensory perception falls upon a form, but this form is the very same water that is hidden within the spring. Had the froth been something other than the water, we would never have perceived the water at all. The water, therefore, is veiled by the moving froth—which is its very self.

Likewise, when we look upon the Creator, the Exalted—who is the absolute Light—we perceive Him through His light and His radiance, and we thus deem that what we perceive is something other than Him. Yet, in reality, we are perceiving the reality of the Hiddenness (al-buṭūn). For the Hiddenness that cannot be seen is nothing other than the intensity of the movement of manifestation through light—or it is the sheer excess of it, as they have expressed.

Thus, the absolute Light is comparable to the great, latent, invisible spring; its light is comparable to the movement appearing upon the surface of the water; and its radiance is comparable to the froth resulting from that movement. Were it not for the movement and the froth, we would not have perceived the water, which is the substance.