Talk:Al-Insān al-Kāmil

Some comments
Annihilation in the Messenger of God: The Development of a Sufi Practice Valerie J. Hoffman International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 31, No. 3. (Aug., 1999), pp. 351-369. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0020-7438%28199908%2931%3A3%3C351%3AAITMOG%3E2.0.CO%3B2-4

This article seems to give a little bit of background. It credits Ibn Arabi as the first Sufi writer to use the term Al-insan al-kamil (does this imply non-sufi writers previously used it? I'm not a scholar of Islam.)  It translates it as "Perfect Man" or literally "Complete Human", maybe with a definite article. It is the fullest manifestion of the divine cosmos (quote) and the author claims it's identified with the "Spirit of Muhammad" or the "Muhammadean Reality" (this strikes me as far more nuanced than the representation on the page). There's a lot more in comparison or .... hmm, my understanding here is somewhat muddled - with the Barzakh or Supreme Barzakh, and the role of Muhammad as such in both Ibn Arabi and Al Jili. Ibn Arabi cites "God created Adam upon His own form" to mean that all parts of creation have some aspect of God in them, and the whole cosmos reflects all of God. There's some comparison between a human being and the whole cosmos, and maybe God places all of his attributes in humanity - hmm.

Ibn 'Arabī's Theory of the Perfect Man and Its Place in the History of Islamic Thought Masataka Takeshita Review author[s]: S. Calderini Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 52, No. 1. (1989), pp. 133-134. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0041-977X%281989%2952%3A1%3C133%3AI%27TOTP%3E2.0.CO%3B2-R

This doctoral thesis reviewed here makes a much stronger identification of Al-insan al-kamil with Adam - but I've only read the review, not the thesis, so it's unclear exactly how strong the identification is, and I get the impression the reviewer thinks it's too strong (who is right? I have no idea).

The Mystical Theology of Tijānī Sufism and Its Social Significance in West Africa Patrick J. Ryan Journal of Religion in Africa, Vol. 30, Fasc. 2. (May, 2000), pp. 208-224. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-4200%28200005%2930%3A2%3C208%3ATMTOTS%3E2.0.CO%3B2-U

This paper notes that Salat al-Fahil doesn't use the term Al-insan al-kamil for Muhammad while exploring his role as a connection between God and earth - does this imply it might be common for others to do so? Or just for Sufi's in this limited context?

The Spiritual Ascension: Ibn ʿArabī and the Miʿrāj Part I James Winston Morris Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 107, No. 4. (Oct. - Dec., 1987), pp. 629-652. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-0279%28198710%2F12%29107%3A4%3C629%3ATSAIAA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-B

Abstract: The scriptural accounts of the Ascension (miʿrāj) of Muhammad provided a comprehensive symbolic representation of man's spiritual development for later traditions of Islamic thought. The creative adaptation of those materials by the famous mystical thinker Ibn ʿArabī (1165-1240), reflecting the full range of his metaphysical-theological insights and practical spiritual concerns, influenced many subsequent Islamic literary and philosophic movements. This study of his major Miʿraj narratives (focusing on a revealing autobiographical version of his own spiritual journey) should also interest students of comparative mysticism, philosophy and religion from other "Oriental" traditions. Part II of this study will appear in the next issue.

This has some discussion of the issue, corresponding the Perfect Man to the creation of Adam, and/or a reflection of God in Humanity maybe. Also suggested is that Al-insan al-kamil may be something that anyone can aspire to - if their heart fully mirrors the divine reality (God?). In this context, could Muhammad be "a" Al-insan al-kamil, rather than "the" Al-insan al-kamil? (From a Muslim perspective - I'm not sure I should phrase this question this way as a (possibly Godless?) heathen).

Just some initial thoughts - if people feel this is worth pursuing, I'll look into it further. Wily D 15:53, 4 July 2007 (UTC)
 * There seems to be a lot of scholarly sources available. Why aren't we getting down to work? &mdash; EliasAlucard|Talk 21:21 18 Jul, 2007 (UTC)

Use of editprotected
Please see the usage notes on now to use the editprotected template. Just adding the tag to the page with a comment is not sufficient. An admin needs to know exactly what is to be edited and to see that there is consensus for the edit. → AA (talk • contribs) — 12:16, 9 July 2007 (UTC)
 * FWIW, it isn't hard to find an admin to make the edits, or unlock the page, if a consensus develops or people start editing sensibly. Somehow, I'm sure at least one already has their eye on the page.  Cheers, Wily D  14:47, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

Merge
There seems to be a consensus for merge on Muhammad article. But this article is locked. --Aminz 07:52, 25 July 2007 (UTC)
 * No merge is needed. This topic is huge, and there's lots of scholarly sources on this topic. We got a book here which specifically deals with the al-insan al-kamil concept. Another book by Ibn Arabi, deals with it as well  And another source here The al-insan al-kamil concept is also derived from the Quran, verse 33:21. Now look, this is not a Muhammad topic, it's a concept, which specifically deals with the perfect man, which Muhammad is considered to be, mainly, in Sufi islam. So this is not a topic that should be merged into the Muhammad article. &mdash; EliasAlucard|Talk 18:11 25 Jul, 2007 (UTC)

Request for a minor edit
I'd like the Islam category to be removed from the bottom of this page; I've just about cleaned up the Category:Islam page and this is the only article that appears there but shouldn't. TIA. MP (talk•contribs) 10:20, 31 July 2007 (UTC)
 * [[Image:Yes check.svg|20px]] Done. Cheers. --MZMcBride 21:58, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

Time to unlock?
Two books are written about this concept. I repeat, two books are written about al-insan al-kamil. There's no need to merge this article, because it can be filled with lots of interesting stuff in its own right, and we can expand the article a lot. Question: does anyone object to this article being unlocked, so that we can finally get down to work? A reply would be nice. &mdash; EliasAlucard|Talk 08:55 04 Aug, 2007 (UTC)
 * Best to discuss the changes you wish to make here and see if there is consensus. → AA (talk) — 21:25, 5 August 2007 (UTC)

Logos/Word of God?
The article contains an unsourced claim that Muhammad is seen in Islam as the Logos or Word of God. My Muslim friends would certainly not agree with this, and the phrase Kalimat Allah in the Qur'an does not refer to Muhammad. Likewise, the claim that Islam identifies Muhammad with the divine intellect had references, but these did not back up the claim. -- Radagast 3 (talk) 22:45, 31 July 2010 (UTC)

Uswatun Hasanah
Uswa Hasana redirects here, even though it has it's own distinct meaning and even though it isn't mentioned a single time on the page. 99.231.200.55 (talk) 15:15, 29 September 2010 (UTC)

Merging Al-Insān al-Kāmil with İnsan-ı Kamil
We have old merge tags on the two articles mentioned above. Are these actually about the same topic? Should they be merged? Please comment below. D O N D E groovily  Talk to me  04:12, 8 November 2010 (UTC)

Unexplained revision
Medalrutani, you made an unexplained revision and removed my changes. Why is this? Xtremedood (talk) 02:52, 15 May 2015 (UTC)