The Human Is the Noblest Creation and a Combination of Various Faculties and Dimensions
“The human is the noblest creation.” Surely you have all heard this sentence many times, and perhaps after witnessing chaos, injustice, or oppressions committed by a group of humans against others, you wonder what this sentence could possibly mean! With blood-stained hands and a history built on the bones of the innocent, how is it possible that the human is the noblest creation? Among all beings, we are the only ones who have committed such extreme injustice and oppression against our own kind. So why has God, who is aware of everything, stated that the human is the noblest creation?
To find the answer to this question, it is better to first review what we know about the structure of our existence as humans. What kind of a creature is the human being? What are the qualities and dimensions of our existence? Is there a significant difference between us and other creatures in the eyes of God that makes us worthy of being the divine deputy on earth? What aspects do we share with other beings? Are there any similarities between us and other creatures?
To answer these question, we can first define what we are NOT as a human being! The human is the noblest creation and we possess various qualities and faculties. These qualities are the potentials that we can actualize to achieve perfection in all the dimensions, and they exert influence. We are in love with these perfections and take pleasure in acquiring power and excellence in various fields. We use the faculties and levels of the soul to achieve these perfections. But what are these faculties and perfections?
Faculties of the Soul
Our existential structure is composed of five faculties, each of which has its specific status and qualities and only relates to matters of its own kind. The lowest of these faculties is the sensate faculty which is the closest to the material world. We perceive sensory forms through our sense perception which includes the senses of sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch. Our five senses help us understand the outward and inanimate qualities of the material world. What we receive through our senses are inputs or food for our soul.
The next one is the faculty of imagination, which is higher in rank than sense perception. This faculty can perceive forms without matter. We perceive imaginal forms with our imagination. The image we have of our father, mother, friends, home address, and city is created in our imagination. All these images have a certain shape, size, and limit but do not have matter. Since the imagination does not follow the rational rules and limitations of the material world, we can imagine whatever we want or combine different imaginal forms.
Estimation, the Rebellious Faculty
The third faculty of our soul is estimation. It is one of those faculties which might need a little more explanation in order to know its function. Estimation has a sensitive position among our faculties because it is a rebellious force; it can easily throw us out of balance and take away our true position as the noblest creation. If we focus on estimation and it dominates us, it distorts our true perception and present facts to us in a different way. As a result, instead of relying on the logical analysis of input information, we rely on estimative information and lose our ability to make correct judgments.
The main function of estimation is to understand general meanings and concepts. The main task of estimation is to give meaning to the images that are formed by imagination and make them available to the intellect to understand general formulas and nothing more. In fact, the intellect is the more general and broader manifestation of the concepts perceived by imagination. But the problem is that estimation is a powerful faculty that is not easily controlled by the human soul. It constantly seeks to control our soul and make us busy with estimative matters such as status, fame, and popularity.
The Intellect Perceives the Essence of Things and Laws
The next one is the intellective faculty, which is higher in rank than the intellect. The intellect finds peace in rational matters. Our intellect by itself is a neutral entity and only understands essences, formulas, and laws, and it is called theoretical intellect. The intellect is aware of its own state; it recognizes its limits and is aware of its abilities. It can manifest itself in different ways. If the intellect governs our existence, it begins to explore the world, comprehend its laws, and engage in the acquisition of knowledge and wisdom.
The third state is when the intellect is under the control of the supra-rational faculty; we call this state rationality. When we reach rationality, we are able to distinguish between do’s and don’ts. Rationality acts like an inner prophet and is addressed by God. In fact, it is our rationality that enables us to discern between good and bad, right and wrong, and understand the “Principle of the Primacy of Expertise.”
The Supra-Rational Faculty, the Captain of the Ship of Existence
The highest faculty among our existential faculties is the supra-rational one. Perhaps you may be familiar with this faculty by other names such as the heart, the human dimension, or supra-immateriality. The supra-rational faculty has the greatest distance from the material realm, breaking the frames of the material world and ultimately connecting itself to the Infinity from which it originates. This faculty is the only part that is in contact with the affairs beyond the material realm, and in essence, finds tranquility in its True Beloved, which is Allah or the Absolute Perfect.
The growth of this dimension occurs through nourishment from its Beloved and proper nourishment of the lower parts. In fact, we reach our spiritual (human) state of balance and equilibrium when all the faculties of our self are under the control of our supra-rational faculty and strengthen it. The human is the noblest creation and we are different from other beings because we have the human dimension. If the supra-rational faculty is not activated in us, we will never achieve happiness and peace.
Different Levels of the Soul or Dimensions of Human Existence
The human is the noblest creation and the most complicated being in the universe. The structure of our soul is divided into not only different faculties, but also different dimensions. Our existential structure is composed of various levels and dimensions, each of which seeks to achieve perfections which are in harmony and compatible with it. The faculties we mentioned-i.e. sense perception, imagination, estimation, intellect, and supra-rational faculty-help us attain the perfections of these levels and dimensions of existence.
Lower Dimensions of Existence
We, like all creatures in the world, are made of matter, which means we have a body. Our body possesses inanimate characteristics. This means, like all objects, it occupies a specific space and has visible features such as color, shape, and smell. Inherent qualities such as beauty, height, and weight belong to this dimension of our existence, and our interest in things like houses, cars, and wealth falls into this category of qualities. Our five senses each cover a category of these inherent qualities, making them understandable to us. So while the human is the noblest creation, we share these qualities, known as inanimate qualities, with all the materials and creatures in the world.
What sets us apart from other objects is that we also have higher levels of qualities. Another group of inherent qualities that constitute our existence are vegetative ones, which we share with plants. Plants have the power of reproduction, growth, physical strength, and nutrition; they perceive emotions and enjoy listening to music and beautiful sounds. This group of qualities that we share with plants, includes actions such as childbearing, growth, and physical strength. Therefore, if we strongly manifest these qualities, we have become a strong plant and have not yet reached the stage of being human.
In a higher category of qualities, we find animal ones. In addition to the lower categories of qualities, animals possess animal qualities such as the ability to move; starting a family; emotions like anger, lust, and ambition; and defense of their own kind and others. The scope of animal qualities is much broader than that of inanimate and vegetative qualities. We share these qualities with animals.
Emotions that have contributed to the survival of the human species on Earth, such as protective responsibility[1] and anger, are emotions that we share with other animal species. Qualities such as the desire for leadership which originate from estimation, gaining social positions, and progress in society, are other common features between humans and animals. For example, a male lion goes through a path to become the leader of a pride, where it has to prove its managerial abilities to other members of the pride and emerge victorious in competition with other eligible lions.
Intellective Qualities
There are other qualities within us that are only seen in certain creatures, although very weak and rudimentary manner. These qualities, which give rise to the ability to analyze information and learn rules, are called intellective qualities. In simpler terms, intellective qualities are related to the acquisition of knowledge. Sciences such as medicine, astronomy, language, chemistry, mathematics, and all the humanities that seek to uncover the mysteries of the universe fall into this category.
We are in love with the pursuit of knowledge and the discovery of the world’s mysteries, and as long as there are unknowns ahead of us, we will not cease our quest for knowledge. In fact, individuals who seek to acquire knowledge and increase their awareness of the natural sciences possess strong intellects. Animals have very limited intellective abilities, and their level of capability cannot be compared to humans. The beings that share the faculty of intellect with us are angels. Since angels are pure intellect, they do not have estimation or the supra-rational dimension. As a result, they neither commit sins nor have the possibility of growth.
Supra-Rational or Human Qualities
The definitions we have provided so far regarding the levels of human existence all address the question, “What is a human not?” It is true that actualizing all the above potentials elevates humans to high ranks in the realms of society and knowledge, but there is still a distance to be covered until reaching the stage of human perfection and saying that the human is the noblest creation.
Unlike other beings, we have the potential to possess all these qualities within ourselves. However, the most important part of our existence that brings us to the status of divine deputy is another aspect of our being known as the supra-rational faculty. This aspect is the very truth of our existence, which distinguishes us from all other creatures and creations in the universe. It is this part of our self that makes us deserving of the title of the noblest of creations. In fact, the human is the noblest creation because, in addition to possessing the qualities of all other beings, we have qualities that are unique to us and in which no other creature has a share.
God breathed of His Spirit into us, so this Spirit is exclusive to us. We are the seekers of infinity, and we desire the highest perfections. Our soul has an unlimited capacity and can only be filled with infinity and the attainment of limitless perfections. In fact, the infinity-seeking dimension of our soul is the most important part of our existence; if it grows well, it manages all our faculties and aligns them towards attaining inner peace and happiness. This part is the aspect which seeks infinity. However, stopping at any of the lower aspects of our being can distance us from realizing what we truly are and from the true meaning of our existence.
Without a correct knowledge of ourselves, we reach intellective perfections at best, but remain distant from the ultimate Beloved and the primary nourishment of our soul, which is reaching the Absolute Perfect or Allah.
Why Do We Stop at Lower Levels?
But why do most of us infinity-seeking humans stop and never reach the level of God’s deputy on Earth? It is because we have ignored the needs of our human dimension, so this part of our existence has not grown and matured, and does not demand more nourishment. It is just like an immature child who has no idea of the relationship with the opposite sex, so he does not seek it or get pleasure from it. However, when he reaches a level of maturity and adulthood, this need arises in him, and he seeks to fulfill it.
If the supra-rational faculty of our existence does not receive sufficient nourishment and attention, it remains small and weak and can never express its needs. As a result, we will never reach the status where the human is the noblest creation, the status which God has exclusively given to us. Instead, we remain preoccupied with meeting the needs of our physical, vegetative, animal, and intellective dimensions. We occupy ourselves with clothes, houses, children, jobs, and education, and ultimately, we remain unaware of the most fundamental part of our existence, which is the connection and attachment with the source of our soul.
A human being who does not stop actualizing the potentials of the lower dimensions of his existence will remain distant from his true essence and will not know his true self. Consequently, he will not reach the status of being God’s deputy on Earth. Such a person merely carries the title of the noblest of creations, but in reality, he constantly strives to actualize inanimate, vegetative, animal, and intellective potentials, without hesitating to commit any injustice to satisfy his desires. A human being who only sees life as the period between birth and death creates a world filled with war, bloodshed, and anger, where most of its inhabitants always remain captive to their false self and never attain the highest status of creation.
In this article, we stated that the human is the noblest creation; therefore, our existential structure is more complicated than that of other beings. Our self is composed of various faculties which are, in order, sense perception, imagination, estimation, intellect, and the supra-rational faculty. In addition to this, our existence has different dimensions and levels, which we refer to as the inanimate, vegetative, animal, intellective, supra-rational, and human dimensions. Each of these dimensions and levels of our existence seeks to actualize potentials with which it is compatible, and our existential faculties assist it in actualizing these potentials (achieving perfection).
We only achieve human balance when our supra-rational faculty takes control of other faculties and their qualities. In fact, it is only through the blossoming of the supra-rational faculty and nurturing this aspect that we become the noblest of creations and attain lasting happiness and peace. The reason why most of us remain at the lower levels and perfections of our existence is simply because we overlook the supra-rational faculty and its needs. Indeed, the supra-rational faculty is the factor that distinguishes us from other beings, and by ignoring it, we can never reach our true position and say the human is the noblest creation.
[1]. Gheyrat