the mind and heart conceive it, then the tongue expresses it, and then the pen writes it down. Thus, it has external, mental, verbal, and written existence: existence in external reality, in minds, on tongues, and through fingertips. Yet the first is the thing itself, whereas the other three are representations corresponding to it. The first is the created thing, while the other three convey knowledge of it. He therefore mentions creation and teaching so as to encompass all four levels, saying:

“Read in the name of your Lord who created,”
“Created man from a clinging clot.”
“Read, and your Lord is the Most Generous,”
“Who taught by the pen,”
“Taught man what he did not know.”

People have disputed whether essences are made or not, and whether the essence of each thing is something additional to its existence. This has been discussed at length elsewhere, where the correct position has been explained: there is only what is conceived in the mind and what exists in external reality. If by ‘essence’ one means what is conceived in the mind, and by ‘existence’ what is in external reality—or vice versa—then essence is distinct from existence, if what is in external reality differs from what is in the mind. But if ‘essence’ refers to what is in the mind, or in external reality, or both, and ‘existence’ is used likewise, then existence in external reality is the very essence existing in external reality. The same applies in the mind: the one is the other. There are not two things in external reality.