Concept of "Perfect Human" in Islam
In
Islamic theology
,
al-Ins?n al-K?mil
(
Arabic
:
??????? ??????
), also rendered as
Ins?n-i K?mil
(
Persian
/
Urdu
:
????? ????
) and
?nsan-ı Kamil
(
Turkish
), is an honorific title to describe the Islamic prophet
Muhammad
. The phrase means "the person who has reached perfection",
[1]
literally "the complete person". It is an important concept in Islamic culture of the
prototype
human being, pure
consciousness
, one's true identity, to be contrasted with the material human who is bound by their senses and materialism. The term was originally used by
Sunni
Sufis
and is still used by them, but it is also used by
Alawis
and
Alevis
.
[2]
This idea is based upon a hadith,
[2]
which was used by
Ibn Arabi
, that states about Muhammad: "I was a prophet when Adam was between water and clay."
[3]
The Sunni
Islamic scholar
Muhammad Alawi al-Maliki
, has published a
Sirah
on Muhammad as
al-Ins?n al-K?mil
.
Al-Jili
was the author of an Arabic text entitled
al-Ins?n al-K?mil
.
Ismailis
believe that each
Imam
is a perfect man.
[4]
The origin of
al-ins?n al-k?mil
[
edit
]
Mansur al-Hallaj
and
Al-Biruni
expressed the idea within their works.
[5]
[6]
The concept is evident in the works of
Ahmad Yasawi
(1093?1166) whose influence spread
Sufism
across Central Asia.
[7]
The concept was also applied by
ibn Arabi
, a well-respected and influential Islamic thinker. The origin of this concept is derived from the
Quran
and
hadith
, as mentioned in Ibn Arabi's
Fusus Al-Hikam
:
Muhammad's wisdom is uniqueness (
fardiya
) because he is the most perfect existent creature of this human species. For this reason, the command began with him and was sealed with him. He was a Prophet while Adam was between water and clay, and his elemental structure is the Seal of the Prophets.
[8]
In the Quran, man's hierarchical status above all beings is seen, as it states that God created humans in the fairest stature.
[9]
Due to this occurrence the human is favored by God and is said to be given God's light which leads through them to complete perfection. The previous saying illuminates the idea that behind the true objective behind creation is God's desire to be known which is fulfilled through the perfect human being.
[9]
Al-Ins?n al-k?mil
and Ibn al-Arabi
[
edit
]
Al-Insan al-kamil
, or the perfect being, was first deeply discussed in written form by
Ibn Arabi
in one of his most prolific works entitled Fusus al-Hikam.
[10]
Taking an idea already common within Sufi culture, Ibn al-Arabi applied deep analysis and reflection on the issue of the Perfect Human and one's pursuit in fulfilling this goal. In developing his explanation of the perfect being al-Arabi first discusses the issue of oneness through the metaphor of the mirror. In this metaphor al-Arabi compares an object being reflected in countless mirrors to the relationship between God and his creatures. God's essence is seen in the existent human being, as God is the object and humans being the mirrors. Meaning two things, that since humans are mere reflections of God there can be no distinction or separation between the two and without God the creatures would be non-existent. When an individual understands that there is no separation between human and God they begin on the path of ultimate oneness. The one who decides to walk in this oneness pursues the true reality and responds to God's longing to be known.
[11]
The Perfect Human through this developed self-consciousness and self-realization prompts divine self-manifestation. This causes the Perfect Human to be of both divine and earthly origin, al-Arabi calls him the Isthmus. Being the Isthmus between heaven and Earth the perfect human fulfills God's desire to be known and God's presence can be realized through him by others. Additionally through self manifestation one acquires divine knowledge, which is the primordial spirit of Muhammad and all its perfection. Al-Arabi details that the perfect human is of the cosmos to the divine and conveys the divine spirit to the cosmos.
[11]
The contribution of al-Jili
[
edit
]
Abd al-Karim b. Ibrahim al-Jili
was born in 1365 and was a Sunni Sufi who spent much of his life in Yemen being taught by the Shaiyk Sharaf al-Din al-Jabarti.
[12]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Leaman, Oliver (2006).
The Qur'an: An encyclopedia
. Routledge. p. 302.
ISBN
0-415-32639-7
.
- ^
a
b
Glasse, Cyril; Huston Smith (2003).
The New Encyclopedia of Islam
. Rowman Altamira. p. 216.
ISBN
0-7591-0190-6
.
- ^
Ibn al-'Arabi, Muhyi al-Din (1164?1240), The 'perfect human' and the Muhammadan reality
.
- ^
Corbin, Henry
; translated by Liadain Sherrard;
Philip Sherrard
(1993).
History of Islamic Philosophy
(PDF)
. London; Kegan Paul International in association with Islamic Publications for The Institute of Ismaili Studies. pp. 97?98.
ISBN
0-7103-0416-1
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 9 May 2008.
- ^
Mansur Al-Hallaj, Translated by Aisha Bewley (1974),
The Tawasin
, Diwan Press, pp. 1?3
.
- ^
Mario Kozah (2015),
The Birth of Indology as an Islamic Science
, BRILL, p. 13,
ISBN
978-90-04-30554-0
.
- ^
Telebayev, Gaziz, and Khoja Ahmed Yasawi. "Turkic elements in the Sufi philosophical tradition: Khoja Ahmed Yasawi." Cross Cultural Studies: Education and Science 2 (2019): 100-107.
- ^
THE SEALS OF WISDOM
, Aisha Bewley, archived from
the original
on 28 February 2015
, retrieved
15 May
2015
{{
citation
}}
: CS1 maint: others (
link
)
.
- ^
a
b
Bowering, Gerhard. "Ensan-e-Kamel." Encyclopedia Iranica (1998): Web. 3 April 2011.
http://iranica.com/articles/ensan-e-kamel
Archived
19 July 2011 at the
Wayback Machine
.
- ^
Chittick, William C. "Ebn al-'Arabi Mohyi-al- Din Abu 'Abd-Allah Mohammad Ta’I Hatemi." Encyclopedia Iranica (1996): Web. 3 April 2011.
http://iranica.com/articles/ebn-al-arabi
Archived
19 July 2011 at the
Wayback Machine
.
- ^
a
b
Little, John T. "Al-Insan al-Kamil: the perfect man according to Ibn al-'Arabi." Muslim World 77.1 (1987): 43?54.
- ^
Ritter, H. "?Abdal-Kar?m, ?u?b al-D?n b. Ibr?h?m al-?J??l?." Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman; Th. Bianquis; C.E. Bosworth; E. van Donzel; and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2011. Brill Online. Augustana.
External links
[
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]
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