It emerges. When it produces two results, it once again unites them and produces another result. This process continues endlessly.
The rūḥ-i qudsī (the holy spirit) is a prophetic rūḥ (spirit) specific to the prophets (anbiyāʾ) and some of the friends of God (awliyāʾ). Knowledge of the unseen (ghayb), rulings of the hereafter, maʿrifa (gnosis, experiential knowledge of God) concerning the malakūt (spiritual dominion) of the heavens and the earth, and maʿrifa beyond what the rational and intellectual rūḥ can attain—all these are manifested in this rūḥ. (Mishkāt, 82)
We can identify three characteristics of the rūḥ-i ḥayālī (the imaginative spirit): First, it possesses the structure of the dense, lowly world, because what is imagined has quantity, form, and defined aspects. It has nisbas (relations) such as remoteness and proximity. The density characteristic of bodies, which is defined by direction, quantity, remoteness, and proximity, has the property of veiling purely rational lights (nūr) from perception.
The second is this: When this dense imagination is purified, refined, and adorned, and when it is controlled, it can become equivalent to rational meanings and can convey rational lights (nūr) without preventing their reflection.
The third is this: At the outset, imagination needs the intellect in order to be able to retain rational maʿrifa. It does not become agitated, shaken, or distracted by other things when it goes beyond retention. Thus, these imaginative examples gather together rational knowledge.
We do not find these three characteristics, in relation to the lights that cause vision, in any material in the world of shahāda (the visible world) other than glass. For glass is an original substance, it is dense, but it has been purified and refined to such an extent that no veil remains before the light of the lamp. Thus, it protects the lamp from being shaken and extinguished by strong winds.
When I investigated the characteristics of the rūḥ-i ḥassās (the sensitive spirit), I found that its lights emerge from various openings, such as the two eyes, two ears, and two nostrils. The most appropriate example of this in the world of shahāda is the lamp. (Mishkāt, 84)
The rūḥ-i ʿaqlī (the rational spirit) is the rūḥ by which the highest divine maʿrifa are comprehended. (After our explanations) it is not hidden from you that its example is the lamp!
Beginning from a root is a characteristic of the rūḥ-i fikrī (the cogitative spirit). Then, from the root, it branches into two. Each branch then divides into two. In this way, the branches continue to multiply through rational divisions. Then, it proceeds toward a result with a number of conclusions. This is its fruit. Afterwards, these fruits return and become seeds for their counterparts, for it is possible to cross-pollinate them. We have mentioned this in our book Kitāb al-Qisṭās al-Mustaqīm. The most appropriate example of this in the world is trees. (Mishkāt, 85)
When the rūḥ-i qudsī reaches the ultimate degree of illumination and purity, it is a rūḥ attributed to prophets and walī (friends of God). The rūḥ-i mufakkir (the reflective spirit), on the other hand, is divided into parts such as taʿlīm (instruction), tanbīh (alerting), and external support, all of which it needs in order to be able to speak of all types of maʿrifa. Some of these may arise from the intensity of purification, as if it is alerting itself without any external support, even if fire does not touch it.