Furthermore, those who defame The Esoteric (Al-Batin) and the Batinites turned a blind eye to the saying of the Messenger—His might was mighty—:
“The Quran has an outward and an inward, and it has appeared and been hidden up to seven inwards and seven outwards,” after the Creator—Majestic and Exalted is He—cited in His Wise Book by His saying: [“He is the First and the Last, The Exoteric (Al-Zahir) and The Esoteric (Al-Batin) , and He is, of all things, Knowing.”] 1 , and He, Glory be to Him, said: [“a door whose inward contains mercy, but whose outward is before it torment.”] 2 .
[8] And they also turned a blind eye to the saying of our master—His might was mighty—: “The gate of the city of knowledge and the divider of Paradise and Hellfire,” according to the saying of the Messenger—His might was mighty—when he said: “The Quran has an outward and an inward; its outward is elegant and its inward is deep, its wonders do not perish and its marvels do not wear out, and there is no verse in the Quran except that it has seven meanings: an outward, an inward, indications, signs, subtleties, and realities. So The Exoteric (Al-Zahir) is for the common people, The Esoteric (Al-Batin) is for the elite, and the indications are for the elite of the elite, etc.”