His speaking consists in creating an apprehension of the meaning subsisting in Himself, and this cannot conceivably involve an interpreter. His being seen consists in creating sight in the eye, and this cannot conceivably involve a veil. Moreover, His denial of any barrier or interpreter when He speaks on that Day indicates that matters in this world are otherwise. According to the author of al-Ta’sīs, however, there is no difference between this world and the Hereafter. Rather, if either one apprehends the meaning subsisting in His essence, He is deemed to have spoken to him, with no barrier or interpreter between them.

The thirty-seventh point: To say that Allah is not veiled, or does not veil Himself, is an ambiguous expression, like saying that Allah is not absent. What may be meant is that He is not veiled from witnessing and seeing His creation, just as He is not absent from witnessing and seeing them. This is true, for nothing obstructs Allah’s knowledge or sight, and nothing is hidden from Him.

The thirty-eighth point: Consider the argument al-Ash‘arī advanced concerning the Throne, when he said: “Among the supplications of all Muslims, when they beseech Allah, Mighty and Majestic, concerning something that has befallen them, is their saying: