at that very same time describing [His own Essence] 1 , standing likewise in his Shama‘unite station and saying: "I did [this], I crafted [that]"? Likewise, was Yusha‘ (Joshua), His glory is magnificent, and others among the Seven, each standing independently in his essence, calling to his own essence at one and the same time? Or were they all existing as physical persons at one and the same time, with only one of them speaking while the rest remained silent (sawamit)? Clarify your proof for us in this regard!
And if you say, "Indeed, the speaking station has become occulted"—meaning it has hidden from us, given that He is Who He is—it becomes binding upon you to abandon ritual obligation within the past stations, and this statement would be more sound to the intellect and more firmly established in justice.
And we believe that the Meaning is neither divided nor fractioned, and that He does not manifest except through a single person. Thus, when He wills to veil His creation from Him, He leaves behind the physical form (al-sifah) through which they used to behold Him,