Whoever sees the Real openly and manifestly
Has only beheld Him from behind a veil.
He does not know Him, though he is through Him;
This is indeed the wondrous matter.
Every seer sees nothing other than that
Within which he is, of bliss and torment.
The seer's form has disclosed itself to him:
It is the seer himself—indeed, the veil itself.
(Self-Disclosure, Forms, and the Veil)
The Real's self-disclosure in forms and His transformation within them are related in the sound report. This is what we mean by the veil. It is established by intellect, the Revealed Law, and unveiling—and unveiling imparts precisely what the Revealed Law imparts—that the Real does not admit of change.
As for the intellect, the proofs concerning this are well known; this book is not their place. It is founded upon the Revealed Law and upon what unveiling and witnessing impart, for intellects fall short of apprehending the matter according to what the Revealed Law testifies concerning Him.
As for the Revealed Law, it is His saying: ﴿Nothing is like His likeness﴾ [al-Shūrā 42:11]. If He changed in His Essence, this ruling would not be true; but it is true, and His changing in His Essence is therefore impossible. The Real says that God said upon His servant's tongue, ‘God hears whoever praises Him,’
