One who believes that the human being is noble by essence has considered the fact that Allah created him with His own qudra (divine power) and that the characteristics gathered in the human are not found in other beings, and has thus said: Allah created him in His own form. This is the proof for those who say that the nobility of the human is by his essence.
Those who object to this say: If the value of the human were by his essence, then when we look at the insān-i kāmil (the perfected human), we would immediately understand his value. Yet, this is not the case at all. This great and noble human does not differ from other humans by the knowledge or innate disposition he possesses; both of these characteristics would have to be included in the definition of his essence. However, the nobility of the human is an accidental state called degree or rank. In this ḥāl (spiritual state), it is the degree that is noble. A person who attains that degree acquires nobility. This is just like the rule of following (political and religious) offices such as messengership, prophethood, caliphate, and sovereignty. (Futūḥāt, TII, 33)
The human is addressed in three aspects: rūḥ (the spirit), nafs (the lower self), and body. In each of these names, there are four things. For this reason, he is a city with four sides. In each name, there are seven things that respond to Satan. In each name, there are seven things that prevent the angel. (These can be explained as follows:) The rūḥ has two angels and two satans. The body also has two angels and two satans. The nafs has one angel and one satan. A sixth angel is between the rūḥ and the nafs. Opposite it is a stubborn satan. A seventh angel is between the nafs and the body, and opposite it is (another) stubborn satan. (Latāʾif, 122)
One of the levels of wujūd (existence) is the human being. The levels of wujūd were completed with him, the world attained kamāl (perfection), and the Real (al-Ḥaqq), in terms of His names and attributes, manifested in the most perfect sense. Thus, in terms of rank, the human is the last, but in terms of perfection, his degree is the highest among beings. Other beings are not like this. As we have explained before, the human being encompasses both collectively and in detail the realities of the Real and the realities of creation.