The concept of the perfect man in the thought of Ibn 'Arabī and Muhammad Iqbal : a comparative study

This thesis deals with the concept of the Perfect Man in the thought of both Ibn 'Arabi (560/1165-638/1240) and Iqbal (1877-1938). The concepts of these two figures are analytically compared by way of their views of wujud, the evolutionary process of human being, qada' and qadar, and the classifications of the Perfect Man. In Ibn 'Arabi's system, these concepts are based on wahdah al-wujud and, in Iqbal's system, on his philosophy of Khudi. Although Iqbal criticized many aspects of Ibn 'Arabi's thought, this thesis will show that their concepts of the Perfect Man are quite similar, and that Iqbal was influenced in a number of important ways by Ibn 'Arabi