Abdul Karim Jili, a 14th-century Sufi mystic from Tajikistan, is renowned for his work “Al-Insan al-Kamil” (The Perfect Man). This seminal text delves into the concept of the perfect human, embodying divine attributes and achieving unity with the Creator. Jili’s ideas, deeply rooted in Sufi thought, emphasize the unity of existence and the potential for spiritual perfection. His influence extends beyond his time, impacting later Islamic philosophers and mystics like Ibn Arabi. Jili’s exploration of the ideal human as a conduit for divine realization remains a subject of study and contemplation within the Islamic mystical tradition, inspiring seekers to strive for spiritual transcendence and unity with the divine.
01. “The function of Ism (name) is to create an image of the Essence. It is regarded as the means of the objectification of Divine Essence.”
— Abdul Kareem Jili
02. “Man is the link between God and Nature. Every man is a copy of God in His perfection As God has descended into man. so man must ascend to God.”
— Abdul Kareem Jili
03. “The most perfect manifestation of Divine Essence is found in Ilahiyya or Divinity. It refers to the complete unit of the attributes of Essence. Jili defines Divinity as a name for the sum of the individualisations of Being, i.e. Being in relation of Creator to created things.”
— Abdul Kareem Jili
04. “The locus of belief is ‘Thought’. Therefore it is the essence wherein He becomes manifest in perfection. If you recognize this, it will be plain to you that thought is the origin of the whole Universe because God is the origin of all things and their most perfect manifestation occurs nowhere but in a ‘locus’ which is Thought.”
— Abdul Kareem Jili
05. “The ‘Essence’ and ‘Existence’ are identical in His Pure Divine Essence but they differ in the realm of His created things which are His Attributes.”
— Abdul Kareem Jili
06. “The Divine illumination comes through meditation upon the names and acts, the attributes and the Essence of God.”
— Abdul Kareem Jili
07. “God is transcendent as well as immanent. He is both One and Many, He is the Perfect Being and the Unity absorbing all the imperfections and the units.”
— Abdul Kareem Jili
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