A Comparative Study of Self-Knowledge in Zoroastrianism and Islam

Self- Knowledge is one of the central themes of all ethical schools, rituals and theistic religions for the fact that it causes spiritual and moral sublimation and development in human beings. Invitation to self- Knowledge has been the prelude of invitation of moral schools, human reformers and divine prophets and the base of their teachings for guiding human beings. With regard to the theme of unity between theistic religions and as a result, the existence of some shared aspects between these religions in principles and objectives, if self- Knowledge is considered as one of the basic categories in anthropology, we can infer that some shared aspects should be between theistic religions from the viewpoint of self-knowledge. Accordingly, the present writing has surveyed self-knowledge comparatively from the viewpoints of these religions after a brief discussion about the basics of anthropology and degrees of soul excellence from the viewpoints of Zoroastrianism and Islam.