Hayūlā is that in which forms (sūrat) manifest themselves. Every inner reality (bāṭin) appears in it with a form that can be called hayūlā. (Kāshānī, 46)
The Exalted and Glorious Truth (God), has made this (Allah) name the hayūlā (prime matter) of the perfection of the forms of divine meanings; just as in philosophy hayūlā is considered the foundation of matter, so too is the name Allah the foundation of all names. Therefore, all theophanies (tajalliyāt) of the Essence (Dhāt) from the Essence to the Essence fall within the content of this name. Beyond this is what is called the absolute darkness (ẓulmat-i maḥḍa), which is the concealment of the Essence in the Essence. This name is the light of that darkness (it illuminates that darkness). In this name, the Truth sees Himself, and through this name, creation attains maʿrifa (experiential knowledge of God) of the Truth. In the terminology of kalām (theology), the name Allah is the proper name of the Essence worthy of divinity... (Insān, I, 17)
One of the levels of existence (marātib al-wujūd) is hayūlā. Hayūlā is the station of form and configuration. These forms arise from that station just as waves arise from the sea. When hayūlā necessitates the emergence of a form of existence, it becomes inevitable that, through divine qudra (power) and will, nature in the world brings forth that form. For just as Allah the Exalted has made the supplication (duʿā) of the distressed a cause for His aid, so too has He made hayūlā a cause for the creation of that form. As Allah the Exalted has said: Or, Who answers the distressed one when he calls upon Him? (al-Naml 27:62)
In this ḥāl (spiritual state), the fact that hayūlā has necessitated a form determined within it is the invitation, in the language of state, for that which must emerge into the domain of existence; and the decree of the Truth to bring that form into being in nature is the divine response. Accordingly, in relation to forms and shapes, hayūlā is like water to a tree; it varies according to each tree. (Marātib, 24)
According to the Sufis, hayūlā is the name, in terms of the being in which a thing appears as a form. (Jāmiʿ, 105)
Ḥifẓ al-ʿahd is to remain within the boundary set by Allah for His servants. It is to do what is commanded and to refrain from what is forbidden. (Kāshānī, 59; Jāmiʿ, 81)
Ḥifẓ al-ʿahd al-rubūbiyya wa'l-ʿubūdiyya
Ḥifẓ al-ʿahd al-rubūbiyya wa'l-ʿubūdiyya: This is to attribute perfection only to the Lord (Rabb), and deficiency only to the servant. (Kāshānī, 59; Jāmiʿ, 81)