the twelve veils are [the manifestations of] the Commander of the Faithful—His glory is mighty—and it is merely a variation of name and a substitution of form. Yet He—Glory be to Him—is neither a body nor a form. However, when He created His creation and willed to make Himself known to them through manifestation, He created for Himself the veils of darkness. The lower self [al-nafs] acts as a veil over the light, while the veil of light is [the purified] soul; thus, He does not manifest through it to His creation unless He purifies them from temporal human qualities. As for the dark veils, they are twelve, and the soul transmigrates through them from one to another; the first of them is the Commander of the Faithful [Ali], and the last of them is the Latter Hasan [Al-Hasan al-Askari]."

[123] And from the "Book of Traditions of the Masters" [Kitab Akhbar al-Mawali], the Knower—His glory is mighty—said: "Whosoever recognizes the station of the Essence [Maqam al-Dhat] has reached the ultimate reality of the Divine Nature [Al-Lahut]." And he also said: "Indeed, Allah is within incarnation [hulul] and yet free from incarnation."

And the Master Abu Abdillah was asked concerning the primordial, easing veils [al-hujub al-artahiyyat],