They have indeed disbelieved, [they have indeed] been veiled, those who say, 'God is the third of three', [that He is] one thing comprising three things: the act, the exoteric aspect of the world of the kingdom; the attribute, which is the esoteric aspect of the world of the spiritual realm; and the essence, in which the attribute subsists and from which the act issues. But He is not that 'one' they have imagined. Rather the act and the attribute are in reality the essence itself and there is no distinction [between them] except in relative terms. God is but the absolute One, for otherwise there would be a god for every one of His names and there would be a plurality of deities, glorified and exalted be He greatly above what the evildoers claim. If they do not desist from what they say, of the attribute and the act being other than the essence, those [of them] who are veiled, shall suffer a chastisement, that is painful because of their falling short in their knowledge of God despite their possessing the preparedness [for it].