or described—and you negate from Him all that physical eyes have beheld.' The questioner asked: 'And how do I [isolate Him]1 among them?'
The respondent replied: 'The discourse regarding this has already been detailed previously, and we shall grant it further clarity. For we say regarding every personage that appeared, from al-Hasan the First to al-Hasan the Latter 2 , that when he declares: "I am God, Lord of the worlds," he is the Commander of the Faithful, the Sublime, the Supreme, His glory is magnificent. On the other hand, when he [does not say] 3 that, but instead indicates that he is a servant and that above him stands an ultimate objective other than himself—functioning as the possession of God, a veil, and the bound limit of occultation—then he is exactly as he states regarding himself. This, then, is how you isolate Him among them.
The meaning of His statement, the Exalted: "And that the mosques are for God, so do not invoke anyone along with God." 4 is that He intended: "These personages are Mine,