we say: "The blow fell upon the Adversary [Al-Didd], and it was only made to appear so to them, and the incapacity lies in whoever denied it."

[84] Al-Raddad said in his epistle: It is narrated on the authority of al-Mufaddal—peace be upon him—that he said: I asked, "My master, how do creatures look upon the spiritual stations (al-maqamat)?" He replied: "Allah turns their sight and shows them a form that He creates for them from their own deeds; thus, they gaze upon their actions in a form that delights and pleases them."

[85] Sheikh Khalil b. Ma'ruf said that the Master Messenger—may his glory be exalted—said: "Ali is the veil of physical eyes, and Allah is the veil of thoughts. Allah is the inward reality of Ali. The sign of the Name is that Allah is above it. When He manifested through the visible person named 'Ali, Prince of the Believers' without the luminous form, without the lamp (al-mizbah), and without the light of the Essence, it became necessary that this luminous form is the inward reality (batin) of this human form, and the human form is its outward manifestation (zahir)."