At the beginning of his journey, a person may think that matters are simple, but he soon discovers, little by little, the extent of the complexity hidden behind the simplicity he had imagined. Therefore, entering into matters of truth should not be driven by the desire to possess it all at once, but rather gradually, step by step. A person may receive nothing from the truth except hearing it, and at a certain stage may only be able to listen to it, just as a person may hear about happiness without having reached it yet.
Hence comes the importance of listening, contemplation, and not claiming complete possession of the truth. No one possesses the whole truth in a way that makes him independent of searching; rather, we are before a journey in which a person progresses from hearing to understanding, from understanding to discernment, and from discernment to realization.
The Perfect Human and the Mediator
The Perfect Human, in this conception, is a presence possessing qualities and characteristics that make it central and polar within humanity. From this perspective, he is like a father in relation to humanity; to him the human being is attributed, and through him the meaning of humanity in its most complete form is determined.
The Perfect Human is also the Creator's mediator on Earth.
Here we reach the central issue: the intended outcome, in general, is not achieved without a mediator.
The mediator is not something specific to one matter; rather, it is a general rule in existence. Every matter needs an instrument, a path, a means, or a condition through which it is realized. If you want to reach a distant place, you need a suitable means; if you want to know something, you need an instrument of knowledge; and if you want to communicate, you need a means through which communication takes place.
Therefore, the claim that there is no need for a mediator itself requires a basis to justify it. If communication itself is something that cannot take place except through a mediator, how can human communication with the Creator be conceived without a mediator?
In this conception, the Perfect Human is the mediator through whom the reality of the world is known, and through whom its relation to the Creator is known.
If a person asks: To whom do these heavens and earth belong? To whom do the mountains and rivers belong? To whom do the towers and creatures belong? Why does all this exist? And what is its purpose? Then these questions do not remain open endlessly if the mediator is present, because the mediator determines the relation and reveals the meaning.
But if the mediator is removed, the relation becomes open, the questions become endless, and every person can provide a different answer, so there remains no decisive criterion separating the answers.
Here the danger of the absence of the mediator becomes apparent.
The World Without a Mediator: A World Without Identity
If there is no mediator that determines the world's relation to the Truth, then the world becomes, from this perspective, deprived of its identity.
For the world, in order to be a world fixed in meaning, needs an origin to which it is attributed. Just as a building cannot stand without a foundation, the world cannot stand in knowledge if its origin remains open to possibilities without a criterion.
When the relation becomes open, doubts begin:
What is this world?
Why does it exist?
To whom is it attributed?
What makes its reality a reality?
By what criterion do we distinguish between truth and illusion?
Thus, a person enters what can be called open ignorance; that is, a state in which all answers become possible, and therefore no answer retains decisive value.
Hence comes the statement that the absence of the center makes the world doubtful in its reality, because we need a criterion by which we establish the world and confirm its meaning.
If every person sees the world from his own perspective, receives things through his own sensations, and sensations and visions contradict one another, how can we reach a common world and a common truth?
One person sees something in one way, another sees it in another way, and a third hears it differently. If there is no criterion that separates these visions, every person can destroy the world of the other, and the world itself becomes undefined.
Therefore, the mediator becomes, in this conception, the foundation of realization: he is the teacher through whom truth is realized and illusion is invalidated.
The Perfect Human: The Image of Truth and the Reality of the World
This conception does not regard the Perfect Human as merely a human being superior morally or intellectually, but rather as the image through which the Creator intended to be known.
The Perfect Human is the appropriate instrument for relating the world to the Truth.
Hence come two fundamental statements:
The Perfect Human is a mediator.
And the Perfect Human is the reality of the world.
From one aspect, he is the image of Truth through which Truth can be known; from another aspect, he is the criterion that reveals the difference between truth and illusion.
Therefore, the question is not only: Who is the Perfect Human?
Rather, the more important question becomes:
What makes the Perfect Human perfect?
When we see perfection and distinction in the Perfect Human, this drives us to search for the source of this perfection.
Where did all this perfection come to you from?
Where did all this distinction come to you from?
And where did these qualities that made you different from others come from?
Here, the distinguished leads to the source of distinction.
Truth, in this conception, is not merely something "distinguished" like the rest of things; rather, it is the source of distinction, value, and meaning. As for the Perfect Human, he is the manifestation in which these qualities appear in a form that makes them observable and recognizable.
Thus the Perfect Human becomes a sign of the existence of the Creator.
The Criterion and the Furqan
If a person wants to say that this is true and this is false, or that this is correct and this is wrong, he must first answer a fundamental question:
By what criterion did you judge?
Whoever denies the existence of a difference between truth and illusion needs a criterion upon which he relied when making this judgment.
And whoever says that there is no right and wrong is asked: On what basis did you say that the statement that there is no right and wrong is correct?
Here the contradiction appears.
Because rejecting the criterion does not eliminate the need for the criterion.
Therefore, the existence of the Furqan is necessary.
A person needs something that distinguishes for him between light and darkness, between truth and illusion, and between right and wrong.
In this context, the Perfect Human appears as the Furqan; that is, the criterion that reveals the difference between truth and illusion.
Therefore, belief in Truth, according to this conception, requires belief in the distinction that reveals Truth.
Whoever affirms the Truth affirms the Furqan that points to it, and whoever rejects the Furqan has rejected the means that reveals the identity of Truth.
What Happens When the Difference Disappears?
The absence of distinction leads to a dangerous result: the boundaries between things disappear.
If there is no difference between truth and illusion, there is no truth.
And if there is no difference between the Creator and the created, the meaning of divinity becomes mixed with servitude.
The Creator no longer remains Creator in the sense that distinguishes Him from the created, and the servant no longer remains a servant in the sense that distinguishes him from his Lord.
Therefore, it is said that through the presence of the Perfect Human, the knowledge of divinity is realized just as the knowledge of servitude is realized.
And this is a precise point:
The existence of the Perfect Human does not mean that the Creator did not exist before him, or that the existence of the Creator depends upon the Perfect Human. Rather, the meaning is that the Creator, as an eternal and everlasting Being, may exist, but human knowledge of Him and knowledge that He is the Creator require a mediator that reveals this truth.
The Perfect Human is therefore the one who knows God completely, and he is the one who reveals to the human being the difference between truth and illusion.
The Perfect Human Between Truth and Illusion
The Perfect Human can be conceived as being in the middle between Truth and illusion.
When he faces Truth, he knows that everything other than it is illusion.
And when he faces the world, he is the criterion that reveals its reality and its boundaries.
From here we can understand the statement:
The Perfect Human is the end of illusion before the Presence of Truth.
When the Perfect Human stands before Truth, illusion ends, because absolute reality leaves no room for illusion.
Conversely, when he stands before the world, he represents the principle of the world, because he is the mediator through whom creation begins and through whom it is determined.
Therefore, two things come together in him:
He is the beginning of creation and the end of illusion.
He is the principle of creation from one aspect, and the end of creation from another.
He is the foundation upon which creation is established, and at the same time he is where illusion ends before the Presence of Truth, and therefore he feels shame.
Why Does the Perfect Human Feel Shame?
From here we can understand another meaning previously discussed: the Perfect Human's feeling of shame.
Why does the Perfect Human feel shame, even though he is perfect?
Because when he encounters Truth, he realizes that, insofar as he is created, he is the end of illusion before absolute reality.
He realizes that whatever perfection he possesses is not an independent perfection of his own essence, but rather comes from the perfection of Truth that has appeared in him.
If Truth is absolute perfection, then the Perfect Human, no matter how far he reaches, remains a created being in need of Truth.
Therefore, he feels shame before Truth.
He does not see himself as something independent and self-sufficient; rather, he sees his poverty and his need.
As for the person farther from perfection, the opposite may happen to him entirely; he may think himself great and self-sufficient, and may not feel his deficiency because he does not see the criterion by which he measures himself.
Here a deep relationship appears between perfection and the feeling of deficiency:
The closer a person comes to reality, the more aware he becomes of his need for it.
And the farther he moves away from it, the greater his illusion of independence and perfection becomes.
Darkness: A Space Without Landmarks
In order to understand the transition from illusion to truth, we must understand the meaning of darkness.
Darkness here is not merely the absence of physical light; rather, it is a space in which there are no clear landmarks.
A space in which you do not know:
Who are you?
Where are you?
Where are you going?
What is correct?
What is wrong?
What is truth?
What is illusion?
What is justice?
What is value?
Darkness is the space of unknowns.
In it there are no fixed criteria by which you measure things.
If you want to know the weight of something and you do not have an instrument for measuring weight, you will not be able to determine its weight.
And if you want to know the age, size, type, or characteristics of a person and you do not have the tools of knowledge, the matter remains unknown.
Hence, the instrument is a condition for knowledge.
The intellect is an instrument.
Hearing is an instrument.
Sight is an instrument.
Language is an instrument.
The scale is an instrument.
The guide is an instrument.
The Perfect Human, in this conception, is the comprehensive instrument and the scale by which the one who wishes to measure measures, by which the one who wishes to establish justice does justice, and by which the one who wishes to be guided finds guidance.
Discernment Is the Beginning of Humanity
The human being is distinguished from the animal by possessing multiple tools for discernment and understanding.
If you place one hundred similar cats, knowing each one of them requires signs that distinguish it. As for the human being, he can distinguish people even if they are similar in appearance, because he possesses language, intellect, memory, and other tools that enable him to perceive differences.
Thus discernment becomes a fundamental element of humanity.
The Perfect Human is the possessor of complete distinction, or the possessor of complete discernment.
Distinction is the sign that makes a thing recognizable.
If the sign is removed, recognition becomes more difficult.
The farther a person moves away from the tools of discernment, the closer he comes to a state in which his existence becomes without clear landmarks.
This is what is meant by darkness in this context.
Satan and the Rejection of Discernment
Within the intellectual structure of the text, Satan appears as a force hostile to discernment.
Satan does not want the human being to remain distinguished; rather, he pushes him to lose the characteristics that make him human and to return to a mode of existence resembling animality in terms of the absence of boundaries and criteria.
The difference between the Perfect Human and Satan, according to this conception, is that the Perfect Human has a defined identity and clear signs and qualities, whereas Satan appears in a changing form, taking different colors and transforming according to the context, so that he has no clearly fixed essence.
Therefore, fighting discernment means, within this structure, fighting the sign that leads the human being to knowledge of Truth.
Truth is not known as something random; rather, it is known through distinction, sign, and Furqan.
Truth as the Source of Distinction
Here we return to the question:
Is Truth distinguished or not distinguished?
The answer, according to this conception, is that the question itself needs to be reformulated.
Truth is not merely something distinguished from something else in the same way that things are distinguished from one another; rather, it is the source of distinction itself.
From it came value.
From it came distinction.
From it came difference.
Therefore, when we see a Perfect Human distinguished by great qualities, the question does not stop at the human being; rather, it goes beyond him to the source of these qualities:
Where did this perfection come from?
The Perfect Human, according to this conception, answers that its source is the true Creator, the Creator of all, the possessor of power, knowledge, wisdom, beauty, forgiveness, mercy, might, and all the attributes of perfection.
Thus the distinguished becomes evidence of the source of distinction.
Signs and the Perfect Human
A human being does not reach truth without signs.
Signs are not something that appears suddenly at the end of the path; they have existed from the beginning, but they may increase in density as the human being approaches the end of the test.
From here comes the idea that the end of time does not mean that signs did not exist before, but rather that the signs become concentrated.
The reason, according to the proposed conception, is that the weaker the human being's awareness becomes, the more obvious signs he needs so that he does not become lost in darkness.
The sign is mercy for the human being because it gives him an opportunity to discern.
The Perfect Human is the great sign that points to light.
Therefore, approaching the Perfect Human means, in this conception, approaching light, while moving away from him means increasing illusion.
The Perfect Human and the Beginning of the End
If the Perfect Human is the beginning and the end, then he appears not only as the beginning of creation, but also as a sign of the completion of the cycle.
Therefore, his appearance is connected to the end of the test.
When the time reaches its end, the Perfect Human appears as the decisive sign, because he establishes the distinction between truth and illusion.
After his appearance and departure, if no distinction based on Truth remains on Earth, a stage of the loss of distinctions begins, and the world becomes closer to extinction and annihilation.
The end, according to this conception, does not simply occur while the Perfect Human and those who follow him are present, because they represent a mediator and a contribution to creation.
After this mediator disappears, the collapse that leads to the end begins.
Straightness: The Image of Bliss
In contrast to bending and disorder, the idea of straightness appears.
Those who move away from Truth become increasingly bent, not only internally, but even on the symbolic and bodily level.
As for those who remain straight, they rise and ascend to a world that is not based on bending and illusion.
From here we can understand the conception of Paradise as a world in which there is no crookedness.
Everything in it is straight.
Everything in it is guided.
Everything in it is merciful.
Everything in it is wise.
Everything in it is beautiful.
And everything in it is unique.
Bliss does not rest upon repetition, but upon uniqueness.
Nothing in it has a counterpart that can replace another thing.
This leads to an important meaning: if a thing can be replaced, then the existence of a counterpart is possible. But if it has no counterpart, it cannot be compensated for.
Thus the blessing of straightness becomes a great blessing, because straightness means that the thing stands in its proper place, unable to be replaced or compensated for.
Time, Timing, and the Sign
Among the ideas connected to the subject is also the distinction between time and timing.
There is a time that a person lives, and there is a time that comes upon him.
And there are, according to the proposed conception, distinguished times and appointed moments; not all moments are equal in value.
Just as there are sacred places and sacred people, it is possible to speak of distinguished times.
There is also a timing that proceeds according to order and meaning, in contrast to chaotic and uncontrolled timing.
Here the importance of the sign in history appears; the human being does not live in a completely neutral time, but rather deals with moments and events that have meanings.
This once again leads to the mediator: a human being cannot read time correctly without a scale through which he can understand the signs.
The Mediator as the Path to Salvation
If darkness is a space without landmarks, then leaving it requires a path.
It is not enough for a person to want to reach the light; he needs a means that takes him there.
Someone who is in Africa and wants to reach America cannot achieve this merely through desire; he needs a suitable means: a ship, an airplane, or something else.
Someone who wants to reach a distant city can walk, but another means may be faster and more suitable.
Therefore:
The existence of the goal does not eliminate the need for the means.
The Perfect Human, in this conception, is the appropriate means for moving from darkness to light.
Hence comes the importance of the guide, the sign, the path, and the scale.
The claim that a human being can arrive alone, without a sign, guidance, or means, is like someone who wants to reach a destination without a path.
A human being cannot be guided by himself if the very meaning of guidance requires the existence of something that guides him.
Etiquette, Boundaries, and Sanctity
The mediator is not separate from another concept, which is etiquette.
The human being is distinguished from the animal by possessing a system of boundaries, laws, and ethics.
The statement that a human being should live without boundaries may appear on its surface to be a call for freedom, but in this conception it may lead to chaos.
Boundaries are not always a prison; sometimes they are what protect a person from the injustice of others and protect him from doing injustice to himself.
Therefore, freedom without boundaries may turn into chaos.
Love itself needs boundaries if it is to be just.
A relationship that recognizes no boundaries may end with one party becoming an oppressor and the other an oppressed person.
As for a just relationship, it is one that preserves boundaries and respects the sanctity of the human being.
Here the idea of sanctity appears.
There are places that should have sanctity.
There is privacy that should be respected.
There is a body, a mind, a home, and a relationship that should not become permissible to everyone.
A person who preserves the sanctity of himself preserves his humanity.
Humanity Is Not Merely Compassion Toward Animals
From here comes the criticism of the conception that reduces humanity to compassion toward animals.
There is no doubt that kindness toward animals is a good value, and helping a hungry or thirsty animal is a good deed.
But humanity, according to this conception, is not merely feeding animals.
Humanity is a distinct awareness that enables the human being to recognize himself as a human being and to distinguish himself from animals and from other beings.
A human being can have compassion for an animal without making the animal the criterion of humanity.
He can help an animal without worshiping the animal or necessarily making its value equal to that of the human being.
Difference in value does not mean permission to commit injustice.
Rather, it means that every being has its position and its role.
The animal has value and a role, and the human being has a greater value and role in terms of distinction, responsibility, and awareness.
Therefore, kindness toward animals does not conflict with human centrality, but turning the animal into a substitute for the human being reverses the balances.
The Centrality of the Human Being
The human being, within this structure, is not merely an animal.
He is a being possessing animality in some aspects, but he is not an animal in his complete definition.
Therefore, he requires special treatment.
Treatment that equates the human being with inanimate matter, plants, or animals without considering his particularity may, according to this conception, be a diminution of his humanity.
The more complete the humanity of the human being becomes, the greater his ability to show compassion and care for animals, plants, and other beings, but from the position of the human being, not from the position of abandoning his humanity.
Distinction does not mean cruelty.
Preference does not mean injustice.
Human centrality does not mean neglecting the rest of beings.
It means knowing the position, value, and role of every being.
Value Is Connected to Distinction
Value, according to this conception, is connected to distinction.
The greater the distinction, the greater the value.
This does not mean that the less distinguished being has no value; rather, it means that values are not necessarily equal.
The animal has value and a role.
The plant has value and a role.
The human being has greater value and a role.
And the Perfect Human has greater value and distinction.
In this way, a hierarchy of value can be built instead of turning all beings into one level.
Confusing things and eliminating differences does not achieve justice; rather, it eliminates the criterion that allows us in the first place to speak about value.
Criticism of the Tendency That Eliminates the Human Being
From here appears the criticism of some contemporary tendencies that push toward removing human centrality.
When everything becomes equal to everything, and the human being becomes merely another being without particularity, the boundaries that preserve the meaning of humanity disappear.
When the human being loses his center, it becomes easy for him to abandon his value, dignity, and the sanctity of his body, mind, and relationships.
This is what makes defending the human being, in this conception, a defense of distinction, boundaries, dignity, and value.
The human being needs to value himself, preserve himself, purify himself, establish himself, and know that he has sanctity.
This sanctity is not against freedom; rather, it is one of its conditions.
The Economy and the Image of the Consumer Human
The criticism then moves to the modern economy, where a certain image of the human being is presented as a limitless consumer.
The human being who possesses no sanctity for anything, no boundaries in his relationships, and no controls over his desires becomes more susceptible to consumption and direction.
From here comes the criticism of turning the body, desire, and relationships into commodities.
The human being who can sell everything, consume everything, and abandon every sanctity becomes less capable of resisting those who want to control him.
Here ethics become connected with economics, politics, and culture.
The upright human being who knows his own value is not as easy a consumer to control as the human being whose instincts control him.
Therefore, preserving sanctity and boundaries also becomes a form of preserving independence.
Money, Gold, and the Transformation into Digital Value
Among the ideas that appeared in the discussion is criticism of the transformations that money has undergone: from gold and silver, to paper currencies, then to systems connected to the dollar and oil, and then to digital currencies such as Bitcoin.
The fundamental idea in the criticism is not merely rejecting technology, but questioning the basis of value.
If the banknote does not carry its value within itself, what guarantees its value?
And if value moves from a material basis to a system of trust, calculations, and institutions, what prevents value itself from becoming subject to whoever controls the system?
From here arises the fear that money may transform from something tangible that can be possessed into something digital whose access can be controlled.
The question then becomes:
Does a person truly own his money if access to it is conditioned by an external system capable of disabling or restricting it?
These questions belong to the same broader issue: the issue of the mediator, the criterion, and the center.
Whoever controls the means possesses the ability to influence access to the goal.
The Root and Uprooting
All these issues return to one image:
The human being has a root.
He has an origin.
He has a criterion.
He has a center.
And if the human being is cut off from his root, it becomes easy to reshape him.
He may be given comfort without a foundation.
He may be given consumption without meaning.
He may be given freedom without boundaries.
His distinctions may be erased.
He may be asked to abandon his particularity.
His concern may become the satisfaction of desire instead of knowing the truth.
Here the issue becomes not merely a change in habits, but a change in the definition of the human being himself.
Between Animality and Humanity
Humanity does not mean denying the animal or hating the animal.
Rather, it means knowing the difference.
The animal lives according to its tools, instincts, and nature.
The human being possesses additional tools that enable knowledge, discernment, law, ethics, and choice.
Therefore, pushing the human being to abandon these tools means pushing him toward a state closer to animality.
The more the human being loses etiquette, boundaries, the scale, and discernment, the more susceptible he becomes to being led.
But when he becomes upright, knows his value, preserves his sanctity, and holds to his scale, he regains his centrality.
The Mediator as a General Rule
We return in the end to the point from which we began:
Every matter requires a mediator.
Knowledge requires an instrument.
Travel requires a means.
Communication requires a means.
Guidance requires a guide.
Discernment requires a sign.
Justice requires a scale.
Reaching Truth requires a mediator.
In this conception, the Perfect Human is the comprehensive mediator; he is the sign that points to Truth, the scale that reveals the difference between truth and illusion, the principle of creation, and the end of illusion.
Therefore, seeing him does not mean merely seeing a distinguished human being, but seeing the sign that points to the source of distinction.
From Darkness to Light
If darkness is the space of unknowns in which there are no landmarks, then leaving it begins when the sign appears.
When the sign appears, discernment begins.
When discernment begins, difference appears.
When difference appears, truth can be known from illusion.
And when Truth is known, light begins.
From here we can understand the sequence of the path:
The Sign → Discernment → The Furqan → Knowledge → Light.
The Perfect Human is the central link in this sequence.
The closer a person comes to him, the less his illusion becomes.
And the less his illusion becomes, the closer he comes to reality.
And the farther he moves away from him, the wider the darkness becomes, and the possibilities of illusion increase.
Perfection Is Not a Claim of Greatness
The paradox is that the Perfect Human, according to this conception, is not the one who feels that he is the greatest of beings, but the one who realizes his poverty before Truth.
True perfection does not produce arrogance.
Rather, it produces knowledge of one's own reality.
Hence the Perfect Human's feeling of shame is part of his perfection, because he does not see himself as independent of Truth.
As for the one who sees himself as great in himself and does not see his deficiency, he may be more deeply immersed in illusion than others.
Thus the rule becomes:
The closer a person comes to Truth, the more aware he becomes of his poverty, and the farther he moves away from it, the greater his illusion of independence becomes.
Straightness and the End
In the end, everything returns to straightness.
Straightness is not merely a small moral behavior; rather, it is a complete image of existence.
A straight world without crookedness.
Straight relationships.
Straight values.
A straight scale.
A straight path.
A straight human being.
In contrast, bending is not merely a physical image, but a symbol of moving away from the origin.
Therefore, the human being who maintains his straightness maintains his position within the system, while the loss of straightness leads to deviation and then to annihilation.
From here, bliss becomes the world of things that do not change, are not replaced, and cannot be compensated for; a world that is not based on similarity, but on uniqueness.
Everything in it has its place.
Everything in it has its value.
And everything in it does not need a counterpart.
Conclusion: There Is No Truth Without a Scale
At the end of the journey, the question is no longer merely: Is there a mediator or not?
Rather, the question becomes:
How can we know truth at all without a mediator?
If there is no sign, how do we discern?
If there is no scale, how do we judge?
If there is no Furqan, how do we distinguish between truth and illusion?
If there is no means, how do we arrive?
And if there is no guide, how do we find guidance?
Rejecting the mediator does not eliminate the need for it, because the need for it is rooted in the nature of knowledge, communication, movement, and arrival.
From here, the Perfect Human is established, in this conception, as the mediator of creation, the principle of the world, the end of illusion, the Furqan between truth and falsehood, and the sign that leads from darkness to light.
When a person sees this sign, he begins to discover something else: that the world he had thought was self-sufficient is not so, and that behind it there is an origin, a relation, and a meaning.
From here begins the journey of searching for truth.
Step after step.
Question after question.
Sign after sign.
Until the human being moves from a space in which he does not know himself, the world, or the criterion, to a world that has an origin, a scale, a path, and a purpose.
And here the true transition takes place:
From darkness to light, from illusion to discernment, from discernment to knowledge, and from knowledge to Truth.
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