and he joined his two fingers together so that his saying, peace be upon him, would prove valid for us: "O He from whom appeared that which unto Him returns."

Since the allusion to "the All" (al-Kull) can only be made to a totality, not to a single thing. And his saying, peace be upon him: "O Pre-eternal" (Ya Azal), its meaning is: O He who has never ceased to be as He is, in Essence and Light. The Light is the Light of the Essence, the Radiance, and the Shadow—which is the Name, and the reality of (Alif, Sin, Mim [A-S-M]) is a Shadow, a Radiance, and a Light.

[17]The proof of what we mentioned first is his saying, peace be upon him: "O He from whom appeared that which unto Him returns, and from whom emanated that which within Him sets."

It is firmly established that the Originator, glory be to Him and exalted is He, was and nothing was with Him, and that He originated the Name; He did not originate it from nonexistence ('adam), nor from a pre-existing thing. There was nothing before the existence of the Light except the Essence.