as God—the Mightiest of Speakers—said: "and they give them preference over themselves, even though they were in need" ¹ . This is its outward ruling. As for its esoteric ruling, the realities of those upon whom it is spent, and the manner of its extraction: Know that the esoteric Zakat according to the people of the esoteric and Monotheism is the knowledge of the Supreme Gate (al-Bab al-A'zam). It was only legislated to extract it from wealth every year—five for every two hundred dirhams—as an indication of the manifestation of the Gate in The Hashemite [Dome] through five persons: three "covenants" (safaqat), a Speaker (Natiq), and a Qualified one (Mu’ahhal). They are: Salsal, Dahya, Umm Salama, Safina, and Rushayd. The meaning of the "covenants" is those whose persons appear but whose knowledge remains hidden from the people of the outward. The Speaker is the one who stands in the position of the Gate after the occultation of the Sin; thus, Rushayd stood in it after the occultation of Safina, yet they are all one.