is known to exist in the observable world, as with knowledge—meaning in the unseen, since it is the opposite of the agent—for, since knowledge is a condition of the agent’s existence in the observable world, it is also a condition of the unseen Maker’s existence. But when a proposition concerning the unseen is not known by most people to hold in the observable world, and is known only to those firmly grounded in knowledge, revelation discourages seeking to understand it if the general public have no need to know it, as with knowledge of the soul. Alternatively, if they need to understand it for their happiness, revelation provides an illustration from the observable world, even though that illustration is not the very reality it seeks to convey, as with much of what has been revealed concerning the states of the Hereafter.

The difficulty underlying the denial of direction among those who deny it does not occur to the general public, especially if they are not explicitly told that He is not a body. In all this, therefore, one must follow revelation’s example and refrain from figurative interpretation wherever revelation has not explicitly provided such an interpretation.

People fall into three classes with respect to these matters in revelation:

One class is unaware of the doubts that arise concerning this subject, especially when these matters are left according to their apparent meaning in revelation. These constitute the majority: the general public. Another class knows the reality of these matters: these are the scholars firmly grounded in knowledge, who constitute the smallest portion of humanity. A third class has encountered doubts concerning these matters but has been unable to resolve them,