[10] This point is part of the incontrovertible principles...

[10] This point is part of the incontrovertible principles of Islamic philosophy and gnosticism which has been asserted differently, the most prominent formula of this viewpoint being thus stated by Shaykh Ishrāq—Shahāb ad-Dīn Suhrawardī:[11] “The self and the creatures superior to it are mere beings.”[12] The Imām articulates this principle in this way: Man cannot be confined to one of the worlds—the higher and the lower worlds.

For, the people as well as the people of Yathrīb[13] has no position and from the descension point of view have hayūlā [14]rank which can manifest their God’s power, and from ascension point of view they have a high horizon and the station of annihilation at the Threshold of Unity.

Thus, the chief of the Illuminationist [ Ishrāqī ] School[15] says that vocal self has no nature and it has the station of unity and union of all the truths of the world of creation and affair.[16] Understanding and comprehending these explanations requires familiarity with Islamic gnosticism. Nonetheless, the end result of this discussion is that the essence of man is not determined and fixed; he can traverse all the spheres of existence.

As such, any attempt to present a specific and absolute explanation of man is an exercise in futility. It is only after the realization of all the potentialities and aptitudes of man that we can offer a perfect explanation of him. From these indisputable principles of philosophy, the Imām arrives at the following three ethical inferences: The possibility of nurture and training in all conditions; Coexistence of fear and hope; and Suspension of judgment.

The possibility of nurture and training in all conditions A teacher asked his student: “Who has created you?” Contrary to the expectation of the teacher, the student answered: “My creation has not yet finished.”[17] Ethics and education holds meaning only if we admit that the ‘creation’ of man is not yet completed and that man has still a long way to go so as to consider his creation as having been completed.

What is meant by ‘creation’ is not only the appearance of that earthly and ephemeral body since it is indubitable to many that such an aspect of ‘creation’ is not the termination of human perfections; it is only part of the things that should take place for man. Thus, the ‘creation’ of man has not yet ended, and this is the starting point of any philosophy of education and system of morality.