And this visible image is not in a physical, material form as is the case with respect to our bodies; rather, the matter is as clarified by the Sheikh “Shaykh al-Din”—may Allah sanctify him—and we have previously adduced it:

And He shows them the Essence as an image by His power

Exalted is the Shaper far above the shaping of a physical body

Yes, indeed it is not a physical form composed of spirit and matter as is the case with the human who beheld it; rather, it is pure, abstract luminosity. The Essence appeared to man from the perspective of what It is, so he saw It from his own perspective. Meaning, he looked toward It while It is a pure divine light (nur lahuti), and the light reflected upon his eyesight, so he saw a human person like himself. And in its loftiness and transcendence above matter during its manifestation, it is like the image of a human in a mirror—not possessing flesh and blood, as we have previously mentioned. Thus, through his beholding of it, it is a human form, while in reality it is pure light, akin to your looking into a mirror—which is a polished, transparent body—and seeing your human image within it.