The writings of the Sufis are much veiled in imagery and symbolism and have a stronger sense of duality than perhaps any other religious esoteric system, except the Christian mystical writings. But there emerges even from them the same expression of truth and the same basic method. The following excerpts from the oldest Persian Treatise on Sufism will show. It is interesting to note that those writings persist the longest and show the most wide usefulness which come from those who are Knowers, and who can relate their experience of divinity in such a way that they can teach and outline, as well as declare and affirm.

"The first step in unification is the annihilation of separation because separation is the pronouncement that one has become separated from imperfections, while unification is the declaration of a thing's unity... Accordingly, the first step in unification is to deny that God has a partner and to put admixture aside..." [192]

"The removal of phenomenality consists in denying that phenomena have any connection with unification or that they can possibly attain to His holy essence; and the affirmation of eternity consists in being convinced that God always existed...; and departure from familiar haunts means, for the novice, departure from the habitual pleasures of the lower soul and the forms of this world, and for the adept, departure from lofty stations and glorious states and exalted miracles; and separation from brethren means turning away from the society of mankind and turning towards the society of God, since any thought of other than God is a veil and an imperfection, and the more a man's thoughts are associated with other than God the more is he veiled from God, because it is universally agreed that unification is the concentration of thoughts, whereas to be content with other than God is a sign of dispersion of thought..."
- Nicholson, Reynold A., The Kashf Al-Mahjub, pages 281-282.

Again we find these words:

"One of the Shaykhs says: 'Four things are necessary to him who prays: annihilation of the lower soul, loss of the natural powers, purity of the inmost heart, and perfect contemplation.' Annihilation of the lower soul is to be attained only by

concentration of thought; loss of the natural powers only by affirmation of the Divine Majesty, which involves the destruction of all that is other than God; purity of the inmost heart only by love; and perfect contemplation only by purity of the inmost heart."
- Nicholson, Raynold A., The Kashf Al-Mahjub, pages 302-303.