"The concept of perfect man in manichaeism and Ibn 'Arabi's Doctrine"

Gnosticism is a religious tradition based on transcendence reached by intuitive\ud means. The esoteric and practical wisdom of Gnosticism, which consists of inner\ud purification and asceticism, has had a deep influence on many religions, including\ud Manichaeism and Islamic Mysticism. Manichean doctrine is based on the dichotomy of\ud 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, the spirit (pneuma).\ud According to the Qur???an, ???God is the Light of the heavens and the earth.???1 Searching for direct esoteric knowledge of God and His Mercy, Sufis regarded the main goal o f man as submerging in the infinity of the Divine through Gnosticism, again stressing inner\ud 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 the 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 ???Arabi's ???Perfect Man.??