Question No. 455 13 December 2023 Official answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) verified Content level: Intermediate

What Does Self-Knowledge Mean in the Words of Imam Ali (AS)?

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Subject category: Ethics and Spirituality آرشیو کهف سوال Academic فلسفی Epistemological

The essence and first answer at a glance (60-word summary)

In the words of Imam Ali (AS), “من عرف نفسه فقد عرف ربه” (“Whoever knows himself knows his Lord”) means reading the divine book—that is, the human being. By engaging with the Two Weighty Things (the Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt) in both knowledge and practice, and by awakening our innate nature, we can attain knowledge of God, which is knowledge of His acts. The Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt are the clearest mirrors of the truth of our own being.

Answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat)

Teacher and researcher in the intellectual tradition of wisdom and the Ahl al-Bayt | Soroush Bamdadān Cultural Center

In brief, self-knowledge means reading the Book of God. The human being is one of the divine books. If we can read ourselves fully, each according to our own capacity, we attain knowledge of God—which is, in reality, knowledge of His acts. Human existence is a path to the Creator of existence.

One practical way to attain self-knowledge is to awaken the human fitra, or primordial nature. This can be achieved only by holding fast, in both knowledge and practice, to the Two Weighty Things: the Qur’an and the Prophet’s family. Together, they are a perfect mirror of the outward and inward truth of who we are. Through them, we can witness every dimension of our being and truly arrive at a contemplative reading of ourselves. So let us hold fast to the Two Weighty Things with sincerity, wholehearted eagerness, and the adornment of noble character—both in knowledge and in practice!

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What Does Self-Knowledge Mean in the Words of Imam Ali (AS)?

The essence and first answer at a glance (60-word summary)

Answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat)

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