Is It Possible to Become Like God Without Becoming Similar to the Infallible Imam?
Would you agree that in order to reach any destination, you have to go through a specific path? Our lives are not aimless; the purpose of our creation as the most significant beings in this universe is to become like God and achieve compatibility with our Mentor (Rabb), Allah. In fact, the level of our bliss and inner peace—both in this world and the hereafter—are intrinsically tied to our similarity to Allah, whom we cannot directly see or communicate with. On the other hand, becoming similar to anything requires first having a proper understanding of it. Without a precise model or standard, our similarity to what we intend to emulate becomes mere illusion.
Now, the question arises: What is the surest path to achieve the purpose of creation? What measures has our Mentor put in place for this journey? Can we alone traverse this path and become like God?
As discussed in earlier lessons, the world around us is entirely based on mathematical principles, and we, as part of this universe, are no exception. Not only is our existential structure engineered, but so is the path we must take to achieve our purpose, governed by specific mathematical rules.
In truth, God has designated only one path for us to achieve this similarity: the path of becoming similar to the highest manifestation of Himself, the perfect human. In other words, the perfect human or waliullah (guardian chosen by Allah) is the only being that enables our progress to become like God. In this lesson, we aim to explore the significance of the perfect human or Khalifatullah) God’s deputy on earth) as the most comprehensive manifestation of God and explain why connecting with God is impossible through any other means.
Why the Perfect Human?
As mentioned in previous lessons, we, as beings with material limitations, cannot directly communicate with the Infinite and Absolute Existence, i.e., Allah. This connection only becomes possible when the Infinite and Absolute Being manifests Himself as Allah, displaying His names and attributes. However, the key point is that every being reflects these names and attributes according to its capacity. For instance, it is not possible for a stone to display the attribute of God’s Beneficence (Rahmaniyyat), and a plant, while manifesting certain divine attributes, remains incapable of displaying the full spectrum of His qualities. The only perfect manifestation of Allah, reflecting all His names and attributes and having actualized all the attributes of Allah, is the Most Perfect Example (Mathal A’la) or the perfect human.
God has created humans in such a way that their existential structure is fully similar to Allah, granting them the potential to become similar to God and manifest His names and attributes. However, while we possess this capacity, achieving it is impossible without a precise and complete model of God to emulate. In fact, anything less than the most perfect manifestation of God does not bring us closer to Him but instead leads us astray. This is because partial reflections of divine perfection create only an illusion of similarity, rather than true similarity to God.
Therefore, God, who has set the purpose of our creation to become like Him and sent us to the “gym” of this world in order to actualize His names and attributes, already prepared a plan for this similarity even before our creation. That is, in his first manifestation, he created the most excellent and perfect example of Himself as a perfect reflection and role model for us. In fact, the perfect human is a mediator who has the ability to communicate with the human existential structure, while also being the fullest manifestation of God’s names and attributes, in the form of a human being. This allows us to see His attributes embodied in a human form and try to become like God.
Making Our Existential System Compatilbe with the Perfect Human
Therefore, to become like God is only possible when we align our internal and existential system with the perfect human and adjust our lifestyle, mindset, priorities, and concerns according to the behaviors and decisions of the perfect human. In fact, any difference or incompatibility with the lifestyle or behaviors of the Waliullah will lead to outcomes other than similarity to Allah. In truth, anyone who distances themselves from the Infallible Expert and lacks compatibility with him is far from the true path and the goal God has set for their perfection, and since they do not intend to become similar to the role model, they will never reach bliss and perfection.
Interestingly, we instinctively follow this principle of adhering to a model to achieve a desired outcome in various aspects of our daily lives. For example, in order to achieve the desired taste in food, we follow the recipe step by step because we believe that altering the ingredients or the instructions will affect the final taste and result. Or we know that any change, even a small one, in the size of the pattern causes a difference in the final result of our sewing with the desired model; yet, despite understanding this in everyday life, we expect to become like God while disregarding the only true path to becoming similar to Him.
The Only Permissible Path
In reality, the only true existence in this universe is Allah, and the only comprehensive manifestation of Allah is the Perfect Human, the Infallible Imam, or the Infallible Expert. Choosing any path other than becoming similar to the Infallible Expert- no matter how appealing and acceptable it might appear- will never lead us to the destination or nor will it fulfill the purpose God has intended for us. Perhaps the best example of following the Infallible Expert and aligning with him is the story of being on a ship because a person who chooses a safe ship in the ocean to cross the storm and reach his destination, despite making small mistakes, will finally reach his destination. However, the one who intends to travel this route alone and reach the destination, no matter how careful he is, will be caught in the turbulence of the sea, lose his way, and never reach his destination. For this reason, on the Day of Judgment, every individual will be associated with their Imam, and any individual effort apart from this will not be accepted. That is because following the Infallible Expert and aligning with him as the most comprehensive manifestations of God is the only path to our destination and similarity to Allah, and it is considered the key to our bliss. In fact, it is not allowed to accept any guardianship (Wilaya) except that of a perfect human because he is the only infallible guardian who not only possesses the necessary expertise to guide us but also, as the most similar human to Allah, has the ability to connect us with Him.