The ruling of a thing that is enduring by subsistence (baqāʾ) in itself (without dependence on another being) differs from the ruling of a thing that is enduring by being made to subsist (ibqāʾ) through another. The one whose subsistence is not dependent on another remains the same. As for that which is made to subsist through another, its essence does not persist, only its examples continue, not its essence. In this way, it is continually graced; blessings always and incessantly come to it. (Futūḥāt, NI, 107-108)
Everything, whether subtle, transparent, dense, visible or invisible, are all bodies (ajsām). Bodies (ajsād) are those things which, while awake, appear in corporeal form (ẓāhir), or which, in the dream of a sleeping person—though not actually corporeal (ḥāl)—are perceived and felt as bodies. Know that in the world, the rank of the perfect human (insān al-kāmil) is the rank of the rational soul (nafs nāṭiqa). There is none more perfect than him, and he is none other than the Prophet Muhammad. The degrees of other perfect humans descend from this degree of perfection (kamāl). The degree of perfection is the ultimate point of spiritual power attainable by humankind in the world; these are the prophets. May Allah's salāt (blessings) and peace be upon them.
Those who are below this degree of perfection in the world, but ahead of others in terms of sensory power, are the inheritors (wārithūn). May Allah be pleased with them. Apart from these, those who merely have the form of a human are among the animals. They are at the level of the animal spirit (ḥaywānī rūḥ) that enables sensation and growth in humans. (Futūḥāt, III, 181-182)
Mālik-i dih shāh- is corporeal
Sāḥib-i dil is the king of the spiritual
The gaze of the eye is a branch, not the root
Thus, not every man is truly a man
Beyond this, I have no further license (ruḫṣa) to speak
The prohibition of the men of God has come upon me
(Masnavi, I, 67)
The village chief is the ruler of bodies and forms. The one who possesses the heart (ṣāḥib) is the sultan of hearts (sulṭān).
There is no doubt that all our actions and deeds are the various manifestations and branches of what our eyes see. Thus, the human is nothing but the pupil of the eye.
I will not fully disclose the truth that the perfect human is the center and pupil of the universe, for the prophets, who are the possessors of the center, have forbidden this. (Masnavi, I, 121)
The perfect human is the means of grace and aid, the link between God (al-Ḥaqq) and creation (al-khalq) due to his relation to both. As stated in the sacred hadith: "If not for you, I would not have created the heavens" (Ajlūnī, II, 123, 164). (Kāshānī, 48)
In some people, the manifestation of life appears fully. The one who receives this full manifestation of life is the perfect human. For he exists for his own self, but with a true existence. In this, there is neither attribution nor metaphor. His nearness to God is not related to any of the aforementioned states. To others, he is the possessor of complete life. Another group included in this class are the highest angels (ʿilliyyūn) named by Allah's name al-Muhaymin. Also included are the Supreme Pen (Qalam al-Aʿlā) and the Tablet (Lawḥ). These are not composed of natural elements. Besides these two, there are others outside the elements of nature. All of these are included with the perfect human. Understand! Then come the animal human, the angels, and the jinn. In some beings, life appears as it is, but it is not complete life. The animal human, angels, and jinn possess this kind of life... (Insān, I, 44)
The perfect human is the pole (quṭb) around which the spheres of existence revolve from beginning to end. In this sense, the perfect human is the only thing from the timeless beginning to the infinite end. The perfect human has various garments. He appears in places of worship. The name given to him in one garment is not given to him in another. The original name of the perfect human is Muhammad, his honorific is Abū al-Qāsim, his description is ʿAbdullāh, and his epithet is Shams al-Dīn. In other garments, he has other names. In every era, he is named according to the garment of that time.
I was in the presence of Muhammad (the one who represents the perfect human) while he was in the form of my shaykh, Sharaf al-Dīn Ismāʿīl Jabartī. I knew that he was the Prophet, but he was in the form of my shaykh. This was my vision in the city of Zabīd in Yemen. The secret of this is that Muhammad is capable of appearing in any form. If a well-mannered person sees him in the form of the perfect human during his lifetime, he gives him the name of that time. If he sees him in another form and knows he is Muhammad, then he names him only by that form's name. Then, that name is not given to anyone other than the Muḥammadan Reality (Ḥaqīqat-i Muḥammadiyya). (Insān, II, 46)
The perfect human corresponds to all realities of existence. With his subtlety, he corresponds to the higher realities; with his density, to the lower realities. In corresponding to the created realities, the first thing to appear is the Throne (ʿarsh), to which he corresponds with his heart. (Insān, II, 47)
The perfect human has a rightful claim to the essential names and divine attributes. This entitlement is by virtue of the ruling of the Essence (dhāt), with originality and ownership. Up to this point, the reality (ḥaqīqa) explained and indicated by these signs, and the locus in existence (wujūd) upon which the essential names and divine attributes are based, is the perfect human. The perfect human's relation (nisba) to God is like the unique mirror by which a person sees himself. Without this, he would not see his own form in the mirror, only the name Allah. Then, his mirror would be only the name Allah. The perfect human is the mirror of God, and God is the mirror of the perfect human. For Allah has made it necessary for His names and attributes to be seen only in the perfect human.
For the perfect human, all names and attributes are divided into two groups: some are on his right side—life, knowledge, power (qudra), will, hearing, sight, and the like; others are on his left—pre-eternity, post-eternity, primacy (awwaliyya), finality, and the like. Behind all these, there is a pleasure that permeates the perfect human. This pleasure is called the pleasure of divinity (ulūhiyya). The perfect human finds and feels this throughout his being by the ruling of divine attraction (insihāb). So much so that some dervishes have wished for constant absorption in this pleasure. (Insān, II, 48)
There are five kinds of life: The life of existence is the life of all beings, higher and lower, subtle and dense. These beings are enlivened by this type of life, which is their very own existence. Some have described this as the existence that walks and circulates among beings.
The life of the spirit (rūḥī ḥayāt) is the life of the beings in the spiritual realm, possessed by the angels by virtue of their essential perfections, not by dependence (tabʿiyya) on another. Therefore, they are enduring by Allah's endurance. Here, the spirit is pure life, which is the opposite of death and annihilation. The reports about the angels' deaths by thunder on the Day of the Great Annihilation are to be understood figuratively, not in every aspect, but in one respect. Other animals also have a share in this spiritual life, but for them it is by dependence, not by originality. They do not have the intellect of livelihood (ʿaql-i maʿāsh), i.e., the intellect for worldly life and sustenance. Therefore, compared to His life, the life of this world (dunyā) is transient; the life of the hereafter is enduring. In the hereafter, all animals' endurance will be according to their own lives.
Animal life is the warmth and moisture hidden in the blood circulating in the depths of the liver. This is also called the animal soul (nafs ḥaywānī). Do not misunderstand! You may see some animals without blood or a liver; they have an essential organ that serves the same function, consuming nourishment in their bodies as the liver does in animal bodies.
Accidental life is like knowledge—which is the life of ignorance—or like the spring season, which is the life of the earth, or like the reflection of the sun on the moon, which is the life of the moon, or like the sun striking the surface of the earth, which is the life of the earth. These are perfections that arise in accordance with such states.
The essential life of the form, which is necessary in all respects, is this: through these states, the ultimate point of perfection is reached. These are the types of life. Among beings, there are those who possess one, two, three, or even four types at once. Only the perfect human possesses all five types. The perfect human contains all types of life within himself. It is not possible for anyone else to have this. The perfect human possesses a level of unity not found outside himself. (Marātib, 41)
Listen to the great secret of the station of "two bow-lengths or nearer" (fa-kāba qawsayn aw adnā, i.e., the distance of two bows or even closer).
The perfect human, after the journey to God (sayr ilā-llāh), when the journey in God (sayr fi-llāh) is realized, and having adopted the character (akhlāq) of Allah, when this journey is completed in summary form—since the completion of the circle of the manifestation of names and attributes depends on the journey in God—becomes worthy and deserving of the manifestation of the Beloved in himself by originality. This manifestation occurs without the shadow of a reflection, without the illusion of state or locus. Indeed, in this manifestation, the attributes belonging to the Essence do not separate from the Essence. The manifestation of the Essence with its attributes in the mirror of the lover becomes necessary. Thus, the two bows—i.e., the arc of attributes and the arc of the Essence—are realized. This is the highest station, the station of "two bow-lengths," related to the manifestation of the Essence without the shadow of a reflection.
When, by Allah's grace, the true lover attains perfect connection and relation with the Essence of the Beloved, without desiring any name or attribute, then, by the bounty of Allah's power, all names and attributes are completely hidden from his sight; in his thought and vision, nothing remains but the Essence. (Maktūbāt, II, 137)
(In this state,) even if the attributes exist, it is not possible to perceive them. Here, the secret of "or nearer" (aw adnā) is manifested, and even the two bows disappear.
When one departs from this lofty station, one first steps into the world of creation, even sitting upon the element of earth. This pure element, though distant from and separated from the world of holiness (quds), is in fact closer to it than anything else. When we look at descent and fall, we find that the state of nearness (qurb) is the lot of the world of creation. In fact, it is the share of the element of earth.
Yes! When we consider the first point in the direction of ascent in the circle, we find the second point as the closest to this direction within the circle. When we consider the direction of descent, we find the last point, which faces the first, as the closest to the first point. What a great difference there is between the one who faces it and the one who turns away! The second point inclines toward the manifestations of the first; the last point, turning its back on the manifestations, seeks only the manifest Essence. How different they are! (Maktūbāt, II, 138)
The perfect human contains within himself all the levels of universal and particular souls and intellects, all cosmic and divine degrees, and the degrees of nature down to the final descent of existence. This is also called the station of the cloud (ʿamāʾ). It is a counterpart to the divine station, differing only by the distinction between lordship (rubūbiyya) and servanthood (marbūbiyya). For this reason, he has become Allah's vicegerent.
The station of unity (aḥadiyya) is the existence in which there is nothing else with it...