and the Red Ruby is the Soul. Verily, existence precedes perpetuity (al-baqa'), perpetuity precedes completeness (al-tamam), and completeness precedes perfection (al-kamal). This is because every perfect entity is complete, every complete entity is perpetual, and every perpetual entity exists. However, not every existing entity is perpetual, nor is every perpetual entity complete, nor is every complete entity perfect. This is because the Creator, Majestic are His Names—Who is the Cause of all existing entities, their Originator, Preserver, Completer, and Perfecter—the very first effusion that gushed forth from Him was existence, followed by perpetuity, then completeness, and then perfection."

Muhyi al-Din:

"Do not harbor the belief that your essence becomes annihilated into the Essence of Allah such that nothing remains except the Essence of Allah. For this is misguidance and infidelity (dalalun wa-kufr) that the verifiers never accept."

The Highway of the Seekers (Minhaj al-Raghibin):

"The Intellect (al-'Aql) is, in its essence, a luminous substance (jawhar mudī') and a detached, immaterial light; it is not an accident ('arad). Allah, the Exalted, created it and placed its light in the heart,