The Arts of Mystique...

Chapter 1
Human Being

1.1.Foreword

Muhammad is the first link in the spiritual chain of sufism, and his anascension through the heaven into the divine presence, to which the first lines of sura 17 allude, become the prototype of the mystic’s spiritual ascension into the intimate presence of God. According to the tradition, essoteric wisdom was transmitte from Muhammad to his cousin and son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Thalib, the fourth of the righteous caliphs (d. 1661). Other member of his family and his friends, according to the legend, were endowed with mystical practices. The tradition (hadith) that go back to the Prophet, or at least attribute
to him, serves the sufis when they elaborated their definition of the various stages and states. Every tendency withi Islam, and so within sufism, found material to support is claim from Prophetic traditions. In later times a considerable number of hadith that are not found in the official collections as they were compiled in the second half of the ninth century were used by the sufis. In comparatively short time, Muhammad’s personality gained great importance for the spiritual life of his community : He was the ideal leader, and the duty of every Muslim was to imitate him. His veneration soon reached mysthical heights, until he conceived by the medieval mystics as the Perfect Man par exellence, the cause of goal creation, the friend of God and the intercessor on behalf of his community.
In order more knowing the Perfect Man detail, I would like to write regarding the Perfect Man to make easy to imitate.


1.2.What is Human Being ?

“What and whom the human being? This is interesting question to raise. To answer that question often confusing as mankind have a limit to understand theirselves.
The concept of human being is a central concept for every discipline social being to make a human being as formal object and their material. In order understand the human being as the nature that have been made by God, it is better to ask The Creature of human being, he is Allah SWT, by means divine revealation of the Al Quran. The description of human being by Al Quran as follow : 1)

a.Using the arabic alphabet alif, nun and sin, it is look like the word of insan, ins, nas or unas.
b.Using the word of basyar.
c.Using the word of Bani Adam, or Zuriyat Adam.

The words of basyar was taken from the word that have meaning “seen something beautiful”, from the same word ‘basyarah’ is mean skin. The human being called basyar because the skin is clear, different from the other animal. The process of human as basyar is srep by steps, as Gods command:
“Among His sign is this, that He created you from dust, and then behold, ye are men scattered” (Q.S. Ar Rum ayat 20).

The word of “insan” mean is the tame, and seen. The word of insan that used by Al Quran in order can see by human being. The human being is unique and different one and each other because different phisycs, mental and inteligence.

1.3.The Man on Sufy Psychology

The position of man in Islam, and sufism, has been a subject of controversy among Western scholars. Some of them have held that man as a “slave of God”, has no importance whatsover before the Almighty God; he almost disappears, loses his personality, and is nothing but an instrument of eternal fate. The concept of humanism of which European culture is so proud is, according to these scholar, basically alien to Islamic thought. Others have sensed in the development of later sufism inherent danger that might result in an absolute subjectivism, because the human personality is, so speak, “inflated” to such an extent that is considered as the microcosm, the perfect mirror of God. The doctrine of the Perfect Man seemed to some orientalists, extremely dangerous for Islamic anthropology. It is, in fact, not easy to give an account of mistycal anthropology in Islam, since it is as many sided as Islam it self, 2) since it is as many, sided as Islam it self, the differences between the earliest and the later mystical currents are considerable. It is possible, therefore, to point to only a few facets of the problem that seem important for the understanding of “man” in sufism, without even attempting to sketch most of the lines in the picture.

1.4.Production And Human Being Reproduction

Human being as the creation of God have been choose as khalifa in this world more capacity than other creation.
According to the Al Quran, man was created “by God’s hand” (Q.S. 38:75); God kneated Adam’s clay forty days before He gave him life and spirit by breathing into him with His Own breath (Sura 15:29; 38:72). “That means, His presence was operative 40,000 years upon him. The form of Adam is the mirror of both worlds. Whatever has been put into these two kingdom, was made visible in human form. In we will show themOur signs in the horisozons and in themselves” (QS.41:53).
This creation myth assigns an extremely high position to man : he is in every respect God’s perfect work, living through his breath,and is, thus, almost mirror reflecting God’s qualities, as the tradition says, “He created Adam in His Image” (ala suratihi). Adam seen from this angle, is the prototype of the Perfect Man, he was blessed with the special grace of knowledge, “ He taught Adam the names, Adam become master over all created things. Yet the simple Al Quran statement was some time explain to imply that God has granted Adam the knowledge of the divine names reflected in creation, which he might “use” in his prayers, Adam become , thus, the ‘allama’l asma-beg’ as Rumi says, (M 1:1234) with remarkable combination of Arabic and Turkish components.
“The prince of He taught the names, “ God made Adam as Khalifa, his vicegerent, on earth and ordered the angles to prostrate them selves before him-man is superior to the angels, who have no been given the secret of the names and who do nothing but worship God in perfect obedience and rebellion (through this choice may be limited by predestination. Man was entrusted with the amana, the ‘trust’ (sura 33:72) that Heaven and Earth refused to carry – a trust that has been differently interpreted : as responsibility, free will, love, the power, of the individuation. Yet the Sufi often longed for their true home, for the time and place of their lofty primeval state.


Al Quran explain the human being made from the land, and then after the process have been perfect, later God giving life and spirit by breathing into him with His own breath. (Q.S. 38:71-72).

Because made from the land, then human being also empowered by the strength of the nature, then they need food and drink, sexual et cetera. And by the spirit they are accompanying to non material goal. Al quran do not emphasize that human being is by accident made by unity of atomic material, but his made because have a duty.

In man, creation reaches it’s final point. One Bektashi poet wrote :

This universe is a tree – man became a fruit.
That which was intended is the fruit – do not think it is the tree.

Later tradition ascribed to God the words kuntu kanzan makhfiyan “ I was a hidden treasure, and I wanted to be known, so I created the world”. God, in His eternal loneliness, wanted to be known, so he created a world in which man is a the highest manifestation. Man is the microcosm and is created – again according to a hadits Qudsi- for God sake, who in turn created everything for man’s sake.

A hadith says “man arafa nafsahu faqad arafa rabahu” means “who knows himself knows his Lord.” Must have developed it.

Al Quran describe the production and human being reproduction when He made the first human being, Al Quran refer to Creature “I want to make human being from the land”. The generally process, is made with a couple of human being that different gender (father and mother).

1.5. The Potential of Human Being In Al Quran

The potensial of human being have been told in Al Quran with the story of Adam and Eva (QS. 2: 30-39), actually before made Adam, Allah SWT have been plan in order human being have a responsibility in khilafah in the world. That why Allah give human being with brain (aql) and spirit. With aql and spirit, Allah will give human being the potentialilty, for instance :

1.Potential to know the name and the function of the goods
2.Experience to stay in jannah or heaven,understanding the good and bad following the evil.
3.Religion command

That potents have been given by God, that wahy human being is different with the other creature. Beside apart of land and spirit in the body there are many other partial that supporting the potents, for example partial Fitrah, Nafs, Qalb and Spirit, usually that particular callled immaterial parts.

Sufi psychology, like everythings else in sufism, is based on Koranic ideas – the idea of the nafs, the lowest principle of man, have already been mentioned. Higher than the nafs is the Qalb, “heart” and the Ruh “spirit”, this tripartion form the foundations of layer, more complicated system; it’s found as early as the Koranic commentary by Jafar as Sadiq. He told that the nafs is perculiar to the Zalim, “tyrant” the Qalb to the Muqtasid, “moderate” and the ruh to the sabiq, “preceding one, winner”, the zalim loves God, and the sabiq annihilates his own will in God’s will.
Bayezid Bistami, Al Hakim at Tirmidzi, and Junayd have followed this tripartition, Kharraz, however, insert between nafs and qalb the element tab, “nature”, the natural functions of man.

At almost the same time in history, Nuri saw in man four different aspects of the heart, which he derived in ingenious way from the Al Quran :

Sadr, “breast”, is connected with Islam (Sura 39:23)
Qalb, “heart”, is the seat of Iman, “faith” (Sura 49:7, 16:100)
Fu’ad,”heart”, is connected with ma’rifa “gnosis” (sura 53:11) and
Lubb, “innermost heart”, is the seat of tauhid (sura 3:190).

The Sufis often add the element of sirr, the innermost part of the heart in which the divine revelation is experienced. Ja’far introduced, in an interesting comparison, reason ‘aql, as the barrier between nafs and qalb – “the barrier which they both cannot transcend “ (sura 55:20), so that the dark lower instincts can not jeopardize the hearts purity.

1.6. The Characteristic of Human Being

Is true that the human being is not homogen entity but heterogen. Based on Koranic the human being have potents as following :
1.The human being have the best body.With that body hoping human being can happy and thanksfulness to Allah (QS. An Nahl: 78).
2.The human being is good creature, he does not have sin from the parents. The characteristic of fitrah are receive Allah as God.
3.Ruh “spirit”. Koranic say the life of human being depend on his existing body and existing spirit.
4.Free will. Intend and free will is freedom expression to do a good habit or bad habbit.
5.Aql, from understanding of Islam is not a brain, but the capabililty for thingking in the soul of human being. Aql on human being have three particular, thinking, sense, and willingness (cipta, rasa, karsa)
6.Nafs. Nafs is desire. The desire inside the human being if it to dominant and human being can not prevent, then the human will not in path. The missing the way because the desire more dominant, and do not use the heart and the sense organ (QS. 7:178-179).


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Chapter 2
Looking For The Perfection

2.1. The Definition of Perfection


The meaning of Perfection by Collins Cobuild English Dictionary A. is the quality of being perfect. B. If it something is done to perfection, it is done so well that it could be done any better. C. The perfection of something is the actor process of improving it so that it becomes perfect. 2)

The perfection (al kamal) is the positive quality ofthe character in the existance area but when will be compare to the other object, may be will not a perfection anymore, or maybe that is minor existance. For instance, the taste of sweet it is perfect for the wine is the perfect for the adjective of its fruits, but for the fruit of tamarind the perfection is taste an acid or sourish.
The secret of above statements are the existance have a limitation of essential (al hadd al mahawi) that owned by it self, and the existance will be change to another existance if ‘over’ from it is the limitation. An esential (mahiyah) will be harmonize base on it is character or adjective. The perfection an existance actually only a character that follow of perception as a final actualization. 3)
Whereas other cases (that perfection in other perception), is harmonize with the condition of atsar that own by it self to achieve the perfection, is the preface for the real perfection for its existance.

2.2. Looking for Perfection

A person who is aware of his intrinsic nature and psychological tendencies will discover, that through his action it is possible to attain perfection. No individual like to be defective or imperfect; he tries to rid himself of imperfections so as to reach the state perfection. Futhermore he tries to conceal his fault infront of others. The desire for pursuing perfection is only effective when it is regulated by the course of intrinsic nature, as oppose to the path perversion, which will lead him towards the diseased qualities such arrogance, hipocrisy and self praise etc.

Hence the drive for achieving perfection it is powerful intrinsic element, which can be sensed in the depth of the human soul by those conscious individuals. 4)

Man Perfection is Achieved By the Intellect
The perfection of plant kingdom is to bear specific fruits, which are dependant upon the conditions available for the development of the particular fruit. However the condition are determined for them as there is no element of free will in the vegetative domain.
In the realm of animal, free-will is limited to the level of insticts, which are confined to corporeal senses.
Human being however in additions to the animalistic and vegetable domain have two spiritual priveleges:
1.Intuitional desires, which are not limited with ohysycal needs.
2.The power of the intellect, by which man can expand his realm of knowledge infinetely.
These two priveleges increase the domain of ‘free-will’ towards the infinite. In the same manner by which the specific qualities help the vegetative realm to reach perfection on account of the intellect in association with awareness. It is the very intellect, which can determine the different levels of desirebility and select the best choice at time multitude.
Based on the above, we can deduce that human behaviour is firmly established on the quality free-will, which evolves from special desires that are selected and approved by the intellect.

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Chapter 3
Towards The Perfect Man

3.1. The Practical Rules
Human behaviour used in conjunction with free-will is a means to attain the desired objective. This behaviour, because of its objective is valuable as it effects human perfection. A behaviour however, that alerts perfections will subsequently have a negative value.

When the intellect is able to judge human behaviour and ascertain its worth, man should be aware of his existence and the level of perfections. His should thus know the different dimensions of his being anf the purpose of his creation.
On these grounds the correct ideology, which governs the valuable system of human behaviour becomes intermixed with the correct world view. However we can not judge the human behaviour unless we have arrived at these principles. Thus the speculative understanding, which composes the world view, is the basis for practical rules of the intellect.


3.2. The Perspective of Perfect Man .
Ibn Arabi

One of the pillars of Ibn Arabi system is the veneration of Muhammad, who assumes in his theories, the role of the Perfect Man. He is the total theophany of the divine names, the whole of universe in its oneness as seen by the divine essence. Muhammad is the prototype of the universe as well as of man, since he like a mirror in which each sees the other. The Perfect Man is necessary to God as the medium through which he is known and manifested. He is “like the pupil in the eye of ‘humanity’ “

The Perfect Man is he who has realized in himself all the possibilities of being; he is, so to speaks, the model of everybody, for in fact, every being is called to realize his innate possibilities in accordance with the divine name that is his particular rabb. However, only the prophets and saints reach that level. Iqbal’s ideas of the Perfect Man as he who has developed his individual possibilities to the fullest bloom are derived from these theories rather than from the Nietzchean superman.

Hans Heinrich Schaeder

Hans Heinrich Schaeder, in his provoking article “Die Islamiche Lehre Vom Vollkommenen Menschen” (1925), p.237, contrasted Hallaj and Ibn Arabi by saying:
“The fulfilment of Islamic revelation through complete loving surrender to God, as inherent in original Islam, and raised onto the level of full consciousness by Hallaj who realized it in his life and his martyrdom, was replaced, by Ibn Arabi, with systemization of ‘welldeutung’ (explanation of the world) which is no longer concerned with active but only with contemplative piety.

One may achieve a profounder understanding of the system of Ibn Arabi now than passible fifty years ago, but the discussion about his role positive or negative will probably never end as long as there are two different approached to the mystucal goal – by activity and conformity of will, or by contemplation and gnosis.

Abdul Karim Al Jili

In his book “Rose Garden Mystery” Jili (d. after 1408) – a descendant of the founder of Qadiriya order – did his utmost to systemize the thouths of Ibn Arabi, thought at certain points he differed from him. In his book Al Insan al Kamil “The Perfect Man”, Jilli discussed throughly the different levels of divine manifestation and the revelation of the divine – from the plane of essence to the plane of attributes, the plane of actions, the plane of similitude, and the plane of sense and color vision, thus distinguishing the different level mystical revealtion (tajalli). The Illumination of the action is followed by that of the names then by that of the attributes and eventually every experiences is terminated in the illumination of the essence, which only the Perfect Man can reach.

In theories like this, the central concept of Sufism, and of Islam in general, Tauhid is eventually understood as “the extinction of the ignorance of our essential and unmovable identity with the only Real. It is no longer a unity of will, but a lifting of the veils of ignorance; a decisive differene in the whole approach to the problem of God and the world – even though Jili admits that Lord remains Lord and the slave remain slave.

Jalal al Din Rummi

Rumi probably did not think of the implication of cosmic power embodied in this ideal man or the possible realtion between this perect human being and anostic concept of the Primordial Man. When reading his statement, one should remember that the sufi frequently regarded the common people as something “like animal” (ka’l-an’am), relying on Koranic statements like the Sura 7:178 about those who do not hear or see the sign of divine power and grace. Only the true man can experience the vision of God through and behind His creation.

The elaboration of the these theories could lead the consequences reflected in the utterances of some Persian and Turkish mystical poets who combined the feeling of all-pervading unity with the boast of having reached the station of the Perfect Man themselves.

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Chapter 4
To Be A Perfect Man

4.1 Modern Man Hoping Allah
On one riwayat (hadits) told that one day Siti Aisyah, the wife of Rasul Muhammad SAW asked by the Sahabat, “ I Want to follow the life of Rosulullah Muhammad SAW, as mentioned that the life of Muhammad it is uswatun hasanah, the good example. So, if I will imitate the good, from akhlak Rosulullah how it be?” Siti Aisyah answer “Akhlaquhu Al-Quran”. Akhlak the Prophet is Al-Quran. Kalam Ilahi or curriculum of Allah as mentioned in Al-Quran that is should be follow if you want to follow of his life.

To become the degree of perfect man need an effort. In the tasawuf known the term of salik. Salik means the people who is always struggle to Allah. To achieve Allah need explore and heavy struggle and continue.
The perfect man in the view of traditional tasawuf is people who know and can catch the characteristic, power of Allah and imitate in their life. To achieve the perfect man in many phase to follow: The first, tahalli, it means empty the selfness from characteristic, bad behaviour that possibility the Existing of the God. The emptiness of it make possibility to open the door for God. The second, is takhali, come on please, God come. The words of Illa Allah, on the Syahadat it a form of takhalli. On this process God invite to come. The invitation only the characteristic only. If the characteristic already arrived, and then our selves will be characterized of the Characteristic of Allah. On the one riwayat explained, takhalaku bi akhlaqilah ( be akhlak to you as Akhlak Allah). From this process will appear tajali process, or the third process, to appear the characteristic of Allah in human being. Insan Kamil or perfecgt man is already passing the third process that already mentoned above.
On the one riwayat explained that if somebody already achieve as the perfect man, so if he is seeing, he will use the Eyes of God, if he listen, listen by the Ear of God, if he speaks using the Mouth of God. It means, as a popular language his lif already programable by characteristic of God. Until that phase, the example of wahdatul wujud is been done, that God already arrived in human being. But the existance only the characteristic (sifat). If any clause that mentioned the perfect man is incarnate of the God, it means incarnate of the characteristic of God.

4.2.Result To Be Achieved

By taking the preliminaries into consideration, we can comprehend the importance of inquiring into religion and of holding a correct world view or ideology.
Man by his nature pursues perfection and aims to reach the state of perfection through the performance of actions and behaviour. However in order to know which kind of behaviour will assist him in reaching this goal, he first needs to be aware as to what is his infinite level of perfection. Until he realises these prerequisites, which are basically the speculative knowledge (principle of world view), he will not be able to grasp the practical rules of the intellect, which is the ideology.
To conclude, we can claim that inquiring into true religion, which is composed of correct world view an ideology is essential. Without such a belief man will never achieve perfection, because behaviour based upon an incorrect world view and ideology will lead him nowhere.
Those who persist in their arrogance, will desires and unfaithfulness after recognising the truth are in reality no less then animals. They are content by satisfying that aspect of their nature and are described as such in the quran:
“Those who disbelieve and enjoy themselves and eat as the beast eat, and the fire shall be their abode” (QS. Muhammad : 12)
Since man has desroted his potenstial to become perfect, he will face the consequences of eternal chastisement :
“Leave them that they may eat and enjoy themselves and beguileth them hope, for soon will know(QS. Al Hijr : 3)

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