Document Type : Research
Author
Department of Philosophy, Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Abstract
The expression “al-Insānu sirrī wa-anā sirruhu” is well known in mystical and philosophical texts and has often been transmitted as a ḥadīth qudsī. This study examines its source-critical status and semantic significance within mystical and monotheistic anthropology. Employing a descriptive–analytical method, it investigates the expression’s usage in mystical writings and analyzes the interconnected concepts of the human being, sirr (innermost mystery), heart, spirit, and akhfā (the most hidden dimension). It further relates the expression to selected Qur’anic verses, narrations from the Ahl al-Bayt, theoretical mysticism, and Transcendent Philosophy. The findings show that the expression lacks an independent, reliable chain of transmission in early ḥadīth sources. Accordingly, its definitive attribution to the Prophet Muhammad, or its classification as a ḥadīth qudsī, requires scholarly caution. Nevertheless, within the mystical tradition, it functions as a symbolic and epistemological formulation of the Perfect Human Being’s capacity to manifest the Divine Names and Attributes and of human reality’s ontological dependence on God. The designation of the human being as a “sirr” does not indicate incarnation or union between the human and Divine Essences. Rather, it signifies the human being’s role as a locus of manifestation, together with the possibility of spiritual knowledge and the recognition of existential poverty before God. It thereby integrates ontology, epistemology, and anthropology while preserving divine transcendence and acknowledging human finitude dependence. Thus, interpreted through mystical and monotheistic anthropology, the expression articulates a twofold relation: the Perfect Human Being manifests Divine Names and Attributes, while remaining utterly dependent upon Divine Reality.'''
Keywords
)