It is the prostration (sajda) and the act of knocking at the door of the Presence of Acceptance of the Real (al-Ḥaqq). The door opens, one raises his head, and due to the awe (dehşet) that arises for him in this manifestation (tajalli), the deeds in his hand fall away. A call is made: "What have you brought?" He replies: "These are the deeds of so-and-so, son of so-and-so; the sultan appointed me as his khalifa (deputy), and all the tribute You commanded me to take from the desert of the Presence was presented to me." The Real says: "Accept him with the manifest Imam (imām-i mubīn); I had written him before I created him." Not even a single letter changes. "Raise his record to the Illiyyīn," He commands, and the record is raised. This is at the Sidrat al-Muntahā (the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary). However, if there is wrongdoing or inappropriate things in these deeds, the gates of heaven are not opened for them. In this case, their destination is the celestial sphere of ether (falak-i asīr), and there too an address occurs. (Tadbīrāt, 188)
The Sidrat al-Muntahā is the greatest barzakhiyyah (isthmus, metaphysical boundary) where the journey, deeds, and knowledge of the Whole (al-Kull) come to their end. It is the utmost limit of the station of the Names, beyond which there is no higher station. (Kāshānī, 100; Jāmiʿ, 85)
The Sidrat al-Muntahā is the furthest point reached by the created being (makhlūq) in his journey (sayr) toward Allah. Beyond it, there is only a place exclusive to the Real (al-Ḥaqq) Most High. It is not possible for the created being to reach beyond the Sidrat al-Muntahā after this point, for here the creation is annihilated in absolute nonexistence (mutlaq nonexistence): erased, buried, and effaced. After the Sidra, his existence is no longer in question. (Insān, II, 7)