The central problem of this study is to explain how a material and perishable act can be transformed into an immaterial and enduring effect which, in the language of revelation, is described as “attaining the divine presence.” The point of departure of this research is a structural analysis of verse 37 of Sūrat al-Ḥajj, where the ascent of the physical dimensions of the act—namely the flesh and blood of the sacrifice—is explicitly negated, and only taqwā (piety) is introduced as the element that truly reaches God. Employing a descriptive-analytical method and drawing upon the theoretical foundations of Transcendent Philosophy (al-ḥikmah al-mutaʿāliyah), the study seeks to answer the following question: how does a material act undergo transformation into a sacred substance within the human soul?



The findings indicate that, according to the paradigm of “shell and kernel,” the material components of an act function merely as an outer shell that provides the enabling ground for the emergence of the act’s true essence, namely intention and piety. Within the soul’s process of ontological development, the soul—through the agent’s virtuous intentionality—transforms the transient accidents of action into psychic qualities and ultimately into enduring sacred dispositions. The study concludes that, due to the ontological incongruity between matter and the sacred realm, the physical dimension of the act remains within the material world, whereas only its spiritual form persists along the ascending arc of existence by virtue of its existential union with the immaterial soul.