I will now briefly indicate how Ṣūfī writers justify their views from the Quranic standpoint. There is no historical evidence to show that the Prophet of Arabia actually communicated certain esoteric doctrines to ‘Alī or Abū Bakr. The Ṣūfī, however, contends that the Prophet had an esoteric teaching--"wisdom"--as distinguished from the teaching contained in the Book, and he brings forward the following verse to substantiate his case:--"As we have sent a prophet to you from among yourselves who reads our verses to you, purifies you, teaches you the Book and the _Wisdom_, and teaches you _what you did not know before_."[107:1] He holds that "the wisdom" spoken of in the verse, is something not incorporated in the teaching of the Book which, as the Prophet repeatedly declared, had been taught by several prophets before him. If, he says, the wisdom is included in the Book, the word "Wisdom" in the verse would be redundant. It can, I think, be easily shown that in the Qur’ān as well as in the authenticated traditions, there are germs of Ṣūfī doctrine which, owing to the thoroughly practical genius of the Arabs, could not develop and fructify in Arabia, but which grew up into a distinct doctrine when they found favourable circumstances in alien soils. The Qur’ān thus defines the Muslims:--"Those who believe in the Unseen, establish daily prayer, and spend out of what We have given them."[108:1] But the question arises as to the _what_ and the _where_ of the Unseen. The Qur’ān replies that the Unseen is in your own soul--"And in the earth there are signs to those who believe, and in yourself,--what! do you not then see!"[108:2] And again--"We are nigher to him (man) than his own jugular vein."[108:3] Similarly the Holy Book teaches that the essential nature of the Unseen is pure light--"God is the light of heavens and earth."[108:4] As regards the question whether this Primal Light is personal, the Qur’ān, in spite of many expressions signifying personality, declares in a few words--"There is nothing like him."[108:5] [107:1] Sura 2, v. 146. [108:1] Sura 2, v. 2. [108:2] Sura 51, v. 20, 21. [108:3] Sura 50, v. 15. [108:4] Sura 24, v. 35. [108:5] Sura 42, v. 9. These are some of the chief verses out of which the various Ṣūfī commentators develop pantheistic views of the Universe. They enumerate the following four stages of spiritual training through which the soul--the order or reason of the Primal Light--("Say that the soul is the order or reason of God.")[109:1] has to pass, if it desires to rise above the common herd, and realise its union or identity with the ultimate source of all things:-- (1). Belief in the Unseen. (2). Search after the Unseen. The spirit of inquiry leaves its slumber by observing the marvellous phenomena of nature. "Look at the camel how it is created; the skies how they are exalted; the mountains how they are unshakeably fixed."[109:2]