And for this reason, the Real has named Himself for us “Exalted in ranks,” not “Exalted in rank.” He thus made the ranks manifold within a single essence, for He decreed that none but Him should be worshipped in many different ranks, each providing a divine locus of manifestation in which He was worshipped.

The greatest and highest locus of manifestation in which He is worshipped is desire, as He said:

“Have you seen the one who takes his own desire as his god?”

Desire is therefore the greatest object of worship, for nothing is worshipped except through it, whereas it is worshipped only through itself. Concerning this, I say:

By the truth of desire, desire is the cause of desire;
Were there no desire in the heart, desire would not be worshipped.

Do you not see how perfect Allah’s knowledge of all things is, and how He completed His statement concerning the one who worshipped his desire and took it as a god, saying:

“And Allah has led him astray with knowledge.”

Going astray is bewilderment. This arises from seeing that this worshipper worshipped nothing but his own desire, submitting obediently to whatever it commanded him concerning the worship of those particular beings he worshipped. Even the worship of Allah proceeded from desire: had he not felt desire for that Holy Presence—that is, a will accompanied by love—he would neither have worshipped Allah nor preferred Him to anything else.

Likewise, whoever worshipped any form in the world and took it as a god did so only through desire. The worshipper thus remains continually under the dominion of his desire. The objects of worship are then seen to vary from one worshipper to another: everyone who worships something declares those who worship anything else to be unbelievers. Whoever possesses even the slightest awareness is bewildered by the unity of desire—or rather, by its oneness, as mentioned—for it is one and the same essence in every worshipper.

“And Allah has led him astray”—that is, Allah has bewildered him with the knowledge that every worshipper worshipped nothing but his own desire, and nothing but his own desire enslaved him, whether