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A T 30 5-6(5 •Q34 “THE CONCEPT OF PERFECT MAN IN MANICHAEISM AND IBN ‘ARABI’S DOCTRINE” A thesis submitted to the faculty of A t San Francisco State University 30 5-6(5 In partial fulfillment of The Requirements for •Q34 The Degree Master of Arts In Humanities by Samaneh Gachpazian San Francisco, California May 2015 CERTIFICATION OF APPROVAL I certify that I have read “The Concept of Perfect Man in Manichaeism and Ibn ‘Arabi’s Doctrine” (The Islamization of Manichean Ideas in Islamic Iran) by Samaneh Gaclipazian, and that in my opinion this work meets the criteria for approving a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of die requirement for the degree Master of Arts in Humanities at San Francisco State University. Cristina Ruotolo, Ph.D. Professor of Humanities \ Saul Steier, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Humanities ‘THE CONCEPT OF PERFECT MAN IN MANICHAEISM AND IBN’ARABI’S DOCTRINE” (THE ISLAMIZATION OF MANICHEAN IDEAS IN ISLAMIC IRAN) Samaneh Gachpazian San Francisco, California 2015 Gnosticism is a religious tradition based on transcendence reached by intuitive means. The esoteric and practical wisdom of Gnosticism, which consists of inner purification and asceticism, has had a deep influence on many religions, including Manicliaeism and Islamic Mysticism. Manicliean doctrine is based on the dichotomy of Light, the power of good, and Darkness, its evil counterpart. In the middle of this spiritual battlefield, composed of both Light and Darkness, stands man, who must embark on a journey of emancipation from Darkness and unification with Light. This emancipation will occur by man achieving redeeming knowledge (Gnosis) of his own innermost essence, die spirit (pneuma). According to die Qur’an, “God is the Light of die heavens and die earth.”1 Searching for direct esoteric knowledge of God and His Mercy, Sufis regarded the main goal of man as submerging in the infinity of the Divine through Gnosticism, again stressing inner purification and asceticism. Among these mystics, a special place is held by Ibn ‘Arabi (d. 1240), who formulated the concept of “Perfect Man” (Ar. al-Insan-al-Kamil), a person who has fully realized his essential oneness with die Divine Existence, and exemplified by the Prophet Muhammad. This dissertation analyzes the continuities between Manichaean and Sufi thought through a comparison of central concepts such as Light and Darkness in both traditions and a juxtaposition of Manichaeism’s “Primordial Man” with Ibn ‘Arabics “Perfect Man.” I certify tiiat the Abstract is a correct representation of die content of this diesis. 0 5/14 /20 15 Chair, Thesis Committee Date l. Qur’an, Chapter 24 An-Nur (The Light), Verse 35 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction..................................................................................................... 1 II. The Perfect Man According to Ibn ‘ Arabi Abstract............................................................................................................ 7 The Macrocosm and the Divine as Light and Darkness............................. 9 The Microcosm: the Perfect Man.................................................................16 III. Light, Darkness, and the Primordial Man in Manichaeism The Path of Knowledge: Gnosticism and Manichaeism............................ 25 Light, Darkness, and the Primordial Man: The Manichaean Cosmos...... 29 IV. Conclusion Bibliography 1 Introduction God is the light of the heavens and earth The light like the light of a lamp in a niche The lamp enclosed in a cover of glass The glass like a glistening star Kindled from the oil of a blessed tree An olive not of the East not of the West Its oil glows forth nearly without the touch of fire... Qur’an 24:35 Throughout history, humankind has produced individuals who professed a superior knowledge of divine and natural laws, proclaiming it their specific mission to act as guiding lights in the darkness of ignorance and hatred surrounding humanity. These individuals belonged to different eras, various regions and religions, and diverse esoteric orders. Nonetheless, they produced a continuity of doctrine and practice stressing the development of human spirituality. Manichaeism, one of the major Iranian Gnostic religions, was founded in Sassanid Persia by the prophet Mani (216-276 A.D.). As a religion based upon intuitive wisdom, Manichaeism espouses a specific transcendent experience through its scriptures and rich imagery. Mani’s teachings codified the visions of Christianity, Zoroastrianism, 2 and Buddhism into a unified religion governed by orderly laws. Mani’s teachings present us with an enormous cosmological battlefield packed with intricate detail and various characters, and a war between the spiritual realm of Light and the material world of Darkness. The slow but steady progress of human history releases Light from the prison of matter and returns it to its own realm. Manichaeism introduces its main mythological figures in three separate stages of Creation. Before the Creation of the Cosmos, there are only two entities, the Father of Greatness and the King of Darkness, each with five attendant worlds. At one point, Darkness/Evil invades the borders of Light. In response, the Father of Greatness creates the Mother of Life, who, in turn, brings about the Primordial Man, the original model for man’s conflict to save his spirit from the material world. However, in the first battle with Evil, Primordial Man is defeated, and the Light comes to be held captive in the Realm of Darkness.1 To end this captivity, the Father of Greatness commences the Second Creation, in which many other divine beings enter the scene to aid Primordial Man, among them the Living Spirit. As demiurges, both the Living Spirit and the Mother of Life conquer the demons and create eight worlds from the slain demons’ bodies and eleven heavens from their skins. The Living Spirit liberates the light devoured by these demons, and from a part of it he builds the ships of the sun 1 . Esmailpour, Abolqassem, Manichaean Gnosis Creation Myth. Sino Platonic Papers, Department of East Asian Language and Civilizations, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA, Number 156, July 2005, p. 60 3 and the moon, while from the rest of it he creates the wheels of wind, water, and fire.2 Finally, the third Creation takes place under the guidance of the Third Messenger, who sets the two ships and the three wheels in motion. He flaunst himself naked before the Archons (demons), who begin to emit the remaining light, which is mixed with some of their sin, through ejaculation and abortion. Detaching the sin from the light, Third Messenger sends the latter to earth, where it falls onto wet and dry land. On dry land, the sin turns into demonic creatures, plants, and animals. The demonic creations eventually produce Adam and Eve to entrap the meta­ terrestrial light (man’s spirit) in mundane substance (his flesh and soul). Both body and celestial soul or psyche are the product of these cosmic powers, which cover the body in the garment of the divine Primal Man and try to enliven it with their own psychical powers, giving rise to the appetites and passions of natural man. Thus, mankind becomes the main inmate of the vast prison called the universe. In the macrocosm, man is imprisoned by the Archons and seven spheres, while in the human microcosm, the spirit, or pneuma (also known as “spark”), is enclosed by seven soul- vestments originating in demonic creation and prevented from achieving eternal salvation from the poison of the world. Manichaeism presents the human being as made up of intermingled parts of Light (Spirit), which belongs to the Father of Greatness, and terrestrial perishable parts (Body 2 . Jonas, Hans, The Message of the Alien God & The Beginnings of Christianity The Gnostic Religion Gnostic Religion, pp. 224-5 4 and Soul) pertaining to the Realm of Darkness. Man’s main task is to liberate the light by overcoming his ignorance through Gnosticism.3 By becoming knowledgeable in this way, man will eventually achieve an astonishing triumph over Darkness. No doubt, the crux of pneumatic redemption is awakening through knowledge, providing a release from unconsciousness, intoxication, and especially the ignorance surrounding the pneuma. Man ascends to Heaven not because he curbs and governs his passions or suppresses his feelings, but to the extent he nourishes his intellect and understanding, from which all the passions emanate.4 “The only thing that can contain God is the Heart of the gnostic.” 5 In this sentence, the great Sufi master Ibn ‘Arabi (1165-1240) acknowledges the influence Grnosticism has had on Islamic mysticism. From Ibn ‘Arabi’s standpoint, man is a theomorphic reflection of God. Therefore, the more he can know his own self, the more he is able to discover God. Ibn ‘Arabi distinguishes between regular human beings who each know and worship God in their own measure, and the greatest prophets and “friends of God,” whom he calls “perfect human beings” (al-insdn al-kamil). Through these, each of whom praises God in his indiviual way, God manifests His all-comprehensive Names.6 The only way man can disclose the Essence of God is to achieve the knowledge of the Divine Names and endeavor to bring them into actualization through the World of 3 . Jonas, p. 210 4 . Esmailpour, pp. 11-17 5. Ibn 'Arabi, Ibn ‘Arabi, M. The Bezels of Wisdom, Translation and Introduction by R. W. J. Austin, Paulist Press. USA: 1980. p. 97 6 . Ibn cArabi. p. 34 6 wholeness of Divine Reality.”11 Through imitation of his lifestyle or those of the other Prophets as the principles of manifestation, man can advance towards perfection. 11. Ibid. p. 97 7 Chapter I 1. The Perfect Man According to Ibn ‘Arabi Abstract Muhammad Ibn Ali Ibn ‘Arabi (1165-1240), known as Mohyiddin (the Reviver of Religion), is a mystic, philosopher, poet, sage, and also one of the world’s great spiritual teachers, known as the Shaykh al-Akbar (the Greatest Master), and also as Ibn Aflatun (the Son of Plato).
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