And the universal divine soul has five faculties: immortality within self-effacement [baqa' fi fana'], bliss within tribulation [na'im fi shaqa'] and honor within humiliation, and poverty within wealth, and patience within tribulation. Its two unique properties are contentment [al-rida] and absolute submission [al-taslim]. This is the very soul whose origin is from Allah, and unto Him it returns—meaning it began from Him by virtue of primary creation [al-takwin], and unto Him it returns by virtue of obedience.

[163] And he—His glory is mighty—said: 'The faith of a man is not complete until he recognizes his own soul, prepares for his grave [ramsihi], and recognizes from where [he came], in what [he resides], and toward where [he is going].'

[164] And Master Ibrahim Mustafa said in his epistle The Pure Essence [al-Khulasah al-Safiyyah]: 'Kai Kāwūs the Sage said that the Creator—the Most High—brought the souls into primary existence long before their descent into these physical bodies. He used to brush over those souls once every month; His brushing over them is His direct self-manifestation [tajalli] to them. Thus, they would gaze upon His pure, unadulterated Light, which flows as an emanation from the Substance of Truth.