Such is the condition of the Bātiniyyah and their like, who outwardly profess Islam and adherence to the Quran and the prophetic message, and even loyalty to the friends of Allah Most High among the Prophet’s household and other righteous people. Inwardly, however, such a person is among those most opposed to the Messenger’s teachings and commands. Yet he uses the language of the Quran and hadith, adding fabrications that none but Allah can enumerate. He then interprets all this to suit his concealed beliefs, which contradict what Allah and His Messenger have conveyed and commanded. He discloses these interpretations to his followers according to the acceptance and agreement he perceives in them.

For example, they hold that the entire universe is produced and fashioned by something they call the First Intellect, thereby making it the lord of all beings and the originator of the earth and the heavens. Yet it is a necessary concomitant and effect of the Necessary Existent in Himself. An intellect, a soul, and a celestial sphere necessarily proceed from it; then another intellect, soul, and celestial sphere necessarily proceed from that intellect, until the sequence reaches the Tenth Intellect. This, they claim, originated everything beneath heaven: the elements, animals, minerals, and so forth. From it, knowledge, prophethood, messengership, and other things emanate into human souls; from it also issued the Quran, the Torah, and so forth.

Then, seeking to reconcile this with what the Messengers conveyed, such a person says:

“These intellects are the angels of whom the Prophets spoke.”

He may also say of this Active Intellect:

“It is Gabriel, who ‘does not withhold knowledge of the unseen’—that is, he is not miserly—because, as he claims, its emanation is constant. However, that emanation is received according to the preparedness of its recipients.”