and it is not possible for anyone other than God, exalted is He, to know it. Nor does it admit of being taught—I mean that God might teach it to whomever He wills among His servants.
Knowledge of it thus resembles knowledge of the Essence of the Real, and knowledge of the Essence of the Real is impossible for anyone other than God.
It is therefore impossible for anyone other than God to attain knowledge of the world, of the human being himself, or of the self of each thing in itself.
Understand this question. I have neither heard nor known of anyone drawing attention to it, even if he knew it. It is difficult to conceive, although the foremost scholars profess it without knowing that it is this—like Bilqīs saying, ﴿It is as though it were it﴾ [al-Naml 27:42], while it was indeed it.
Likewise, one who speaks concerning the Real, in the state of His appearance in a particular form, is with the Real: he witnesses Him without knowing that it is He. This ruling pervades the world, for anyone who considers and gains insight.
﴿Truly, God is independent of all worlds﴾ [Āl ʿImrān 3:97], through His appearing by Himself. For Him, no proof of Him exists other than Himself, since there is nothing there but God, exalted is He. ﴿God speaks the truth, and He guides the way﴾ [al-Aḥzāb 33:4].
Chapter Three Hundred and Ninety-Five: On Knowing the Mutual Encounter ‘Whoever Enters My Presence and Retains His Life, It Falls to Me to Console Him over His Companion's Death’
