Chittick On Jami

Maisonneuve & Larose
The Perfect Man as the Prototype of the Self in the Sufism of Jm Author(s): William C. Chittick Source: Studia Islamica, No. 49 (1979), pp. 135-157 Published by: Maisonneuve & Larose Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1595320 . Accessed: 22/08/2013 21:21
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THE PERFECT MAN AS THE PROTOTYPE OF THE SELF IN THE SUFISM OF JAMI
No singletechnicaltermin the vocabularyof Jgmi'sSufism the various meanings denoted by the conveys satisfactorily word "self". Rather these meaningsare expressed (1) English of a number of different the use terms. A brief through to the discussionof some of these can act as an introduction of JmlI's conceptof the selfwhichwe wish particulardimension to explain. and most commontermwhichconveysthe meaning The first is also translated of "self" is nafs,whichin the Arabicdictionary as "soul, psyche,spirit, mind,life,person",etc. In the context it can probablybest be rendered of J~mi'stechnicalterminology to the animatingprincipleof the as "soul". It usually refers betweenthe bodilyconstitution and the body,the intermediary spirit,or to the immortalaspect of man's being which can be throughthe spirituallife. It may also refer simply perfected and as such is nearlyequivalent to the individualconsciousness, to and'iyyah("I-ness" or ego), a term,however,which J5mi rarely employs. Man's nafs or soul possesses potentiallya
(1) The word "khwud" in modern Persian is near to being an equivalent for the English word "self". But although it is used as a technical term by certain Sufis, such as Ahmad Ghazzili, as far as I have been able to discern it is not employed technically by Jdimi.
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numberof different these stages of perfection. By traversing it moves ever closer to God and farther from its own stages fallennature. The soul in its fallenstate-or in its ordinary everyday reality far from its primordialnature (fifrah)-is referred to as the "soul whichincites"(to evil, nafs-iammdrah). Through enteringupon the path of spiritual perfectionit becomes the "soul which blames" (itself for its own shortand at the end of the Path it attains nafs-ilawwdmah) comings, the stationof the "soul at peace" (nafs-imu!ma'innah). One can also speak of the "inward dimensions"of the self or soul, dimensionswhich are only actualized through the path of but each of whichat a certainstage represpiritualperfection, sents man's subjective reality. Here such terms as "heart" (qalb or dil), "secret" (sirr), "hidden" (khaft) and "most hidden" (akhfd) are mentioned as ascendingstages of the self. Another term which is often translated as "self"-dhatin Ja-mi's worksrefers almost exclusively to the divine Essence or the Godhead. Here "Self" with a capital "S" would be an appropriatetranslation. When employedto referto human beings (a rare usage), the term dhat denotes the individual essence and is usually used-just as it oftenis in the case of the Divine-to distinguish a person'sessenceor realityfromhis attributes(sifdl) and acts (af'al). A thirdterm also listed in dictionaries as meaning"self" is For it to refers the realityof a thingas it 'ayn. Jdmi usually is knownin the divine Knowledge,i.e., the thing'simmutable or to the reality ofa thingas externalarchetype ('ayn lhdbilah), ized and manifested in the corporealworld. Thus if we accept a typical dictionary definition of the word "self" and say thatit denotes"the integrated of unity subjective in its relationto experience" or "the individual consciousness itself" the word nafs, particularly in its ordinarysignification or (equivalent to the firstlevel of the soul, nafs-i ammdrah), the word most to what perhaps and'iyyah,approaches closely we would mean by "self". If on the contrary we take "Self" to refer to UltimateReality,then dhatis the termwhichmore or less corresponds to this concept. In the presentpaper, however,it is not my purpose to deal
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withthe individualselfat its ordinary level of consciousness or the divineSelf,either ofwhichconceptsin Jimi's thought would I wish to detailed Rather deal a with require expositions. thirddefinition whichI feelis morerelevantto an understanding of Jdmi's concept of the self in its overall meaningand in its of reality:the selfas the consciousness relationto all dimensions a state whichis and existenceof man in the state of perfection, neitherthe self of ordinaryhuman experiencenor the Divine of courseto a further technical Reality as such. I am referring termwhich plays a role of utmost importancein Sufismfrom the time of Ibn 'Arabi (d. 638/1240)onward,the insan-ikdmil or PerfectMan. the human selfat its finalstage The PerfectMan is precisely of perfectionand completion. For man there is nothing conceivablebeyondthis state. Only the Divine and Absolute He-nessor Ipseity (huwiyyah, dhal) can be said to be beyondit. Perfect Man the may be said to containwithinhimUltimately self all the ontological states of God as well as all those of betweenthe PerfectMan creation. In factthe only difference and the ontologicallevel designatedby the Name "All5h", i.e. God as we understandHim and as possessingall positiveAttributes (sifdl), is that God is the Lord and man is the servant; or that God is the NecessaryBeing in His own Essence whereas man is the Necessary Being by means of another (wdjib bi'lwhich can be said about God everything ghayr). Otherwise, Perfect Man. the can be said about (1)
ed. by W. C. Chittick, Tehran, 1977, pp. 63 (1) See Jimi's Naqd and 93. Sa'd al-Din Sa'id al-nus.s, Farghini identifies the highest stage of the Perfect Man-which is equivalent to the Muhammadan Reality (al-haqiqat al-muhammadiyyah) or the Reality of Realities (haqfqat al-haqd'iq)-with the station of "Or Nearer" (aw adnd), i.e., the First Determination (al-ta'ayyun al-awwal) or the ontologicallevel of Unity (ahadiyyah). This stationis above Unicity (wdhidiyyah) or the Second Determination,which is the ontological level of the Divinity or the Name "Allih", but below the unknowable Essence. See the index to Mashdriq al-dardrf, edited by Sayyid Jalil al-Din Ashtiy5ni, Tehran, 1979; also Naqd pp. 36-37, a passage quoted fromFarghini. In another passage of the same work Jami writes as follows about the Prophet Muhammad: his reality al-nus.s, "was the firstimmutable archetype effusedby the Most Holy Effusion (al-fayd Thereby he attained Supreme Uniqueness throughhis unitary essence al-aqdas). (i.e. his essence at the level of Unity or ahadiyyah), his divine level (i.e., the ontological level of the Name "Alldh") and his immutable archetype" (p. 274).
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The PerfectMan has two aspects,only one of whichwe will considerhere. First he is the ontologicalprototypeof both man and the universe. He is the firstcreation of God, or ratherthe primordialand originaltheophany (tajall) of the arc (qaws-i Essence, and thus the first point in the descending or effusion of manifestation the (fayd) of (zuhar) nuzale) arc mustreachits lowestpoint, existence. But the descending world('alam al-ajsdm) or worldofsensory whichis the corporeal 'dlam al-shahddah). Then the circle al-hiss, ('dlam perception closes upon itself. The goal of the ascending arc (qaws-i u'Cid)--the returnto the Principleor Creator-is likewisethe state of the PerfectMan. The whole practical or operative ('amal7) side of Sufism is oriented towards the realization which belongs perfection (tahaqquq) of the state of primordial various discussions to Man. For the Perfect the only example, to the of the soul or nafsall refer of the stages of the perfection his state. arc man returns to which original through ascending ofthe stations and detailedexpositions Likewisethe complicated to this foundin many Sufi texts refer (maqdmat) of perfection
same reality. (1)
or aspects of the PerfectMan are Hence the two dimensions that he is first ofman and the universe the ontological prototype -or the originof the "descendingarc" of creation-and second the exemplarto be emulated,or the goal ofthe "ascendingarc" of creation. Here we are only concerned withthe first dimenof the greatPersian Sufipoet of in the writings sion,as reflected 'Abd n ibn Ahmad J~mI the ninth/fifteenth century, his known al-Rahm, best for poetry,Jdmi is (d. 898/1492). Although also the authorof eightrelatively long proseworks-such as his Lawd'ih (2)-and eight or nine shorterprose works,all dealing with Sufi metaphysics. We will be relying mainly directly (3) on his firstattempt to explicate the theoreticalteachingsof Sufism, Naqd al-nusas ftsharhnaqsh al-fusis,which in fact of
(1) The 650 pages of Farghini's Mashdriq al-dardri,for example, are devoted mainly to the stations of the spiritual path. (2) The Lawd'ih was translatedinto English by E. H. Whinfield,London, 1906. (3) I have listed these works and given a briefdescriptionof each in my Persian introductionto Naqd pp. 21-28. See also the followingnote. al-nus.s,
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all his proseworksis the one in whichhe deals withSufidoctrine at the greatestlengthand with the most freedom to followhis and preferences. Mostof his otherlongmetaown inclinations limitedby the texts physicalworksare commentaries relatively are which based. they upon (1)
But whenwe proposeto discuss"Jdmi'sconceptofthe Perfect Jdmiis not an Man", we must be aware of what this signifies: in the sensethat he has his own peculiarconcept thinker original of the PerfectMan and otherSufidoctrines. His conceptsare those of the school of Ibn 'Arabi and his special role is that a culminationof that school in the historyof he represents Sufism. After Jdmi Ibn 'Arabi's school produces no more figuresof the first magnitude. Although certain representatives of Ibn 'Arabi's pure gnosis('irfdn), such as 'Abd al(1) Jimi's longest philosophical work is his Arabic commentaryon the FusaS of Ibn 'Arabi, but it followsthe text very closely and offers practically no detailed theoretical elaborations or digressions. Naqd al-nusds on the contrary consists of255 pages ofcommentaryupon a ten page text and includes a 65 page introduction in which Jdmi deals with most of the major teachings of Ibn 'Arabi's school in a detailed manner which is not to be seen in any of his other works. Over 50 pages of this work are devoted exclusively to the Perfect Man, and of course many more pages relate to him. If the proportion of commentary to text in the work Naqd al-nusiis were the same as in Jimi's commentary on the Fusssi, would have 25 pages instead of 265. Jimi's other long prose works on metaphysicsand philosophy are the following: a commentary on the Lama'dt of 'Irdqi (Ashi"at al-lama'dt), which contains a relatively independent introductionof about 15 pages and a few one or two page but compared which is not a commentary discussions ofcertainconcepts. a commentaryon some of his to Naqd al-nusds is very short; Sharh Lawd'ih., al-rubd'iyydt, own poetry covering about 80 pages, about one third of which-as I have shown in my introduction to Naqd al-nusils (p. 22)-is quoted or translated from the latter work; Lawdmi', a commentary on Ibn Firid's khamriyyah("wine song"), which contains an independent introduction of about 25 pages on mystical love; Sharh-i ba'd-i az abydt-i qasda-yi t'iyya-yi faridiyyah("Commentary on a few Poem of the Way"), a brief translation and explanation of verses of Ibn Fdri.'s of the poem; and finallyal-Durrat al-fdkhirah(recently critically about one-tenth edited by N. Heer but not yet published), a relativelyshortArabic work comparing the views of the philosophers, theologians and Sufis. For a discussion of the relationship between these works in terms of the ideas and themes they discuss see my English introductionto Naqd al-nusis.
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Ahmadibn 'Ajib5h (d. 1224/ Ghanial-NibulusI(d. 1143/1730-1), Muhammad and Rid5I Qumsha'I (d. 1306/1888-9), 1809) Aq5 influence continue to exercise considerable upon Islamicthought, in the to a large degreemetaphysicalspeculation,particularly easternlands of Islam, is graduallytaken over by the "theosuch as Mulld Sadr5 sophers"of the School of Isfahan,figures Mull5 Muhsin Fay4d Kishini (d. 1090/1679) (d. 1050/ 1640), and their successors. However this may be, no subsequent of Ibn 'Arabi's schoolcan be comparedto J~mi representative in the Islamic world. in terms of fame and influence Thus Jimi's "originality"is that he summarizesa whole and bringsit to a climax. Moreschool of thoughtin himself over he carriedthis out in a language oftenclearerand almost invariablymore eloquent and beautifulthan that of his predecessorsand thus morereadilyaccessibleto a largeraudience. This is trueboth of his proseand his poetry. Of the otherSufi Ibn 'Arabi's doctrines in their poets and authorswho reflected such as 'Ir~qi, Maghribiand Shah verses and writings-figures Ni'matallgh Wali-none, with the possible exception of Shabistari,was able to express the Greatest Master's (al-shaykh beautifuland simply as JRmi. al-akbar) teachingsas directly, the in the tremendous Certainly popularityof JimI's writings is one of the major reasons forthe spread Indian subcontinent of Ibn 'Arabi's school in that region. In short,J5mi is a spokesmanforIbn 'Arabi and his school. to and quotationsfrommost In his worksnumerousreferences of this school can be found. Afterthe of the major figures most importantfor Jlmi is Sadr alGreatest Master himself, Din Qfinyawi Ibn 'ArabI's foremost (d. 673/1274-5), discipleand of Rimi. In fact,althoughtherecan be little the close friend doubt thatafterIbn 'Arabi Qiinyawiis the mostimportant figure of this school, his writingshave been neglected by modern scholars. These works, mostlyin Arabicbut also in Persian,(1)
(1) ConcerningQfinyawiand his workssee the recent Ph. D. thesis of S. Ruspoli, La clef du monde suprasensible, Sorbonne, Ve section, Sciences religieuses, n.d. I am currently editing and translating two of Qfinyawi's Persian (1976?). works: Tabsirat al-mubtadi' and Matdli" al-imdn.
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represent a major step in the integrationof Ibn 'Arabi's teachings into the intellectualworld of the eastern lands of Islam. The originality ofQiinyawli can be observedparticularly in his mode of presenting Ibn 'Arabi's teachings, a mode almost fromthat of his master. The writings of completelydifferent Ibn 'Arabi tend to be like sudden inspirations from his flowing pen with such forceand velocitythat they destroyhorizontal and logical continuity. Qiinyawion the contrary is the model of logical consistencyand point-by-point Thus reasoning. (1) even thoughthe universehe speaks about and the teachingshe in harmony with those of the Greatest presentsare completely "I Master, Qiinyawi could write with complete justification, have writtenmy works without ever mixing with them the words of other writers,for that is not my habit. God has protectedme fromthat and deliveredme fromthe need for
it." (2)
Two other figuresof Ibn 'Arabl's school who are of first importanceand frequently quoted by Jdmi(3) are Mu'ayyad al-Din Jandi (d. ca. 700/1301)and Sa'd al-Din Sacid Farghini and authors (d. ca. 700/1301),both directstudentsof Qfinyawi of works in Arabic and Persian. Jandi's commentary upon Ibn 'Arabi's al-hikamis probablythe first completeone and in Jdmi's view is the basis for all subsequent commentFussa. mentedIbn Firid's famousPoem of theWay (6) in Persian and
aries, (4) which number over one hundred. (5) Farghdni com-
between "Semitic inspirationalism" and "Aryan intellec(1) On the difference tualism" see F. Schuon, Logic and Transcendance,New York, 1975, pp. 149-150; also S. H. Nasr, "Persia and the Destiny of Islamic Philosophy", Studies in ComparativeReligion, vol. 6, 1972, pp. 31-42, especially pp. 39-40. (2) printed in the same volume as 'Abd al-Razziq KdishnTi, Sharh mandzil Al-Nus.is, al-sd'irin, Tehran, 1315 A. H. lunar, p. 281. (3) For details of the quotations made by Jimi fromhis predecessorsin Naqd al-nugsis,referto the work's Persian introduction,pp. 53-67. I was able to find the source of 65 % of the work and confirmJdimi's remarkin his introductionthat the work resembles the "patchwork cloak" of the Sufis. al-uns of Jdmi,ed. by M. Tawhidipfir, (4) See Tehran, 1336 A. H. solar, Nafah.dt p. 558. (5) 0. Yahia, Histoire et classificationde l'ceuvred'Ibn 'Arabt, Damascus, 1964, pp. 241-257. (6) Translated by A. J. Arberry,London, 1952.
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then translatedhis own workinto Arabic, adding a great deal in the process. This work,called Mashdriq to his introduction in Arabic,(1) is al-daradrin Persian and Muntaha'l-maddrik perhaps the most detailed exposition of the stations of the spiritual path to be foundin the worksof Ibn 'Arabi's followers. that Jamimakesextensiveuse Finallyit shouldbe mentioned of the famouscommentaries upon the Fusip7,such as that of 'Abd al-Razziq Kishini (d. 736/1335-6) and even moreso that of Kishini's discipleD5'fid Qaysari(d. 751/1350-1). Qaysari's of Ibn 'Arabi's ideas, especiallyin the introduction rewritings on the Fusas, are unequalled in theirclear to his commentary and beautiful Arabic prose. in the present In short,when "Jami" is mentioned paper,we are referring to Jdmi's understandingof the consensus of thereis opinionof 250 years of Ibn 'Arabi's school. Moreover no doubt that Jami himselfsaw this school as a unifiedand harmoniouswhole, with differences of opinion only on minor His in continuous quotations Naqd al-nuss from figures points.(2) who composed their works at various times throughout this this than minor reveal and other differences harmony, longperiod of point of view and variationsin prosestylefewdiscrepancies can be seen among these writings.
Jami discussesthreemajor aspects of the PerfectMan as the of creation:First,the PerfectMan as the ontologicalprototype forthe Name "Allih"; second,as the goal locus ofmanifestation of creation;third,as God's vicegerent. Each of theseconcepts will have to be examinedseparately.
(1) Concerning Mashdriq al-ddrdrisee note on p. 45. The Arabic text was published apparently in Istanbul in 1293 A. H. lunar. Jdmi points out a number of instances (2) In his own glosses on Naqd others disagree with Ibn 'Arabi or with each where Kfshini, Jandi, Qfinyawiand al-nusis. other on a point of doctrine. But in each case the point discussed is a minorone. See Naqd glosses # 23, 35, 45, 51, 193. These glosses, moreover,seem he would to indicate that if Jdmi had been aware of major points of difference, al-nus.is, have mentioned them.
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Practically all of Islamic religiousthoughtgoes back to the Names and Attributesof God (al-asma' wa'l-sifat). God in His Absolute Essence cannot be known,but we can know Him in so far as He has revealed His Names, and therefore His Attributes,in the Quran. The primary knowledgeof God revealed through the Holy Book becomesthe basis forall other a knowledge Without ofthe Names and Attributes knowledge. we cannot know the universe. The whole of the universein fact is nothingbut the manifestation or theophanyof God's Names. To say that "God created the world" means in this contextthat the world derivesits relativeand limitedexistence from the Absolute and InfiniteBeing of God and that the characteristics and properties whichwe observein the worldare of God's Attributes. If certain nothing but dim reflections the of thingspossess property life,this is because God is the and receive effusion and succour (madad) Living they fromthat Name. If certainthings (fayd.) see, that is because God is the Seeing, and so forth. In the contextof the Islamic teachingsthemselves, then,the to the of the Man Perfect lies in the doctrine key understanding ofthe Names and Attributes. According to Ibn 'ArabI's school the relationship betweenthe Names and the Perfect Man is that he is the locus of theophany (mazhar, majld), or the direct in the world,of the Name "Alldh". "Alldh" is manifestation the "all-embracing Name" (ism-i jdmi')-therefore also often called the "GreatestName" (ism-i a'zam) (p. 17) (1)-in which all of the Names of God are contained. In Jdmi'swords,"The Name 'Alldh' is a unity in which is comprisedall the divine Names. Thereforeany heart which knows it knows all the Names. This is in contrastto the otherNames, forthe knowledge of not one of them entails the knowledgeof the Name "Alldh" (p. 199). In the Quran it is said that God "taught Adam the Names, all of them" (II, 31). At first sightand in the contextof the verse these names seem to be the names of the createdthings, includingthe angels,but as explainedabove the createdthings
(1) Page numbers mentioned in the article referto the text of Naqd al-nusis..
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are theophanies themselves of the divine Names. So the Sufis in sayingthat accordingto the Quran Adam are quite justified was taught all of God's Names, since the names of the created thingsare the Names of God inasmuchas they are manifested in this world. Ibn 'Arabi and his followers state explicitly that "Adam" means man as such, and that what is said about Adam refers to all men (p. 86), or at least to all men in their state of perfection. Now since Adam or man was taught all the Names, this is equivalentto sayingthat he was taught the knowledgeof the Name "Allah", which is preciselythe Name which embracesall the others. So Adam as the knower of forthat Name in the world locus of theophany Allah is the first of the eternal realityof and the firstcorporealmanifestation the PerfectMan. Therefore also Adam as an individualwas the firstprophet. Ibn 'Arabi calls the firstchapter of the Fusis al-hikamthe "Wisdom of (the ontologicallevel of the Name) 'Allah' as embodiedin the Logos of Adam", alludingto in his state ofperfectionthe factthatAdam-i.e. man himself ofthe divineName "Allah". Ibn 'Arabi then is the theophany chapterof the Fusaii the Perfect proceedsto discussin this first Man. A second Quranicverse whichis taken to refer to man's allfor the locus of nature as theophany the Name comprehensive ofAdam. After "Allah" occursalso in the storyofthe creation God createdAdam and taughthimall the Names, He commanded the angels to prostratethemselvesto him-for Adam also knew theirnames and thus possessed power over them,while did not knowthe names whichAdam had been theythemselves taught (Quran II, 31). (1) But Iblis refused to prostrate himself. Then God asked him, "What preventedthee from to him whom I have created with my two thyself prostrating hands? "(XXXVIII, 75). Jamipoints outthatwhatdistinguishes else manis thathe was createdwithtwo hands,whereaseverything
(1) The fact that the angels did not know all the Names indicates that they are only "partial" or "peripheral" beings and do not possess the centrality and all-embracingnature of man's state. But ofcourse theirluminous (qu.biyyah) endows them with a certain superiority over man, at least in his fallen state. nature See F. Schuon, Dimensions of Islam, London, 1969, p. 120.
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was createdwith only one hand. The Two Hands refer to the divisionof God's Attributes into two categories, the Attributes of Beauty (jamal) and those of Majesty (jaldl) (p. 87). (1) otherthan man is a locus of manifestation Everything only of the Attributes of divine Beauty, or only of those of divine Majesty. Nothingelse was created embracingall the Attributes (p. 87). of the famous hadithof the Prophet, Jimi's interpretation "God created Adam in His own form,"illustratesmore fully how he understands man as the locus oftheophany forthe Name that the authorities exoteric "Alldh". After remarking simply understandfromthe hadiththat man partakes of all of God's "form" he states that the Sufisunderstand Attributes, (sarah) to signifythe means wherebyunseen realities (haqd'iq ghaybiyyah)-which are "disengaged" (mujarrad) fromand transcend physicalrealities-can be conceivedor understood (p. 94). In other words the formof a transcendent reality-perhaps "symbol" would be a bettertranslation-is the means whereby that reality (haqiqah) or that "meaning" (ma'nd-the term itselfin the to Bsrah) manifests employedin contradistinction to its own is connected physicalworld. The form ontologically meaning. Hence man as the "form" of Allah is ontologically He is known the manifestation of Allah and the meanswhereby in the physicalworld. Withoutman the Name "Allih" would have no single locus of manifestation. Of courseit is also truethat sincethe Name "Allah" embraces ofall theNames, all the Names,we can say thatthemanifestation as a whole,is a manifestation whichis equivalentto the universe between of the Name "Allfih". This is whyJimi distinguishes of the Name the summated(mujmal) and singlemanifestation and its in man and multiple particularized "AlliTh" (mufassal) universe the whole manifestation (p. 95). throughout This "two-pronged"theophanyof the Name "Allih" is the basis for Jdmi's expositionof man's relationto the universe. of the macroMan the microcosm ('dlam-i saghrr)is the mirror cosm ('dlam-i kabir). But in man the Name "Allah" is
ofthe "Two Hands" see Naqd al-nugsis, pp. 107-108. (1) For otherinterpretations 10
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in such a way that each one ofthe individualNames manifested whichare comprehended by it is equivalent to all others. In in man in otherwords the divine Unity is manifested directly of the world. But the world the midst of the multiplicity of the Name "Allih", is so in a itself,thoughalso a reflection mode which manifests the relative multiplicity particularized inherentwithin that Name. Each of the individual Names embraced by the Name "Allth" finds its own separate and locus of manifestation independent only in the externalworld. This same pointcan be explainedby sayingthat manis more a manifestation of the First Determination directly (la'ayyun-i or the Level of awwal) Unity (ahadiyyah),while the universe is moredirectly a manifestation of the Second Determination or Level of Unicity (wdhidiyyah). As Jimi explains in detail (pp. 34 ff.),at the Level of Unity the divine Essence is nonmanifest(batin) and all relations (nisab, i'tibarat, iddfit) and attributes are negated from it. At this level one can say that each Name is equivalent to all otherNames. God as the Inward (bdtin)is the same as God as the Outward(zahir) and God as "He who gives life" is identicalto God as "He who death" (muhy.) But the at Level of Unicityeach Name gives (mumFt). can be envisaged as a separate reality. There is a certain relativemultiplicity in nisbT)whichcan be discerned (kathrat-i the Divine Nature, since to envisage God as the Hearing,for Him in a different God as example,is to understand aspectfrom the Seeing. Hence the PerfectMan reflects more directly the First Determination, because all of the divine Attributesare into his own Essence and are equivalentto it (p. 92). integrated But the worldcontains a definite whichconfirms multiplicity, and in a mode the concretely particularized separate and individual reality-albeit relative reality-of each of the Attributes. The keytermwhichis ascribedto man as the manifestation of the Name "Alldh" is the Arabic word "jdmi"', meaning,"allthat which brings all things embracing, all-comprehending, togetherinto a unifiedwhole". The state thus describedis called "jam"' or "jam'iyyah", "all-comprehensiveness." It is
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a state whichcan be well symbolized by a cross,(') the vertical axis indicatingthat the PerfectMan encompassesall the ontoor divine Presences (hadardt), and the logical levels (mardltib) that he embraceseach of theseworlds horizontal axis indicating the or levels in its fullextension. Thus when Jamienumerates vertical levels of existence from the divine Essence to the Corporeal world-i.e., the First Determination,the Second the World of the Spirits,the World of ImageDetermination, Exemplars (mithdl) and the World of Corporeal Bodies-he states that the sixth level is the PerfectMan, who embraces (jdmi') all levels. It is also clear that because the Perfect Man embraces all of the divine Names (whetherwe consider in number-p. 84), he embraces themto be 99, 1001 or infinite ofthe Names on each ofthehorizontal all themyriad theophanies levels. For example, in the physical world all the celestial the animals,vegetablesand mineralsare spheres,the elements, includedwithinhim (p. 110). the realityofman as the locus A further methodofexpressing one of the exposiName of the ofmanifestation "Allah" reminds existence tionsoflaterschoolsof philosophy: pure and undefiled whose source is the NecessaryBeing (wdjib al-wujiid), is characterizedby certain attributes,and whateverexists, by the at least merefactof its existence,mustpossess these attributes as the seven can be summarized potentially. These attributes principal divine Names (the "seven leaders"-a'immah-yi Speaking,Hearing sab'ah): Living,Knowing,Willing,Powerful, theseattributes is found existence and Seeing(p. 40). Wherever attributes these more of but in mostbeingsone of are also found, is in potentiaand not in actu. Only in man can all of the be manifested attributes ofexistence actually. Othercreatures, of theirown actuality,can not even if they attain the fullness manifestall of the Names and Attributes. Thus to say that for the Name "Allah" is man is the locus of manifestation ofthe Divine the Attributes him all in that to equivalent saying existence. in external actualized are Being
(1) See R. Gu(non, The Symbolismof the Cross, London, 1958.
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In Jami's words, "The Name 'Living' is the 'Leader of the such as knowledge, Seven Leaders,' since the other attributes, to exist not be can will, power,etc., exceptafterlife... imagined has a peculiar kind of life in keepingwithits own Everything nature, such that life and its concomitants-i.e., knowledge, power, will, etc.-appear within it in keeping with its own constitution. Hence if its constitution is near to equilibrium, such as is the case withman, all of these attributes, or most of as is the case them,will appear; but ifit is farfrom equilibrium, withinanimateobjects and minerals, life and its concomitants will remainhiddenwithinit" (p. 216). Moreover, "Since man is a unitywhichbringstogether all of the loci of manifestation, all perfections himin actualityand individually... appear within It is this all-embracingness (jdmi'iyyah) which is peculiar to man" (p. 61).
But whydoes God needa locus ofmanifestation forHis Name This of course is almost the as same asking whyGod "Allah"? needs a locus of manifestation forany one of His Names. In otherwords,"Why did God create the world?" When making use of the "mythical" language of the Quranic revelationthe Sufis answerthis question by referring to the famoushadithof the Prophetin whichGod speaks through himin the first person and says, "I was a hiddentreasure and I wantedto be known, so I createdthe world." The Sufitheoreticians then explain the in moreexplicitly meaningofthishadlth metaphysical language. "In the inherent of His Essence and in writes, perfection J~mi His unitarySelf-subsistence God gazed upon His own Self by meansofa visionwhichwas in no way superaddedto Himself or from Himself. He saw His Names and His distinguished Attributes as relationsinherent in Himself, or as Unseen states whose properties had been annihilatedby the all-subjugating werein no way manifest and powerof His Unity. Theireffects theirrealitieswere in no way distinguished one fromanother. But God wanted to manifest these relationsand states in order to display the completeperfection of His Names and to gaze
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in such a way that their uponthemin theirloci ofmanifestation would be distinguished" realitiesand effects (p. 85). Thus forJimi the meaningof the sentence"I was a hidden of God are treasure"is that in the Essence Itself,the Attributes one fromanother,and thereor distinguished nowise manifest forenone of themexistsseparately. The door to the Treasure is locked and the preciousjewels within(=the Attributes) are hidden fromsight. The words "I wanted to be known" refer to the divineInfinity and Perfection, whichrequirethatno mode of existencebe deniedto AbsoluteReality,not even limitedand finite existence. This finite existenceitselfadds a new dimension of knowledgeto the non-manifest Essence, forthe Names and Attributes whichin the Essence are knownonly inasmuch as theyare one withthe Essence, are knownin manifestation or creationas separate and distinct realitiesin the midstof multiplicity. Each of the jewels withinthe Treasureis seen as an independententity. To deny this separative and pluralized to limitIt and negate realityto the Essence would be in effect fromIt one of the dimensions of Its infinite Perfection. Thus the meaningofthe hadith ofthe Hidden Treasureis that God knows Himself in Himself in summated (mujmal) and unitary form, whereas He also must have particularized of Himself, whichcan only (mufassal) and pluralizedknowledge and come about throughthe externalization of His Attributes their "separation" fromHim. As a result of this externalieach of the zation, this transferfrom Unity to multiplicity, Attributes in all ofits individualtraitsand can be contemplated in a separativemode. The Attribute of "Sight" forexample, in God's visionofHimself, itself whichon the one hand manifests it can in all of the myriadpossible forms becomes manifested assume as an independent-or rather semi-independentitselfin countless reality. In the physicalworld it manifests individualsas the sightofman and animals,the photosensitivity of plants, the vision of the sages, etc. Each mode of manifestationexists potentiallywithin the reality of Sight within God's Knowledge, but it exists in actuality only through separative existence in the manifesteduniverse. But what has just been explainedanswersonly part of our
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the question,i.e., "Why did God createthe world?" Although forall ofthe Names,and thus worldis the locus ofmanifestation in its totalityforthe Name "Allih" as well, we still want to itself knowwhythe Name "Alldh" shouldmanifest particularly in man. J~mi answersthis questionin a long passage whichis worth Itselfin the quoting in tolo:When the One Essence manifests diverseloci of theophanywhichmake up the world,"Its manis in a mode whichdoes not allow forthe appearance festation of all-comprehensiveness. These loci are thevarious levels of existence,which particularizeand disperse the One Reality. of multithe properties Hence (as a result of manifestation) the of and over the reality properties Unity, plicitygain sway of Unity becomes hidden in accordancewith the requirements of actualized diversification and objectifiedparticularization. the One (Because Unity becomes thus veiled by multiplicity), Essence wants to manifestItself in a single perfectlocus of manifestation whichwill embraceall of the loci of theophany, whether be they of the natureoflightor of darkness;and which will encompassall of the hidden and open realitiesof the universe and all the manifestand non-manifest intricacies of creation. "(The reasonforthisdesire)is thatthe One NecessaryEssence in no way superperceivesIts Own Self througha perception added to Itself or distinguishedfrom Itself... Likewise It perceives Its Attributesand Its Names as inherentand nonmanifest relations whose realitiesare in no sense separatefrom one another. Then when It manifests Itselfupon the basis of the exigenciesof the divine Will, in keepingwith the diverse of the loci of manifestation and in accordance preparednesses withthe multiple intermediaries betweenItselfand thecreatures in such a manner that It becomesparticularized in the diversified loci of the various levels of existence,It does not perceive Its own Reality in a mannerwhich unites all the objectified and externalized with the of the divine Names and perfections totality Attributes. The reason forthis is that Its Self-manifestation
in any given locus of theophany is in accordance with that locus only. Do you not see that the Self-manifestationof God in the
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in the fromHis Self-manifestation spiritualworld is different ? the first His manifestation is world For in simple, corporeal whilein the secondit is composite, active and luminous, passive and tenebrous. the One Essence willed to manifestItself in the "Therefore universal locus of manifestation, the all-embracing generated also which being (al-kawn al-jdmi') encompasses the divine Reality. This is the PerfectMan, forhe is a locus of manifestationforboth the Absolute Essence and the Names, Attributes and Acts, because of the all-comprehensiveness and his universal of of mode existence and because of equilibrium the scope and perfection of his state of being a locus. Moreover he unites the realities of the Necessary Being and the to the Divine Names with the realitiesof relationspertaining the possible beings and the attributesof creatures. So he the level of all-comprehensive brings together unitywiththat of particularizationand embraces all that there is from the to the end of the chain of being" (pp. 60-61). beginning In sum, only through man does God gaze upon Unity in multiplicity. In HimselfHe sees nothingbut Unity, and in the world nothingbut multiplicity. But in man Unity and are combinedin such a way that all of God's Attrimultiplicity butes-or in other words the Name "Allfh"-are manifested in the midstof the plurawithinone unitary locus oftheophany of the world. Without a man, certain mode of divine lity of God would be would exist and the infinity not Knowledge limited. This is the same as saying that man must exist. In Itself the Hidden Treasure knows Its own Essence in a unitarymode, so that every Attributeis equivalent to every other. In the world, the Hidden Treasure observes each of Its Attributesmanifestedsingly or in various combinations as semi-independent realities. Only in man does the Hidden Treasure know Itself as a unity objectifiedand externalized within the heart of multiplicity.
*
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That the PerfectMan is the locus of theophanyof the Name "Allih" is indicatedby the Quranwhenit statesthat man is the this key of God (khalfat Allah). JRmiinterprets vicegerent of "Allah" termto mean preciselythat man is the vicegerent and of no other Name, and that since he manifeststhe AllName withinthe world,he has been given responembracing all ofthe sibilityforthe whole of creation. By encompassing of all creatures. He is the Names man containsthe principles or great or small worldas opposed to the macrocosm microcosm But also contains. world he all that the since contains world, and is the world his "Man rank in realityand in termsof great is superior the world is the small man, because the vicegerent to his subjects" (p. 91). Envisaged as the vicegerentof the Name "Allah" the key Man is to act as the "isthmus"or barzakh function ofthe Perfect between God and the world and thereby to maintain the oftheworld. "Barzakh" is a Quranictermsometimes existence translatedas "purgatory",since it is the bridgebetweenthis worldand the next. It is also one of the names of the World of Imagination('dlam al-khayal)or Worldof Image-Exemplars worldbetweenthe physical the intermediary ('dlam al-mithal), world(pp. 52-53). As such the barzakh worldand the spiritual between is similarto the animal soul, whichis an intermediary of the body and the spirit(pp. 54-55). Now it is characteristic a barzakhthat as an isthmus or intermediary between two ofboth. Thusthe Worldof it possessesthe attributes realities, Image-Exemplars possesses a luminous substance (jawhar niranf) like the spiritualworld, but it is perceptibleto the senses (mahisas) and capable of division (miqddrT)like the physicalworld(pp. 55). Likewisethe animal soul is similarto the spirit in thatit is simple(bast.), but similar to the composite constitution of the body in that it embracesmultiplefaculties The PerfectMan then is the isthmusbetween God and the world, embracingthe attributesof both. Jami quotes Ibn 'Arabi as follows:Man is like "an isthmusbetweenthe world and God, bringing togetherand embracingboth the creatures and Him. Man is the dividingline betweenthe shadow and
(p.55).
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correspondence and relationship.
in the sun. This is his reality. So he has absolute perfection and Eternality. But God has absolute perfection temporality in Eternality, and He does not enterinto temporality... And the world has absolute perfection in temporality;it does not enter into Eternality. Thus man has broughttogetherand embraced all that exists" (p. 106). It is preciselyman's quality of being an isthmuswhich has made him worthyof being God's vicegerent. Since he is an and servanthe comprises theattributes ofbothlordship isthmus, hood. Through his attribute of lordship-i.e., his divine nature-he takes fromGod what the creaturesdemand. And throughhis attributeof servanthoodhe is able to establish contact with the other creaturesand to see that they receive what theyneed fromGod (p. 103). the PerfectMan is the means whereby Expressed differently, the world is maintained. The Perfect Man in his aspect of lordship, or inasmuch as he embraces the divine realities, receivesthe effusion of God, i.e., of the Name "Allih". Then the reflection of the lights of God's theophanyoverflows into the world, which subsists by receivingthis reflection (p. 89). for the The beings of the world are the loci of manifestation Names and Attributes,or their forms,symbols or "seats" (mahall-i istiwd'). Since each being is the locus withinwhich certain particularNames are manifested, it remainsunder the for sway of the PerfectMan, who is the locus of manifestation the universal Name which contains in itselfall the others. It follows that withoutman,therewould be no world. Here Jgmi quotes Qiinyawi: "The true PerfectMan is the isthmus between Necessityand possibilityand the mirror whichunites the attributesof Eternalitywith those of temporal events... He is the intermediary between God and creation. Through him and fromhis level of existencethe effusion of God and the succourwhichis the cause ofthe subsistence of 'otherthan God' reach the world,all of it, both its celestialand terrestrial parts. If it werenot forthe factthat he acts as the isthmusunopposed to either of the two sides, nothingin the worldcould be the receptacleforthe unique divine succour,because of the lack of
The succour would not reach
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the worldand the worldwould cease to exist. The Perfect Man is the pillar of the Heavens and the earth. Because of this when he leaves the centerof the earth,whichis... the mystery, stationof Alldh'svicegerency, ...the orderof the earth and the and theywill be changedinto other Heavens will be destroyed than themselves"(p. 97). In a strangely modernmannerJ~mi anticipatesan objection which mightoccur to many people at this point: Before the actualization of the human formthe world existed and the planetsrevolved. So how can you call man the Pole (qu.b) of the universeand the means wherebyit is maintained? Jgmi repliesthat althoughman did not exist in the SensoryWorld, he did existin the SpiritualWorld,and the effect ofhis existence in the lower world. To prove this point he was manifested cites the famoushadith of the Hidden Treasure quoted above. of his to the goal of creationis the perfection According hadlth, God's Self-manifestation. If God's Essence were not to be He would remaina Hidden Treasure. This Selfmanifested, manifestation of God takes place in two modes: the mode of i.e., in the form of the particularizationand multiplicity, universeas a whole; and the mode of summation and unity,i.e. in man's form. So the Self-manifestation of the Essence as It is in Itself,i.e. in Its Unityand as embracing at all Attributes takes in the In the elemental form of man. once, only place world as such the Essence manifestsItself as dispersionand multiplicity. The role of man as perfecting the Self-manifestation of God is to in the Quran in the famous verse of the "trust" referred the trustto the Heavens and the earth (amanah): "We offered and the mountains,but they refusedto carry it..., and man carriedit" (XXXIII, 72). In thisverse"Heavens" refer to the celestial parts of creation,while "earth" refers to the physical world. "Mountains" are an allusion to the worldsand levels of existencewhichlie between. All of theselevels of existence refused to carrythe trustbecause theyare loci of manifestation foronly certainNames of God. Thus they do not possess the
necessary receptivity (qdbiliyyah) to be the locus of manifestation for the divine All-comprehensiveness, i.e., for all of the
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Names embracedby the Name "Allah". But man did carry the trust,since he possesses a perfect and total receptivity for all of the Names. Thus the divine goal in creation,i.e., the Self-manifestation of God, only became actualized through man's form. Therefore even beforeman was created in the the world could only exist through the effusion world, physical of existencecarried out throughhim and directedtoward his actualization in the externalworld(pp. 90-91).
In sum, the PerfectMan as the ontologicalprototype of the humanself,or as the selfin its ultimatestate of perfection and the realization,is the locus withinwhichis manifested directly GreatestName of God, whichincludesin itselfall otherNames. Thus the PerfectMan is the goal of creation,forthroughhim the Self-manifestation and Self-unfolding of the Infinite Ipseity is actualized. And since he is the goal of creation,all other creaturesdepend upon him,for"withoutthe fruit in mind the would never have gardener planted the tree" (p. 101). In other words,the individual and particularizedNames of God, whose loci of theophanyare symbolizedby the tree with its under the sway of the myriad branches,are only manifested universal and all-embracing whose locus of manifestName, ation is symbolizedby the fruit,which contains in itselfthe principleof the whole tree. of the Finally, one of Jami's numerousversified descriptions
Perfect Man may be quoted here: (1)
"Before Eternity,the states of God are held within the First Determination united in theiressenceswith one another, embodied withineach other, hidden behind the curtain of Unity, freefromseparationand its decrees.
(1) This poem is from one of Jdmi's malhnawi's, Silsilat al-dhahab, and has been put into its final English form with the help of Peter Lamborn Wilson. The Persian text can be found in Jgmi, Mathnawi-yi haft awrang, ed. by M. Mudarris-i-Gilfni, Tehran, 1337 A. H. solar, pp. 70-71,
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Both in theirbeing and in the Mind of God and distinctionhave not touched them. multiplicity Then in the Second Determination each hidden state becomes distinct, the realities become distinguishable each fromthe other,but still withinthe veil of mysteryin Knowledge alone, a distinction to ontologicaldistinctions. still inferior Then, in the footstepsof this becoming, these realitiesemergefromthe Inward into the Outward world, though they remain withinthe Essence: still unmanifest the external face of the Essence is like a mirror in which the Inward shows itselfin the Outward, and possibilitybecomes the veil of Necessity; of the Inward, throughthis reflection is with the hue tinted Necessary Being of each possible beingone in Essence, but in the eye of perception, revealed as multiple. in the varietiesof manifestation the differences By the levels of the Worlds become known: First the World of Intellectsand Souls, then the World of Imagination, finallythe sensibleworld. One by one withinthese worlds the divine Names are manifested. Each thingin each realm comes into being froma particular Name. All the Cosmos and different a becomes mirror, still unpolished, in whichthe Face of the Master of Gloryand Bounty can not yet be shown,forthis perfectly numericaldispersionobstructs the unitary and all-embracingMystery.
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Adam is the polishingstone for this mirror, since the Essence and all its Attributesare withinhimhe becomesan all-embracing and universal locus of manifestation; fromwithinhim, the mystery of the Essence and the Attributes shinesforth; and withinthis locus, this man, each of the Names reveals itself. He becomes the unitaryformof all the individual particularities of the Cosmosthroughhim the circleis closed, the last becomes the first. He is a book embracingall verses and signs,his being is the goal of all goals."
William C.
CHITTICK
(Teheran)

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THE PERFECT MAN IN THE SUFISM OF JAMi

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