[58] And it is narrated from our Master al-Sadiq, majestic is his glory, that he said: ["Indeed, no name or attribute can be ascribed to the Essence."] 1
Meaning, He is not named by a name that He Himself designated, nor is He described by an attribute that He Himself established and manifested. Rather, that is the description of the Name by which He called Himself, and the attribute is the attribute of the Name—meaning, His manifestation through the attribute which is his body, [and the spirit is the Muhammadan form which is the esoteric interior of the Name and the exoteric exterior of the Meaning] 2 . Thus, the Name manifested [through these two] 3 attributes. The Meaning (al-Ma'na) never manifests except by His own Essence—neither by a name nor by an attribute—whereas the Name manifests through an attribute that belongs to it and describes it.