M6:2075 — مظهر عزست و محبوب به حق / از همه کروبیان برده سبق

Translation: He is the manifestation of divine glory and truly beloved by God; And has surpassed all the Cherubim. Meaning: This verse speaks to the exalted station of the perfect human being (the saint or divine man) who is a manifestation of God's power and holds precedence even over the highest angels.

I have said it many times, and I reiterate: Mowlana attributes qualities to the Perfect Human, the 'Divine Man,' in his Masnavi that we rarely, if ever, encounter elsewhere with such unreserved assertiveness. These claims border on what we read in the Ziyarat-e Jame'a Kabireh—a visitation prayer that I myself consider the manifesto of an extremist Shi'ism, positing a human station that is barely distinguishable from divinity itself. Mowlana, here, fearlessly follows the same trajectory, presenting these words in praise of the Divine Saint.

He states that the Saint of God, mazhar-e 'ezz ast o mahboob be haqq — 'is the manifestation of Divine Glory and truly beloved by God.' Here, 'ezz signifies power and authority, not merely honor or esteem. As we read in the Quran, 'And God is the All-Mighty, the Lord of Retribution.' Or when Iblis, after being expelled from the Divine Presence, swears, 'By Your Might, I will surely mislead them all.' Iblis swears by God's Might because he knows that even his power to mislead originates from the same fount of divine glory and authority. Therefore, when Mowlana declares the Perfect Human as a mazhar-e 'ezz, he means a locus of manifestation for God's absolute power and authority. Such a one is not merely loved by God, but inherently, in their very being, a manifestation of that divine 'ezz which governs the cosmos and bestows life.

The astonishing nature of this station is further emphasized by the second hemistich: az hameh karroobiyan bordeh sabaq — 'and has surpassed all the Cherubim.' The Cherubim, as we know, represent the highest rank and degree among the angels. Our philosophers have referred to them as the 'Victorious Lights,' beings of extreme proximity to the Divine Essence. Yet, the Perfect Human has surpassed even these Cherubim. This 'precedence' (sabaq) refers directly to the Quranic narrative of the angels prostrating before Adam. That prostration was, without doubt, a symbolic declaration of humanity's inherent precedence and superior rank over the angels. An angel who prostrates is, by definition, of a lower station than the one to whom they prostrate.

Mowlana clarifies this truth further in another verse: 'The skin always prostrates to the brain.' It is humanity that constitutes the 'brain of this world'; humanity is the essence and quintessence of existence. Everything else, even the highest-ranking angels, are but 'skin' that must be subservient to the 'brain.' This perspective elevates humanity's position as God's vicegerent on earth to its absolute peak. Such a being is not merely an ordinary creature; they are a full manifestation of the Divine Essence, in both love and authority, and superior to all other spiritual beings. This is the very inclination I perceive in the dawn prayers of Ramadan, where we recite, 'I ask You of Your most beautiful beauty... I ask You of Your most glorious glory...' That prayer is also a request for participation in divine attributes, for takhalluq bi akhlaq Allah (assuming the Divine Morals), and this verse of Mowlana is the perfect and complete realization of that request in the being of the Perfect Human. This is a monumental and unparalleled claim: that humanity not only finds a path to God but ascends to a station where it becomes the full mirror of God's attributes, surpassing all holy beings.

Key takeaways

• The Perfect Human (the Saint) is a direct manifestation of divine power and authority, not merely a recipient of it.
• The station of the Perfect Human surpasses even the Cherubim, the highest rank of angels; this precedence is symbolically reflected in the angels' prostration to Adam.
• Humanity is the 'brain of the world,' and angels (Cherubim) are its 'skin'; the cosmos serves the human essence.
• Mowlana's assertion of the Perfect Human's grandeur represents one of the most extravagant claims in Islamic mysticism, comparable to 'extremist' Shi'i approaches.
• Here, 'ezz signifies power and dominion, not just honor; the Divine Saint embodies and manifests this power.
• This verse illustrates takhalluq bi akhlaq Allah (assuming divine attributes) and participation in divine qualities, aligning with prayers that seek a share of God's beauty and majesty.