holy, speaking spirit, which encompasses this human form. Thus, when it speaks, the created form is veiled and rendered void, and the indication points directly to the speaker, because the speaking spirit is the inner meaning (ma'na) of this originated form and the sustainer of its life. So when the [Imam / Name] ¹ speaks through a man, the Imam constitutes the Meaning, the recipient of the transmission constitutes the Name, the one preceding him constitutes the Gate (Bab), and following him are the Orphan (Yatim), the Executive (Naqib), down to the rest of the spiritual ranks.

This doctrine is the belief of every raucous caller among these innovators—the Hatimiyyah and others. Indeed, the discord among them often stems merely from boasting over the nobility of their respective lineages and the pursuit of leadership. They reject the Master, cursing him, and assert that whoever stands firmly by what has been transmitted to him and [is content] ² with it is a polytheist, because he worships 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, majestic is his glory, rather than the ungraspable Unseen.