THE INTRODUCTION

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Praise be to God, the Self-Manifesting to the sight of the people of insight; the Outwardly Apparent through the robes of splendor within the loci of manifestation (al-mazāhir); the Exalted above any likeness to created beings; the Innocent of any resemblance to formed entities. He is the True Meaning (al-Ma‘nā al-Haqq) and the Veracious Deity; the Possessor of the primordial command and the Everlasting Creator. The One, the All-Powerful by His very Essence, the Self-Sufficient beyond His names and attributes. He is the Originator of the beginning of the worlds and the ultimate end of the seekers’ quest. He whose primacy has no beginning, and whose finality has no end. Insights cannot perceive Him, yet inner veils do not conceal Him. He is the Witnessed Unseen, Transcendent beyond descriptions and limits; the Establisher of veils and gates (al-hujub wa-l-abwāb); the Ordainer of ranks and causes; the Striker of curtains and walls; the Master of scriptures and secrets; the Guide of the masters of intellects.