Abdul Karim Jili

Although little is known about his life, historians have noted that Jili travelled in various places around the world. He wrote more than twenty books, of which Universal Man is the best known. Jili was the foremost systematizer and one of the greatest exponents of the work of Ibn Arabi. Universal Man is an explanation of Ibn Arabi's teachings on the structure of reality and human perfection. Since it was written, it has been held up as one of the masterpieces of Sufi literature. Jili conceived of the Absolute Being as a Self, a line of thinking which later influenced the 20th century Muslim philosopher and poet Muhammad Iqbal.

• Honorific Prefix — Shaykh al-Islām • Native Name — عبد الكريم الجيلي • Born — 1365 AD • Birthplace — Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate (now Baghdad, Iraq) • Died — 1424 AD • Place of death — Salihiyya, Damascus, Ayyubid Sultanate • Religion — Islam • Denomination — Sunni • Jurisprudence — Hanbali • Creed — Athari • Occupation — Mufassir, Muhaddtih, Theologian, Philosopher, Academic, Poet • Main Interests — * Sufism • Tafsir • Epistemology • Ontology • Poetry • Fiqh • Notable Works — al-Insān al-Kāmil • Influences — Abdul Qadir Gilani, Sharaf al-Dīn Ismā'il al-Jabartī, Ibn Arabi, Mu'ayyid al-Dīn al-Jandī, ‘Abd al-Razzāq al-Kāshānī, Sadr al-Din al-Qunawi, Dawūd al-Qayṣarī, al-Busiri, Fakhr-al-Din Iraqi, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, Qadi Baydawi, 'Adud al-Din al-'Iji, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Fairuzabadi • Influenced — Muhammad Iqbal, Virtually all of Sufism • Era — Medieval philosophy • 14th century philosophy • 15th century philosophy • Region — Middle Eastern philosophy • Islamic philosophy • Name — ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Jīlī