is interesting to note in this connection that Dhiʿlib al-Yamānī, very much after the manner of Glaucon, provocatively asked Imam ʿAlī whether he had seen the object of his devotion. To this the Imam replied: ‘I would not be worshipping a lord whom I have not seen.’ Dhiʿlib then asked, ‘O Commander of the Faithful! How did you see Him?’ The Imam replied with the important sentence that functions as one of the leitmotifs of our book: ‘O Dhiʿlib! Eyes see Him not through sight’s observation, but hearts see Him through the verities of faith.’
