III. The Perfect Man in Sūfī Spiritualism

The late Profe or E. H. Palmer of Cambridge has in his Oriental Mysticism , compiled from native sources, given a very correct idea of what may be considered the spiritual side of Muḥammadanism, as expre ed in the teaching of Muslim Ṣūfīs. “The perfect man is he who has fully comprehended the Law, the Doctrine, and the Truth; or, in other words, he who is endued with four things in perfection, viz. 1. Good words; 2. Good deeds; 3. Good principles; 4. The sciences. It is the busine of the Traveller to provide himself with these things in perfection, and by so doing he will provide himself with perfection. “The Perfect Man has had various other names a igned to him, all equally applicable, viz. Elder, Leader, Guide, Inspired Teacher, Wise, Virtuous, Perfect, Perfecter, Beacon and Mirror of the world, Powerful Antidote, Mighty Elixir, ʿIsà (Jesus) the Raiser of the Dead, Khizar the Discoverer of the Water of Life, and Solomon who knew the language of Birds. “The Universe has been likened to a single person, of whom the Perfect Man is the Soul; and again, to a tree, of which mankind is the fruit, and the Perfect Man the pith and e ence. Nothing is hidden from the Perfect Man; for after arriving at the knowledge of God, he has attained to that of the nature and properties of material objects, and can henceforth find no better employment than acting mercifully towards mankind. Now there is no mercy better than to devote oneself to the perfection and improvement of others, both by precept and example. Thus the Prophet is called in the Coran ‘a mercy to the Universe.’ ( Cor. cap. 21, v. 107 .) But with all his perfection the Perfect Man cannot compa his desires, but pa es his life in consistent and unavoidable self-denial: he is perfect in knowledge and principle, but imperfect in faculty and power. “There have indeed been Perfect Men po e ed of power; such power as that which resides in kings and rulers; yet a careful consideration of the poor extent of man’s capacities will shew that his weakne is preferable to his power, his want of faculty preferable to his po e ion of it. Prophets and saints, kings and sultans, have desired many things, and failed to obtain them; they have wished to avoid many things, and have had them forced upon them. Mankind is made up of the Perfect and the Imperfect, of the Wise and the Foolish, of Kings and Subjects, but all are alike weak and helple , all pa their lives in a manner contrary to their desires; this the Perfect Man recognises and acts upon, and, knowing that nothing is better for man than renunciation, forsakes all and becomes free and at leisure. As before he renounced wealth and dignity, so now he foregoes eldership and teachership, esteeming freedom and rest above everything: the fact is, that though the motive alleged for education and care of others is a feeling of compa ion and a regard for discipline, yet the real instigation is the love of dignity: as the Prophet says, ‘The last thing that is removed from the chiefs of the righteous is love of dignity.’ I have said that the Perfect Man should be endued with four things in perfection: now the Perfectly Free Man should have four additional characteristics, viz. renunciation, retirement, contentment, and leisure. He who has the first four is virtuous, but not free: he who has the whole eight is perfect, liberal, virtuous, and free. Furthermore, there are two grades of the Perfectly Free—those who have renounced wealth and dignity only, and those who have further renounced eldership and teachership, thus becoming free and at leisure. These again are subdivided into two cla es; those who, after renunciation, retirement and contentment, make choice of obscurity, and those who, after renunciation, make choice of submi ion, contemplation, and resignation; but the object of both is the same. Some writers a ert that freedom and leisure consists in the former course, while others maintain that it is only to be found in the latter. “Those who make choice of obscurity are actuated by the knowledge that annoyance and distraction of thought are the invariable concomitants of society; they therefore avoid receiving visits and presents, and fear them as they would venomous beasts. The other cla , who adopt submi ion, resignation and contemplation, do so because they perceive that mankind for the most part are ignorant of what is good for them, being di atisfied with what is beneficial, and delighted with circumstances that are harmful to them; as the Coran says, ‘Perchance ye may dislike what is good for you, and like what is hurtful to you.’ ( Cor. cap. 2, v. 213 .) For this reason they retire from society equally with the other cla , caring little what the world may think of them. “Fellowship has many qualities and effects both of good and evil. The fellowship of the wise is the only thing that can conduct the Traveller safely to the Goal; therefore all the submi ion, earnestne , and discipline that have been hitherto inculcated are merely in order to render him worthy of such fellowship. Provided he have the capacity, a single day, nay, a single hour, in the society of the wise, tends more to his improvement than years of self-discipline without it. ‘Verily one day with thy Lord is better than a you sand years.’ ( Cor. cap. 22, v. 46 .) “It is, however, po ible to frequent the society of the wise without receiving any benefit therefrom, but this must proceed either from want of capacity or want of will. In order then to avoid such a result, the Sufis have laid down the following rules for the conduct of the disciple when in the presence of his teachers. “Hear, attend, but speak little. “Never answer a question not addre ed to you; but if asked, answer promptly and concisely, never feeling ashamed to say, ‘I know not.’ “Do not dispute for disputation’s sake. “Never boast before your elders. “Never seek the highest place, nor even accept it if it be offered to you. “Do not be over-ceremonious, for this will compel your elders to act in the same manner towards you, and give them needle annoyance. “Observe in all cases the etiquette appropriate to the time, place, and persons present. “In indifferent matters, that is, matters involving no breach of duty by their omi ion or commi ion, conform to the practice and wishes of those with whom you are a ociating. “Do not make a practice of anything which is not either a duty or calculated to increase the comfort of your a ociates; otherwise it will become an idol to you; and it is incumbent on every one to break his idols and renounce his habits.”