Section
As for the questioner’s words, “Does it have a knowable mode of being?” this question is ambiguous. If he means knowing what can be known of its attributes and states, these are indeed knowable. But if he means whether it has a counterpart of the same kind as the bodies he observes, or whether it belongs to the same kind as any of them, then this is not the case. It is not of the same kind as the elements—water, air, fire, and earth—nor as animal, plant, or mineral bodies, nor as the celestial spheres and stars. It has neither an observable counterpart nor a familiar kind to which it belongs. This is why it is said that its mode of being is unknown.
It is also said, “Whoever knows himself knows his Lord,” by way of inference, contrast, and impossibility.
As for “inference,” a person knows that he is living, knowing, capable, hearing, seeing, and speaking. Through this, he comes to understand what Allah has revealed about Himself: that He is Living, All-Knowing, All-Powerful, All-Hearing, and All-Seeing. Had he not conceived of these meanings through his own experience and reflection upon himself, he could not understand what lies beyond his perception—just as, were it not for his conception of what exists in this world, such as honey and milk