In short, faith is really the absorption of all human attributes in the search of God. This must be unanimously acknowledged by all believers. The might of gnosis overwhelms the attributes of agnosticism, and where faith exists agnosticism is banished, for, as it is said: “A lamp is of no use when the dawn rises.” God hath said: “_Kings, when they enter a city, ruin it_” (Kor. xxvii, 34). When gnosis is established in the heart of the gnostic, the empire of doubt and scepticism and agnosticism is utterly destroyed, and the sovereignty of gnosis subdues his senses and passions so that in all his looks and acts and words he remains within the circle of its authority. I have read that when Ibráhím Khawwáṣ was asked concerning the reality of faith, he replied: “I have no answer to this question just now, because whatever I say is a mere expression, and it behoves me to answer by my actions; but I am setting out for Mecca: do thou accompany me that thou mayest be answered.” The narrator continues: “I consented. As we journeyed through the desert, every day two loaves and two cups of water appeared. He gave one to me and took the other for himself. One day an old man rode up to us and dismounted and conversed with Ibráhím for a while; then he left us. I asked Ibráhím to tell me who he was. He replied: ‘This is the answer to thy question.’ ‘How so?’ I asked. He said: ‘This was Khiḍr, who begged me to let him accompany me, but I refused, for I feared that in his company I might put confidence in him instead of in God, and then my trust in God (_tawakkul_) would have been vitiated. Real faith is trust in God.’” And Muḥammad b. Khafíf says: “Faith is the belief of the heart in that knowledge which comes from the Unseen,” because faith is in that which is hidden, and it can be attained only through Divine strengthening of one’s certainty, which is the result of knowledge bestowed by God. Now I will come to matters of practice and will explain their difficulties. CHAPTER XVIII. THE UNCOVERING OF THE FOURTH VEIL: CONCERNING PURIFICATION FROM FOULNESS.