chittick on jami

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Maisonneuve & Larose

The Perfect Man as the Prototype of the Self in the Sufism of JmAuthor(s): William C. ChittickSource: Studia Islamica, No. 49 (1979), pp. 135-157Published by: Maisonneuve & LaroseStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1595320 .

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THE PERFECT MANAS THE PROTOTYPE OF THE SELFIN THE SUFISMOF JAMI

No singletechnicalterm n thevocabularyofJgmi'sSufismconveys satisfactorily he various meaningsdenoted by theEnglishword "self". 1) Rather thesemeanings re expressedthroughthe use of a number of different erms. A briefdiscussionof some of these can act as an introduction o theparticular imension fJmlI'sconceptofthe selfwhichwewishto explain.The first nd mostcommon ermwhichconveys hemeaningof "self" s nafs,which n the Arabicdictionarys also translatedas "soul,psyche, pirit,mind, ife, erson", tc. In thecontextofJ~mi'stechnical erminologytcan probablybest be renderedas "soul". It usuallyrefers o the animatingprinciple f thebody,theintermediaryetween hebodilyconstitution nd thespirit,or to the immortal spect of man's beingwhich can beperfected hrough he spiritual ife. It may also referimplyto theindividualconsciousness,nd as such s nearly quivalentto and'iyyah "I-ness" or ego), a term, however,whichJ5mirarely employs. Man's nafs or soul possesses potentiallya

(1) The word "khwud" in modern Persian is near to being an equivalent forthe English word "self". But although it is used as a technical termby certainSufis, such as Ahmad Ghazzili, as far as I have been able to discern it is notemployedtechnically by Jdimi.

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136 W. C. CHITTICKnumberof differenttagesof perfection. By traversinghesestages it moves ever closer to God and fartherfrom ts ownfallennature. The soul in its fallen tate-or in its ordinaryeverydayreality far from ts primordialnature (fifrah)-isreferredo as the "soul which ncites" to evil,nafs-i mmdrah).Through enteringupon the path of spiritual perfection tbecomes the "soul which blames" (itselffor its own short-comings, afs-i awwdmah)nd at the end of thePath it attainsthe stationofthe "soul at peace" (nafs-imu!ma'innah). Onecan also speak of the "inwarddimensions" f the self or soul,dimensionswhich are only actualized throughthe path ofspiritualperfection,ut each of which t a certain tage repre-sents man's subjective reality. Here such terms as "heart"(qalb or dil), "secret" (sirr), "hidden" (khaft) and "mosthidden" (akhfd)are mentioned s ascending tagesofthe self.Another term which is oftentranslatedas "self"-dhat-in Ja-mi'sworksrefers lmostexclusively o thedivineEssenceor theGodhead. Here "Self" with a capital "S" wouldbe anappropriate ranslation. When employedto refer o humanbeings (a rare usage), the termdhat denotes the individualessence and is usuallyused-just as it often s in the case oftheDivine-to distinguish person'sessenceorreality romhisattributes sifdl) and acts (af'al).A thirdterm also listedin dictionaries s meaning"self" is'ayn. For Jdmi t usuallyrefers o the realityof a thing s itis known n the divineKnowledge, .e., the thing's mmutablearchetype'ayn lhdbilah), r tothereality fa thing s external-ized and manifestedn the corporealworld.Thus ifwe accept a typicaldictionary efinitionfthe word"self" andsaythat tdenotes the ntegratednity fsubjectiveexperience"or "the individualconsciousness n its relationtoitself"the wordnafs,particularlyn its ordinary ignification(equivalentto the first evel of the soul, nafs-iammdrah), rperhapsthe word and'iyyah, pproachesmost closelyto whatwe wouldmean by "self". If on the contrarywe take "Self"to refer o UltimateReality,thendhat s the termwhichmoreor less correspondso thisconcept.In the presentpaper,however, t is not mypurposeto deal



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THE PERFECT MAN IN THE SUFISM OF JAMi 137withthe individual elfat its ordinaryevel ofconsciousness rthedivineSelf, ither f which onceptsnJimi'sthoughtwouldrequiredetailed expositions. Rather I wish to deal with athirddefinition hich feel smorerelevant o an understandingof Jdmi'sconceptof the self n its overallmeaning nd in itsrelation o all dimensions freality: heself s the consciousnessand existence f manin the state ofperfection, state which sneither he selfof ordinaryhuman experiencenor the DivineRealityas such. I am referringf courseto a furtherechnicaltermwhichplays a role ofutmost mportancen Sufismfromthe time of Ibn 'Arabi (d. 638/1240) nward, he insan-ikdmilor PerfectMan.The PerfectMan is precisely hehumanselfat its final tageof perfection nd completion. For man there is nothingconceivablebeyondthis state. Onlythe Divine and AbsoluteHe-nessor Ipseity huwiyyah,hal) can be said to be beyond t.Ultimately hePerfectManmaybe said to containwithinhim-self all the ontologicalstates of God as well as all those ofcreation. In fact theonlydifferenceetween he PerfectManand the ontological evel designatedby the Name "All5h", i.e.God as we understandHim and as possessing ll positiveAttri-butes (sifdl), is that God is the Lord and man is the servant;or that God is theNecessaryBeing n His own Essence whereasman is the NecessaryBeing by means of another wdjib bi'l-ghayr). Otherwise, verything hich can be said about Godcan be said about the PerfectMan. 1)

(1) See Jimi's Naqd al-nus.s, ed. by W. C. Chittick,Tehran, 1977, pp. 63and 93. Sa'd al-Din Sa'id Farghini identifiesthe highest stage of the PerfectMan-which is equivalent to the Muhammadan Reality (al-haqiqat al-muhamma-diyyah) or the Reality of Realities (haqfqatal-haqd'iq)-with the station of "OrNearer" (aw adnd), i.e., the First Determination (al-ta'ayyun al-awwal) or theontological evel ofUnity (ahadiyyah). This station s above Unicity wdhidiyyah)or the Second Determination,whichis the ontologicallevel of the Divinity or theName "Allih", but below the unknowable Essence. See the index to Mashdriqal-dardrf,edited by Sayyid Jalil al-Din Ashtiy5ni, Tehran, 1979; also Naqdal-nus.s, pp. 36-37, a passage quoted fromFarghini. In anotherpassage of thesame work Jami writes as follows about the Prophet Muhammad: his reality"was the first mmutable archetype effusedby the Most Holy Effusion(al-faydal-aqdas). Therebyhe attained Supreme Uniqueness throughhis unitaryessence(i.e. his essence at the level ofUnity or ahadiyyah),his divine level (i.e., the onto-logical level of the Name "Alldh") and his immutablearchetype" (p. 274).



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138 w. C. CHITTICKThe PerfectMan has two aspects,onlyone ofwhichwe willconsiderhere. First he is the ontologicalprototype f bothman and the universe. He is the first reation of God, orrather the primordial nd originaltheophany tajall) of theEssence, and thusthe first oint n the descending rc (qaws-inuzale) of the manifestation(zuhar) or effusion fayd) ofexistence. But thedescendingrc mustreach tslowestpoint,which s thecorporealworld 'alam al-ajsdm)orworld f ensoryperception 'dlam al-hiss,dlamal-shahddah). Then the circlecloses upon itself. The goal of the ascending arc (qaws-iu'Cid)--the return o the Principle r Creator-is likewise hestate of the PerfectMan. The whole practicalor operative('amal7) side of Sufismis oriented towards the realization(tahaqquq) of the state ofprimordial erfectionwhichbelongsonlyto the PerfectMan. For example, hevarious discussionsof thestagesoftheperfectionfthesoul ornafsall refer o theascending rc throughwhichman returns o his original tate.Likewise hecomplicatednddetailed xpositions fthestations(maqdmat)ofperfectionound n manySufi texts refer o thissame reality. 1)Hence the two dimensions r aspectsofthe PerfectMan arethat he is first heontological rototypefman and the universe-or theorigin fthe "descending rc" of creation-and secondtheexemplar o be emulated,orthegoal ofthe"ascending rc"ofcreation. Here we are onlyconcernedwiththe first imen-

sion,as reflectednthewritingsfthegreatPersianSufipoetofthe ninth/fifteenthentury,Abd al-Rahm,n ibn AhmadJ~mI(d. 898/1492). Althoughbest knownforhis poetry,Jdmi salso the authorofeightrelativelyong proseworks-such as hisLawd'ih 2)-and eightor nine shorter roseworks, ll dealingdirectlywithSufimetaphysics.3) We willbe relyingmainlyon his first ttemptto explicate the theoreticalteachingsofSufism,Naqd al-nusasft harhnaqshal-fusis,which n factof(1) The 650 pages of Farghini's Mashdriq al-dardri,forexample, are devotedmainlyto the stations of the spiritualpath.(2) The Lawd'ih was translated nto Englishby E. H. Whinfield, ondon, 1906.(3) I have listedtheseworksand givena briefdescriptionof each in myPersianintroduction o Naqd al-nus.s, pp. 21-28. See also the followingnote.



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THE PERFECT MAN IN THE SUFISM OF JAkMi 139all hisproseworks s theone inwhichhe dealswithSufidoctrineat thegreatest ength nd with the mostfreedomo followhisown inclinations nd preferences.Mostof his other ongmeta-physicalworks re commentarieselativelyimitedbythe textsupon whichtheyare based. (1)

But whenwepropose o discuss"Jdmi's oncept fthePerfectMan", we mustbe aware ofwhat thissignifies: dmi s not anoriginal hinkernthe sensethat hehas hisownpeculiar onceptofthe PerfectMan and otherSufi doctrines. His concepts rethose of the school of Ibn 'Arabi and his special role is thathe represents culminationof that school in the historyofSufism. AfterJdmi Ibn 'Arabi's school produces no morefigures f the firstmagnitude. Although certain represen-tatives of Ibn 'Arabi's pure gnosis 'irfdn), such as 'Abd al-

(1) Jimi's longest philosophical work is his Arabic commentaryon the FusaSof Ibn 'Arabi, but it followsthe text very closely and offers racticallyno detailedtheoretical elaborations or digressions. Naqd al-nusds on the contraryconsistsof255 pages ofcommentary pon a tenpage text and includesa 65 page introductionin which Jdmi deals with most of the major teachings of Ibn 'Arabi's school ina detailed manner which is not to be seen in any of his other works. Over50 pages of this work are devoted exclusively to the PerfectMan, and of coursemany more pages relate to him. If the proportionof commentaryto text inNaqd al-nusiis were the same as in Jimi's commentaryon the Fusssi,the work

would have 25 pages instead of265.Jimi's other ong proseworkson metaphysicsand philosophyare the following:a commentaryon the Lama'dt of 'Irdqi (Ashi"at al-lama'dt), which contains arelativelyindependentintroductionof about 15 pages and a few one or two pagediscussionsof certainconcepts. Lawd'ih.,which s not a commentary ut comparedto Naqd al-nusds is veryshort; Sharh al-rubd'iyydt, commentaryon some of hisown poetrycoveringabout 80 pages, about one third ofwhich-as I have shownin my introductionto Naqd al-nusils (p. 22)-is quoted or translated fromthelatter work; Lawdmi', a commentaryon Ibn Firid's khamriyyah "wine song"),which contains an independentintroductionof about 25 pages on mystical love;Sharh-i ba'd-i az abydt-iqasda-yi t'iyya-yi faridiyyah "Commentary on a fewverses of Ibn Fdri.'s Poem of theWay"), a brief translation and explanation ofabout one-tenthof the poem; and finally l-Durrat al-fdkhirah recentlycriticallyedited by N. Heer but notyetpublished),a relativelyshortArabic workcomparingthe views of the philosophers,theologians and Sufis. For a discussion of therelationshipbetween these works in termsof the ideas and themes they discusssee my English introduction o Naqd al-nusis.



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140 w. C. CHITTICKGhanial-NibulusI d. 1143/1730-1), hmad bn Ajib5h d. 1224/1809) and Aq5 MuhammadRid5IQumsha'I (d. 1306/1888-9),continue oexercise onsiderablenfluenceponIslamicthought,to a large degree metaphysical peculation,particularlyn theeastern ands of Islam, is graduallytaken over by the "theo-sophers"of the School of Isfahan,figuresuch as Mulld Sadr5(d. 1050/1640), Mull5 MuhsinFay4dKishini (d. 1090/1679)and their successors. However this may be, no subsequentrepresentativef Ibn 'Arabi'sschoolcan be comparedto J~miin termsof fameand influencen the Islamic world.Thus Jimi's "originality" s that he summarizes wholeschoolofthoughtn himselfnd brings t to a climax. More-overhe carried his out in a languageoften learer nd almostinvariablymoreeloquent and beautiful han that of his pre-decessors nd thusmorereadily ccessibleto a larger udience.This s true bothof hisproseand hispoetry. Oftheother ufipoets and authorswho reflectedbn 'Arabi's doctrines n theirversesand writings-figuresuch as 'Ir~qi, Maghribi nd ShahNi'matallghWali-none, with the possible exceptionof Sha-bistari,was able to expressthe Greatest Master's (al-shaykhal-akbar) teachings s directly, eautiful nd simplyas JRmi.Certainly he tremendous opularity fJimI's writingsn theIndian subcontinents one of themajor reasonsfor he spreadof Ibn 'Arabi's school in that region.In short,J5mi s a spokesmanfor bn 'Arabi and his school.In hisworksnumerous eferenceso and quotationsfrommostof the major figures f this school can be found. AftertheGreatestMasterhimself,most importantfor Jlmi is Sadr al-Din Qfinyawid. 673/1274-5),bn ArabI's foremost isciple ndthe closefriend fRimi. In fact, lthough herecan be littledoubtthat after bn ArabiQiinyawi s the most mportant igureof this school, his writingshave been neglected by modernscholars. Theseworks,mostlynArabicbut also inPersian, 1)

(1) ConcerningQfinyawi nd his works ee the recent Ph. D. thesisof S. Ruspoli,La clefdu mondesuprasensible,Sorbonne, Ve section, Sciences religieuses,n.d.(1976?). I am currently editing and translating two of Qfinyawi's Persianworks: Tabsirat al-mubtadi' and Matdli" al-imdn.



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THE PERFECT MAN IN THE SUFISM OF J.AMI 141representa major step in the integrationof Ibn 'Arabi'steachings nto the intellectualworld of the eastern lands ofIslam. TheoriginalityfQiinyawlian beobserved articularlyinhismodeofpresentingbn 'Arabi's teachings, mode almostcompletely ifferentrom hat of his master. The writings fIbn 'Arabi tendto be like sudden nspirations lowing romhispen with such force nd velocitythat they destroyhorizontaland logicalcontinuity. Qiinyawion the contrarys the modelof logical consistency nd point-by-pointeasoning.1) Thuseventhough heuniversehe speaksabout and the teachingshepresents re completelyn harmonywith those of theGreatestMaster,Qiinyawicould writewith complete ustification, Ihave writtenmy works withoutever mixingwith them thewords of otherwriters, orthat is not my habit. God hasprotectedme fromthat and deliveredme fromthe need forit." (2)Two other figures f Ibn 'Arabl's school who are of firstimportance nd frequently uoted by Jdmi3) are Mu'ayyadal-Din Jandi d. ca. 700/1301) nd Sa'd al-Din Sacid Farghini(d. ca. 700/1301), oth direct tudents fQfinyawi nd authorsof worksin Arabic and Persian. Jandi's commentary ponIbn 'Arabi's Fussa. al-hikams probablythe first ompleteoneand in Jdmi's view is the basis for all subsequentcomment-aries, 4) which number over one hundred. (5) Farghdni com-mented bn Firid's famousPoemoftheWay (6) in Persianand

(1) On the difference etween "Semitic inspirationalism"and "Aryan intellec-tualism" see F. Schuon, Logic and Transcendance,New York, 1975, pp. 149-150;also S. H. Nasr, "Persia and the Destinyof Islamic Philosophy",Studies n Compa-rativeReligion, vol. 6, 1972, pp. 31-42, especially pp. 39-40.(2) Al-Nus.is, printed in the same volume as 'Abd al-Razziq KdishnTi, harhmandzil al-sd'irin,Tehran, 1315 A. H. lunar, p. 281.(3) For details of the quotations made by Jimi fromhis predecessors n Naqdal-nugsis, efer o the work's Persian introduction,pp. 53-67. I was able to findthe source of 65% ofthe work and confirmJdimi's emark n his introduction hatthe workresemblesthe "patchwork cloak" ofthe Sufis.(4) See Nafah.dtal-uns ofJdmi, d. by M. Tawhidipfir, ehran, 1336 A. H. solar,p. 558.(5) 0. Yahia, Histoire etclassificationde l'ceuvre 'Ibn 'Arabt, Damascus, 1964,pp. 241-257.(6) Translated by A. J. Arberry,London, 1952.



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142 w. C. CHITTICKthen translatedhis own work ntoArabic,addinga greatdealto his introductionn theprocess. Thiswork, alledMashdriqal-daradr n Persian and Muntaha'l-maddrikn Arabic, 1) isperhaps the most detailed expositionof the stations of thespiritual athto be foundnthe works f Ibn Arabi's followers.Finally t shouldbe mentionedhatJamimakes extensive seof the famous commentaries pon the Fusip7, uch as that of'Abd al-Razziq Kishini (d. 736/1335-6)nd evenmore o thatofKishini's discipleD5'fidQaysari d. 751/1350-1). Qaysari'srewritingsf Ibn 'Arabi's ideas, especially n the introductionto his commentaryn the Fusas, are unequalledin theirclearand beautiful Arabic prose.In short,when"Jami" is mentionednthepresent aper,weare referringo Jdmi's understanding f the consensus ofopinionof250 yearsofIbn 'Arabi's school. Moreover here sno doubt that Jami himself aw this school as a unified ndharmoniouswhole,with differencesf opiniononly on minorpoints.(2) iscontinuousuotationsnNaqd al-nuss from igureswho composedtheirworks at various times throughout hislongperiodreveal hisharmony,nd other hanminor ifferencesofpointof view and variations nprose tylefewdiscrepanciescan be seen amongthesewritings.

Jami discusses hreemajoraspectsof the PerfectMan as theontological rototype fcreation:First,the PerfectMan as thelocus of manifestationor heName "Allih"; second, s thegoalofcreation; hird, s God's vicegerent. Each of theseconceptswillhave to be examined eparately.(1) Concerning Mashdriq al-ddrdrisee note on p. 45. The Arabic text was

published apparentlyin Istanbul in 1293 A. H. lunar.(2) In his own glosses on Naqd al-nusis.Jdmipointsout a number of instanceswhereKfshini, Jandi, Qfinyawi nd othersdisagreewith Ibn 'Arabi or with eachotheron a pointofdoctrine. But in each case the pointdiscussedis a minor one.See Naqd al-nus.is,glosses# 23, 35, 45, 51, 193. These glosses,moreover, eemto indicate that if Jdmi had been aware of major points of difference, e wouldhave mentioned them.



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THE PERFECT MAN IN THE SUFISM OF JALMI 143Practicallyall of Islamic religious houghtgoes back to theNames and Attributes f God (al-asma' wa'l-sifat). God inHis Absolute Essence cannotbe known,butwe can knowHimin so far as He has revealed His Names, and thereforeHisAttributes, n the Quran. The primaryknowledge f Godrevealedthrough heHolyBook becomes hebasis for ll otherknowledge. Without knowledge ftheNames andAttributeswe cannot know the universe. The whole of the universe nfact is nothingbut the manifestationr theophanyof God'sNames. To say that "God created the world"means in thiscontextthat theworldderives tsrelative nd limited xistencefromthe Absolute and InfiniteBeing of God and that thecharacteristicsnd propertieswhichwe observe n the world renothingbut dim reflections f God's Attributes. If certainthingspossess the property f life,this is because God is theLiving and theyreceive effusion(fayd.)and succour (madad)from hatName. If certain hings ee, that is because God is

the Seeing,and so forth.In the contextofthe Islamicteachings hemselves,hen,thekeyto theunderstandingf thePerfectMan lies n thedoctrineoftheNames andAttributes. Accordingo Ibn ArabI'sschooltherelationship etween heNames and thePerfectMan is thathe is the locus of theophany mazhar,majld), or the directmanifestationn theworld,oftheName "Alldh". "Alldh" isthe "all-embracingName" (ism-i dmi')-therefore also oftencalled the "GreatestName" (ism-ia'zam) (p. 17) (1)-in whichall ofthe Names ofGod are contained. In Jdmi'swords, TheName 'Alldh' is a unity n whichis comprised ll the divineNames. Therefore ny heartwhich knows it knows all theNames. This is in contrast o the otherNames,for heknow-ledge of not one of them entails the knowledge f the Name"Alldh" (p. 199).In the Quran it is said that God "taughtAdam the Names,all ofthem"(II, 31). At first ightand in the contextoftheversethese names seem to be the namesof the createdthings,including he angels,but as explainedabove thecreatedthings

(1) Page numbers mentioned n the article refer o the text of Naqd al-nusis..



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144 W. C. CHITTICKthemselves re theophanies f thedivine Names. So the Sufisare quite justifiedn sayingthat according o theQuranAdamwas taughtall ofGod's Names,since thenames of the createdthings re the Names of God inasmuch s theyare manifestedin this world. Ibn 'Arabi and his followers tate explicitlythat "Adam" means man as such,and that what is said aboutAdam refers o all men (p. 86), or at least to all men in theirstate of perfection. Now since Adam or man was taughtalltheNames,this s equivalentto saying hat he was taughttheknowledge f the Name "Allah", which s precisely he Namewhichembracesall the others. So Adam as the knower ofAllahis thefirstocus oftheophany or hatName in the worldand the first orporealmanifestationf the eternalrealityofthe PerfectMan. Therefore lso Adam as an individual wasthe firstprophet. Ibn 'Arabi calls the first hapterof theFusis al-hikamthe "Wisdom of (the ontological evel of theName) 'Allah' as embodied n theLogos ofAdam", alluding othefact hat Adam-i.e. man himselfnhisstate ofperfection-is thetheophany fthe divineName "Allah". Ibn 'Arabi thenproceeds o discuss n this firsthapter f theFusaii the PerfectMan.A secondQuranicverse which s taken to refer o man's all-comprehensive ature as the locus oftheophanyforthe Name"Allah" occurs lso in thestory fthe creation fAdam. AfterGod createdAdam andtaughthimall theNames,He command-ed the angels to prostrate hemselves o him-for Adam alsoknew theirnames and thus possessedpowerover them,whiletheythemselves id notknowthenames whichAdamhad beentaught (Quran II, 31). (1) But Iblis refusedto prostratehimself. Then God asked him, "What prevented hee fromprostratinghyself o him whomI have createdwithmy twohands "(XXXVIII, 75). Jamipoints ut thatwhatdistinguishesman s thathewas createdwith wo ands,whereas verythinglse

(1) The fact that the angels did not know all the Names indicates that theyare only "partial" or "peripheral" beings and do not possess the centrality(qu.biyyah) and all-embracingnatureofman's state. But ofcoursetheir uminousnatureendows them with a certainsuperiority verman, at least in hisfallen state.See F. Schuon, Dimensionsof Islam, London, 1969, p. 120.



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THE PERFECT MAN IN THE SUFISM OF JAMi 145was createdwithonlyonehand. The Two Hands refer o thedivisionofGod's Attributesnto two categories, heAttributesof Beauty (jamal) and those of Majesty (jaldl) (p. 87). (1)Everything therthan man is a locus of manifestationnlyofthe Attributes f divineBeauty,or onlyof those ofdivineMa-jesty. Nothing lse was createdembracing ll theAttributes(p. 87).Jimi's interpretationf the famoushadithof the Prophet,"God createdAdam in His own form," llustratesmorefullyhow heunderstandsmanas the ocus oftheophany or heName"Alldh". After emarkinghat theexoteric uthoritiesimplyunderstandfrom he hadith hatman partakesof all of God'sAttributes, e states that the Sufisunderstand form"(sarah)to signify he means wherebyunseen realities (haqd'iq ghay-biyyah)-which are "disengaged" (mujarrad) from nd trans-cendphysicalrealities-can be conceivedor understoodp. 94).In other words the formof a transcendent eality-perhaps"symbol"wouldbe a better ranslation-is the meanswherebythat reality (haqiqah) or that "meaning" (ma'nd-the termemployed n contradistinctiono Bsrah) manifeststself n thephysicalworld. The forms ontologicallyonnected o itsownmeaning. Hence man as the "form" ofAllah is ontologicallythe manifestationfAllahand themeanswherebyHe is knownin thephysicalworld. WithoutmantheName "Allih" wouldhave no single ocus ofmanifestation.Ofcourse t is also truethatsincetheName "Allah" embracesall theNames,wecan saythat themanifestationf lltheNames,which s equivalent o theuniverse s a whole, s a manifestationofthe Name "Allfih". ThisiswhyJimidistinguishesetweenthe summated mujmal) and singlemanifestationf the Name"AlliTh" n man and its particularized(mufassal) and multiplemanifestationhroughouthe wholeuniversep. 95).This "two-pronged" heophanyof the Name "Allih" is thebasis forJdmi'sexpositionof man's relationto the universe.Man themicrocosm'dlam-isaghrr) s themirror f the macro-cosm ('dlam-i kabir). But in man the Name "Allah" is

(1) For other nterpretations fthe"Two Hands" seeNaqd al-nugsis, p. 107-108.10



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146 W. C. CHITTICKmanifestedn sucha waythateachoneof the ndividualNameswhich are comprehended y it is equivalentto all others. Inother wordsthe divineUnity s manifested irectlyn man inthe midst of the multiplicity f the world. But the worlditself, houghalso a reflectionf the Name "Allih", is so in aparticularizedmode which manifests he relativemultiplicityinherentwithinthat Name. Each of the individualNamesembracedby the Name "Allth" finds ts own separate andindependentocus ofmanifestationnly n the externalworld.This same pointcan be explainedbysaying hatman s moredirectly manifestationf the FirstDeterminationla'ayyun-iawwal) or the Level of Unity (ahadiyyah),while the universeis moredirectly manifestationf theSecondDeterminationrLevel of Unicity (wdhidiyyah). As Jimi explains in detail(pp. 34 ff.), t the Level of Unitythe divine Essence is non-manifest batin) and all relations nisab, i'tibarat,ddfit)andattributes re negatedfromt. At this evel one can say thateach Name is equivalentto all otherNames. God as the In-ward bdtin) s thesameas Godas the Outward zahir) and Godas "He whogives ife" (muhy.) is identical o God as "He whogivesdeath" (mumFt).But at theLevel ofUnicity ach Namecan be envisaged as a separate reality. There is a certainrelativemultiplicitykathrat-i isbT)whichcan be discernednthe Divine Nature,since to envisageGod as the Hearing,forexample, s to understandHimin a differentspectfromGod asthe Seeing. Hence the PerfectMan reflectsmoredirectly heFirst Determination, ecause all of the divineAttributes reintegratedntohisownEssence and are equivalentto it (p. 92).But the worldcontainsa definitemultiplicity, hichconfirmsconcretelyand in a particularizedmode the separate andindividual reality-albeit relative reality-of each of theAttributes.Thekeytermwhich s ascribed o man as themanifestationfthe Name "Alldh" is the Arabicword"jdmi"', meaning, all-embracing,all-comprehending,hat which brings all thingstogether nto a unifiedwhole". The state thus described scalled "jam"' or "jam'iyyah","all-comprehensiveness." It is



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THE PERFECT MAN IN THE SUFISM OF JAMI 147a statewhichcan be wellsymbolized y a cross, ') theverticalaxis indicating hat the PerfectMan encompasses ll the onto-logical levels (mardltib) r divinePresences(had rdt),and thehorizontal xis indicating hat he embraces ach of theseworldsor levelsin its full xtension. Thus whenJamienumerateshevertical levels of existence from the divine Essence to theCorporealworld-i.e., the First Determination, he SecondDetermination,he Worldof the Spirits, he World of Image-Exemplars (mithdl) and the World of CorporealBodies-hestates that the sixth level is the PerfectMan, who embraces(jdmi') all levels. It is also clear that because the PerfectMan embracesall of the divineNames (whetherwe considerthemto be 99, 1001or infiniten number-p. 84), he embracesall themyriad heophanies f he Names on eachofthehorizontallevels. For example, in the physicalworld all the celestialspheres, he elements, he animals,vegetables nd minerals reincludedwithinhim p. 110).A furthermethod fexpressinghereality fmanas the ocusofmanifestationftheName"Allah" reminds neoftheexposi-tionsof aterschoolsofphilosophy: ureand undefiledxistencewhose source s the Necessary Being (wdjib al-wujiid), s cha-racterizedby certainattributes, nd whateverexists,by themerefact of ts existence,mustpossessthese attributes t leastpotentially. These attributes an be summarized s the sevenprincipal divine Names (the "seven leaders"-a'immah-yisab'ah): Living,Knowing,Willing, owerful, peaking,HearingandSeeing p. 40). Whereverxistences found hese ttributesarealso found, ut nmostbeings ne ofmoreofthese ttributesis in potentia nd not in actu. Only in man can all of theattributes fexistence emanifestedctually. Other reatures,even iftheyattainthe fullness f theirown actuality, an notmanifest ll of the Names and Attributes. Thus to say thatman is the locus of manifestation or the Name "Allah" isequivalent o saying hat nhim all the Attributes f theDivineBeing are actualized in external existence.

(1) See R. Gu(non, The SymbolismoftheCross, London, 1958.



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148 W. C. CHITTICKIn Jami'swords,"The Name 'Living' is the 'Leader of theSeven Leaders,' since the otherattributes, uch as knowledge,will,power, tc.,cannot be imagined o existexceptafter ife...Everything as a peculiarkind of life n keepingwith ts ownnature,such that life and its concomitants-i.e., knowledge,power,will, etc.-appear within t in keepingwith its ownconstitution. Hence if ts constitutions near to equilibrium,suchas is the case withman,all oftheseattributes, r most ofthem,willappear;butif t is farfrom quilibrium,s is the casewith nanimateobjectsand minerals,ife and its concomitantswillremainhiddenwithin t" (p. 216). Moreover, Since manis a unitywhichbrings ogether ll oftheloci ofmanifestation,all perfectionsppearwithinhim nactuality nd individually...It is this all-embracingnessjdmi'iyyah)whichis peculiartoman" (p. 61).

Butwhydoes God need locusofmanifestationorHis Name"Allah"? This ofcourse s almostthesameas askingwhyGodneeds a locus ofmanifestationor nyone of His Names. Inotherwords,"Why did God create the world?"Whenmakinguse of the "mythical" anguageof the Quranicrevelation heSufis answerthisquestion by referringo the famoushadith ftheProphet nwhichGodspeaksthrough im nthefirst ersonand says,"I was a hidden reasure nd I wanted obe known, oI createdthe world." The Sufitheoreticians henexplainthemeaning fthishadlthnmore xplicitlymetaphysicalanguage.J~miwrites, In the inherent erfectionf His Essence and inHis unitarySelf-subsistence od gazed upon His own Selfbymeans of a visionwhichwas innoway superadded o Himself rdistinguished romHimself. He saw His Names and HisAttributes s relationsnherentn Himself, r as Unseenstateswhose propertieshad been annihilatedby the all-subjugatingpowerof His Unity. Theireffects ere nnowaymanifestndtheirrealitieswere n no way distinguishedne from nother.But Godwanted to manifesthese relations nd states n orderto displaythe completeperfectionf His Names and to gaze



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THE PERFECT MAN IN THE SUFISM OF JAMi 149uponthem ntheir oci ofmanifestationnsuch a waythattheirrealities nd effects ould be distinguished"p. 85).Thus forJimi themeaningof the sentence I was a hiddentreasure" s that nthe Essence Itself, he Attributes fGod arenowisemanifest r distinguishedne from nother, nd there-forenone of them existsseparately. The doorto theTreasureis locked and the precious ewelswithin =the Attributes) rehidden from ight. The words "I wanted to be known"refertothedivine nfinitynd Perfection, hich equire hat nomodeofexistencebe deniedtoAbsoluteReality,noteven imited ndfinite xistence. This finite xistence tself dds a new dimen-sion ofknowledge o the non-manifestssence,forthe Namesand Attributeswhich n the Essence are knownonly nasmuchas theyare one withtheEssence,are known nmanifestationrcreation s separateand distinct ealities n themidstofmulti-plicity. Each of the jewels within he Treasure s seen as anindependent ntity. To deny this separativeand pluralizedreality o the Essence would be in effecto limit t and negatefrom t one of the dimensions f Its infinite erfection.Thusthemeaning f thehadith f theHiddenTreasure s thatGod knows Himself n Himself n summated (mujmal) andunitary form,whereas He also must have particularized(mufassal)and pluralizedknowledge fHimself,which an onlycome about through he externalization f His Attributes ndtheir"separation" fromHim. As a result of this externali-zation, this transfer romUnity to multiplicity,ach of theAttributesan be contemplatednall of ts individual raits ndin a separativemode. The Attribute f "Sight" forexample,which ntheonehandmanifeststselfnGod'svision fHimself,becomesmanifestedn all of the myriadpossibleformst canassume as an independent-or rather semi-independent-reality. In the physicalworld t manifests tself n countlessindividuals s thesight fman and animals, hephotosensitivityof plants,the vision of the sages, etc. Each mode of mani-festation xists potentiallywithin the realityof SightwithinGod's Knowledge, but it exists in actuality only throughseparative existence n the manifesteduniverse.But what has just been explained nswersonly part of our



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150 W. C. CHITTICKquestion, .e., "WhydidGod create he world?" Although heworld s the ocusof manifestationor ll oftheNames, nd thusin its totalityfor the Name "Allih" as well,we stillwant toknowwhytheName "Alldh" shouldmanifesttself articularlyin man.

J~mianswers hisquestion n a longpassagewhich s worthquotingin tolo:When the One Essence manifests tself n thediverse oci oftheophanywhichmakeup theworld, Its man-festations in a mode which does not allow for he appearanceofall-comprehensiveness.These loci are the various levels ofexistence,which particularize nd dispersethe One Reality.Hence (as a result of manifestation)he properties f multi-plicitygain swayover the properties fUnity, nd the realityof Unitybecomes hidden n accordancewith the requirementsof actualized diversificationnd objectifiedparticularization.(Because Unitybecomes thus veiled by multiplicity),he OneEssence wants to manifest tself n a singleperfect ocus ofmanifestation hichwill embrace all ofthe loci oftheophany,whether heybe ofthenatureof ight rofdarkness; nd whichwill encompassall ofthe hiddenand open realitiesofthe uni-verse and all the manifest and non-manifest ntricaciesofcreation."(The reasonfor hisdesire) s thatthe OneNecessary ssenceperceives ts Own Selfthrough perceptionn no way super-added to Itself or distinguished romItself... Likewise Itperceives ts Attributes nd Its Names as inherent nd non-manifest elationswhoserealities re in no sense separatefromone another. Then when It manifests tselfupon thebasis ofthe exigencies f the divineWill, in keepingwith the diversepreparednesses f the loci of manifestation nd in accordancewith hemultiplentermediariesetween tself ndthe creaturesinsucha manner hat t becomesparticularizednthediversifiedloci ofthe variouslevels ofexistence, t does not perceive ts

own Reality in a mannerwhichunites all the objectified ndexternalized erfectionsith hetotality f hedivineNamesandAttributes. The reason forthis is that Its Self-manifestationin any given locus oftheophany is in accordance with that locusonly. Do you not see that the Self-manifestation f God in the



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THE PERFECT MAN IN THE SUFISM OF JAMI 151spiritualworldis differentromHis Self-manifestationn thecorporealworld For in the firstHis manifestations simple,active and luminous,while nthe second t is composite, assiveand tenebrous."Therefore he One Essence willed to manifest tself n theuniversal ocus of manifestation,he all-embracing eneratedbeing (al-kawn al-jdmi') which also encompassesthe divineReality. This is the PerfectMan, forhe is a locus of mani-festation orboth the AbsoluteEssence and theNames,Attri-butes and Acts, because of the all-comprehensivenessndequilibrium fhis universalmode of existenceand because ofthe scope and perfectionf his state of beinga locus. More-over he unites the realities of the NecessaryBeing and therelationspertaining o the Divine Names withthe realitiesofthe possible beings and the attributesof creatures. So hebrings ogetherhe evelofall-comprehensivenitywiththat ofparticularization nd embraces all that there is fromthebeginning o the end ofthe chainofbeing" pp. 60-61).In sum, only throughman does God gaze upon Unityinmultiplicity. In HimselfHe sees nothingbut Unity,and inthe worldnothingbut multiplicity. But in man Unityandmultiplicityre combined n such a way thatall of God's Attri-butes-or in other words the Name "Allfh"-are manifestedwithin neunitaryocus oftheophanynthemidst f theplura-lity of the world. Withoutman, a certainmode of divineKnowledgewould not exist and the infinityf God would belimited. This is the same as sayingthat man must exist.In Itself the Hidden TreasureknowsIts own Essence in aunitarymode, so that everyAttribute s equivalentto everyother. In the world,the Hidden Treasureobserves each ofIts Attributesmanifested inglyor in various combinationsas semi-independentealities. Only in man does the HiddenTreasure know Itself as a unityobjectified nd externalizedwithin the heart of multiplicity.

*



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152 W. C. CHITTICKThat the PerfectMan is thelocusoftheophany f the Name"Allih" is indicatedbytheQuranwhen t statesthat man s thevicegerent f God (khalfatAllah). JRmi nterpretshiskeytermto mean precisely hat man is the vicegerent f "Allah"and of no otherName, and that since he manifests he All-embracingName within heworld,he has been given respon-sibilityforthe wholeof creation. By encompassingll oftheNamesmancontainstheprinciples f all creatures. He is themicrocosmrsmall world s opposedto the macrocosm rgreatworld, inceall that theworldcontainshe also contains. Butin reality nd in termsofhisrank"Man is thegreatworldandtheworld s the smallman, because the vicegerents superiorto his subjects" (p. 91).Envisaged as the vicegerent f the Name "Allah" the keyfunction fthe PerfectMan s to act as the"isthmus"or barzakhbetween God and the world and therebyto maintain theexistence ftheworld. "Barzakh" s a Quranic erm ometimestranslatedas "purgatory", ince it is the bridgebetweenthisworld nd the next. It is also one ofthenamesoftheWorldofImagination 'dlam al-khayal)orWorld of Image-Exemplars('dlam al-mithal), he intermediary orldbetween hephysicalworld nd thespiritualworld pp. 52-53). As suchthe barzakhis similar o the animalsoul,which s an intermediaryetweenthebodyand thespiritpp. 54-55). Now it is characteristicfa barzakhthat as an isthmusor intermediary etweentworealities,t possesses he attributes fboth. ThustheWorldofImage-Exemplars possesses a luminous substance (jawharniranf) like the spiritualworld,but it is perceptible o thesenses (mahisas) and capable of division (miqddrT) ike thephysicalworld pp. 55). Likewisethe animal soul is similar othespiritnthat tis simple bast.), but similar o thecompositeconstitutionf the body in that it embracesmultiplefaculties(p.55).The PerfectMan thenis the isthmusbetweenGod and theworld,embracing he attributesof both. Jami quotes Ibn'Arabi as follows:Man is like "an isthmusbetweenthe worldand God, bringing ogether nd embracing oth the creaturesand Him. Man is the dividing ine betweenthe shadow and



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THE PERFECT MAN IN THE SUFISM OF JAMI 153the sun. This is hisreality. So hehas absoluteperfectionntemporalitynd Eternality. But God has absoluteperfectionin Eternality, nd He does not enter ntotemporality... Andthe world has absolute perfectionn temporality; t does notenter into Eternality. Thus man has broughttogether ndembracedall that exists" (p. 106).It is preciselyman's quality of beingan isthmuswhichhasmade himworthy f being God's vicegerent. Since he is anisthmus, ecompriseshe attributes fboth ordshipndservant-hood. Through his attribute of lordship-i.e., his divinenature-he takes fromGod what the creatures emand. Andthroughhis attribute of servanthoodhe is able to establishcontact withthe othercreatures nd to see that theyreceivewhattheyneed fromGod (p. 103).Expresseddifferently,he PerfectMan is themeanswherebythe world is maintained. The PerfectMan in his aspect oflordship,or inasmuch as he embraces the divine realities,receivesthe effusion fGod, i.e., oftheName "Allih". Thenthe reflectionf the lightsof God's theophanyoverflowsntothe world,whichsubsistsby receiving his reflectionp. 89).The beingsof the worldare the loci of manifestation ortheNames and Attributes,or their forms, ymbols or "seats"(mahall-i stiwd'). Since each being s the locus withinwhichcertainparticularNames are manifested,t remainsunderthesway ofthe PerfectMan,who is the locus ofmanifestationorthe universalName whichcontains n itself all the others.It follows hatwithoutman,therewouldbe no world. HereJgmiquotes Qiinyawi:"The true PerfectMan is the isthmusbetweenNecessity nd possibility nd the mirrorwhichunitesthe attributesof Eternalitywith those of temporalevents...He is the intermediaryetweenGod and creation. Throughhimand fromhis level ofexistence he effusionfGod and thesuccourwhich s thecause ofthe subsistence f other hanGod'reach theworld, ll of t,both ts celestialand terrestrialarts.Ifit werenot for hefact hat he acts as the isthmusunopposedto eitherof the two sides, nothing n the worldcould be thereceptaclefor heunique divinesuccour,because ofthe lack ofcorrespondence and relationship. The succour would not reach



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154 w. C. CHITTICKtheworld ndtheworldwouldcease to exist. The PerfectManis the pillar of the Heavens and the earth. Because of thismystery, henhe leaves the center ftheearth,which s... thestationof Alldh'svicegerency,..theorderof the earth and theHeavenswillbe destroyed nd theywillbe changed ntootherthan themselves" p. 97).In a strangelymodernmannerJ~mianticipates n objectionwhichmightoccur to many people at this point: Beforetheactualizationof the human formthe world existed and theplanetsrevolved. So how can you call manthePole (qu.b) ofthe universe nd the meanswherebyt is maintained? Jgmirepliesthat althoughman did not exist in the SensoryWorld,hedidexist ntheSpiritualWorld, nd theeffectfhisexistencewas manifestedn the lower world. To prove this point hecites the famoushadith f the Hidden Treasurequoted above.According ohishadlth,hegoal ofcreation s theperfectionfGod's Self-manifestation. f God's Essence were not to bemanifested, e would remaina Hidden Treasure. This Self-manifestation f God takes place in two modes: the mode ofparticularization nd multiplicity,.e., in the form of theuniverse s a whole;and themodeofsummation nd unity, .e.in man's form. So theSelf-manifestationfthe Essence as Itis in Itself, .e. in Its Unityand as embracing ll Attributestonce, onlytakes place in the elementalform f man. In theworld as such the Essence manifests tselfas dispersion ndmultiplicity.The role ofmanas perfectingheSelf-manifestationfGod isreferredo in the Quran in the famousverse of the "trust"(amanah): "We offered he trust o the Heavens and the earthand the mountains,but theyrefused o carry t..., and mancarried t" (XXXIII, 72). In thisverse"Heavens" refero thecelestialpartsof creation,while"earth" refers o the physicalworld. "Mountains"are an allusion to theworldsand levelsofexistencewhich ie between. All ofthese evels of existencerefused o carry he trustbecausetheyare lociof manifestationforonlycertainNames ofGod. Thus theydo notpossessthenecessary receptivity (qdbiliyyah) to be the locus of manifest-ation for the divine All-comprehensiveness,i.e., for all of the



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THE PERFECT MAN IN THE SUFISM OF JAiMI 155Names embracedby the Name "Allah". But man did carrythe trust, ince he possessesa perfect nd total receptivity orall of the Names. Thus the divinegoal in creation, .e., theSelf-manifestationf God, only became actualized throughman's form. Therefore ven beforeman was created in thephysicalworld, he worldcould onlyexistthrough he effusionof existence carried out throughhim and directed oward hisactualization n the externalworld pp. 90-91).

In sum,the PerfectMan as the ontologicalprototype fthehumanself, r as the self n itsultimate tateofperfectionndrealization, s the locus withinwhich s manifested irectly heGreatestName ofGod,which ncludes n itself ll otherNames.Thus the PerfectMan is the goal ofcreation,forthroughhimtheSelf-manifestationnd Self-unfoldingfthe Infinitepseityis actualized. And since he is the goal of creation, ll othercreaturesdependupon him,for"without he fruit n mind thegardenerwould never have planted the tree" (p. 101). Inotherwords,the individualand particularizedNames of God,whose loci of theophanyare symbolizedby the treewith itsmyriadbranches, re onlymanifested nderthe sway of theuniversal and all-embracingName, whose locus of manifest-ation is symbolizedby the fruit,whichcontains n itselftheprincipleof the whole tree.Finally,one ofJami'snumerous ersified escriptionsfthePerfect Man may be quoted here: 1)"Before Eternity, he states of Godare held withinthe First Determinationunited n theiressenceswithone another,embodiedwithineach other,hiddenbehind the curtain of Unity,free from eparationand its decrees.

(1) This poem is fromone of Jdmi's malhnawi's, Silsilat al-dhahab, and hasbeen 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. byM. Mudarris-i-Gilfni, ehran, 1337 A. H. solar, pp. 70-71,



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156 w. C. CHITTICKBoth in theirbeingand in the MindofGodmultiplicitynd distinctionhave not touched them.Then in the Second Determinationeach hidden state becomes distinct,the realities become distinguishableeach from he other,but stillwithinthe veil of mystery-a distinctionn Knowledgealone,still inferioro ontologicaldistinctions.Then, in the footsteps f this becoming,theserealitiesemergefrom he Inwardinto the Outwardworld,thoughthey remainstill unmanifestwithin the Essence:the external face of the Essenceis like a mirror n whichthe Inward shows itself n the Outward,and possibilitybecomesthe veil of Necessity;through his reflectionf the Inward,NecessaryBeing is tintedwith the hueof each possible being-one in Essence, but in the eyeof perception, evealed as multiple.By the differencesn the varietiesof manifestationthe levels of the Worldsbecomeknown:Firstthe Worldof Intellects nd Souls,then the World of Imagination,finally he sensibleworld.One by one within heseworldsthe divine Names are manifested.Each thing n each realmcomes into beingfrom particularand different ame. All the Cosmosbecomes a mirror, till unpolished,inwhichthe Face oftheMasterofGloryand Bountycan not yetperfectly e shown,for hisnumericaldispersionobstructsthe unitaryand all-embracingMystery.



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THE PERFECT MAN IN THE SUFISM OF JAMi 157Adam is the polishing toneforthismirror,ince the Essenceand all its Attributes re withinhim-he becomesan all-embracingnd universallocus of manifestation; romwithinhim,themysteryfthe Essence and theAttributeshinesforth;and withinthis locus, thisman,each ofthe Names reveals itself.He becomesthe unitaryformof allthe individualparticularities f the Cosmos-throughhimthe circle s closed,the last becomesthe first.He is a book embracing ll versesand signs,his beingis the goalof all goals."

William C. CHITTICK(Teheran)

chittick on jami

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