Adam became the very polish of that mirror and the spirit of that form.
فكان آدم عين جلاء تلك المرآة وروح تلك الصورة
Fe-kâne Âdemü ayne cilâi tilke'l-mir'âti ve rûhe tilke's-sûra.
Ibn Arabi, Fusus al-Hikam, chapter on Adam.
Imagine a mirror, not yet polished.
Everything is there, but nothing shows.
This is how Ibn Arabi describes the world.
He counts Adam as the polish of that mirror.
The spirit of that form.
On first reading it sounds like praise.
On the second it turns into a job description.
A mirror that holds no polish is only glass.
Wiping the dust is a small task.
For the mirror it is everything.