What Are the Characteristics of Those Responsible for the Guidance of Humanity?
- Why does the human being need guidance?
- Who bears the responsibility for the guidance of humanity?
- What characteristics do these individuals possess, and how do they differ from others?
Have you ever gone to a local bakery for educational counseling? Or entrusted your car’s engine to a telephone repair technician? Or would you seek advice from a dermatologist for your stomach ache? Such actions are unlikely, unless these individuals also happen to have sufficient expertise in the area you require.
The principle of seeking guidance from knowledgeable and wise individuals in various aspects of life is both rational and innate. We never let incompetent or unqualified individuals handle the important or even mundane matters in our lives, as we are well aware of the consequences and have often suffered the repercussions. However, when it comes to ourselves, we tend to lack this same level of precision and concern. Let us be honest to ourselves; the truth is, most of us feel more distressed about our car getting damaged in an accident or our phone getting scratched than about the harm done to our hearts and souls. If someone gives us the wrong directions on the street, we might remain irritated for hours and sometimes, we find ourselves in a mental conflict with them. Yet, if someone misleads us, intentionally or unintentionally, away from the purpose of our creation, we barely notice, and do not perceive it as a loss. This indifference stems from a lack of self-knowledge. We do not understand where we have come from and recognize the long, perilous journey that lies ahead to reach our destination; as a result, we waste our time in life in any manner, paying no attention to the value or merit of our pursuits. We blindly follow every ignorant or biased claimant who lacks even the slightest understanding of the structure of our existence, and the origin and destination of our journey, without any fear or consideration of the consequences.
The Necessity of the Guidance of Humanity
The concept of the guidance of humanity is extremely important. Anyone who takes on the responsibility of the guidance of humanity must have a comprehensive understanding of all the dimensions of human existence and all the stages of human life. As previously mentioned, human beings have been with God and will return to Him, and their life stages unfolds in a cyclical manner. This cycle consists of three stages: before the world, the world, and after the world. All three of these stages and structures are interconnected and influence one another. The stage before the world and what we experienced there affects our way of life, desires, and inclinations in this world. Our worldly way of life also impacts the structure of the system of the hereafter and our destiny there. We had life before entering the world and acquiring a physical and earthly identity. After we leave this world, we will also have life, but the quality of our afterlife is entirely dependent on the quality of our worldly life; in other words, we reap in the hereafter what we have sown in this world. Heaven and Hell are not external places; rather, it is our actions in this world that manifest themselves as heaven or hell in the next world.
Given these points, if we are unaware of the living conditions governing the hereafter, we cannot adjust our lifestyle according to the needs of that realm. On the other hand, the hereafter is the unseen world, and as long as we are confined within the veil of matter, we cannot gain awareness of the conditions of the hereafter. So, what are we to do? Has God created us only to abandon us without any guidance? Could God who set the stage for human existence before birth be indifferent to their guidance and fate in the hereafter? Those who think that God has created human beings and abandoned them do not truly know Him. The god they worship is a false, weak, and thoughtless deity that bears no relation to the true God. The true God is wise and has a well-structured and calculated plan for the guidance of humanity as His most beloved and superior creation. But what does this plan look like, and who is entrusted with it?
Who Are Our guides and Leaders?
To achieve happiness, peace, and bliss in this world and the hereafter, we require seven categories of specialized knowledge, comprehensive and multidimensional information that encompasses all stages of life and every dimension of our existence. These categories include:
-Knowing the origin of life
-Knowing the ultimate destination and the system of the hereafter
-Knowing the body
-Knowing the soul
-Awareness of the relationship between the soul and the body
-Knowing the material world
-Awareness of the relationship between the soul and the material world
According to a general principle, the most knowledgeable person about a phenomenon is its creator. The Creator of the entire realm of existence is God. He is the one who has created and governs all the realms and all beings; therefore, the most knowledgeable being regarding this information is God Himself. If we wish to access this information, we must connect with God. However, since God is an infinite being, it is not possible for us to receive information directly from Him.
Thus, we need an intermediary to receive the commands and specialized information we require from God. This intermediary must be the one who is the most similar and closest to God, while also possessing a physical body and being similar to us in every way, so that we can take him as a model and align our lifestyle, mindset, behaviors, and other aspects of our lives with him. This individual is none other than the perfect human or the infallible expert.
God has entrusted this specialized information solely to the infallible experts, namely the prophets and the Infallibles (household of Prophet Muhammad, PBUT), and has placed the responsibility for the guidance of humanity upon them. Besides God, the Infallibles are the only ones who have comprehensive knowledge of the entire universe because they receive their knowledge directly from God, not from the limited human research and refutable scientific hypotheses. This underscores why guardianship (Wilaya) holds such significance in Islam; if someone accepts all the principles of faith and Islamic laws but denies guardianship, they essentially have not embraced religion, as their life is devoid of knowledge and expertise, and the foundation of their movement toward the hereafter is flawed. Relying on the infallible experts is like boarding a ship headed toward the shore. Those on board, even if they make mistakes during the journey, will ultimately reach the shore of salvation. However, those who fail to board the ship will not find their way to the shore and will drown in the ocean of misguidance.