Comparative Study of Perfect Man in Sufism and Mansour Bara’ati (A Shi’a Expositor)

The perfect man, regardless of the style of explanation, is one of the common thesis of Sufism and Mansour Bara’ati, a contemporary Shi’a thinker and expositor. The similarities and differences of this idea are presented in the form of a holy example of a man or a perfect human being. The present study is devoted to a comparative study of this idea in the views of Mansour Bara’ati and Sufism. Bara’ati and some Sufis such as Ibn Al-Arabi believe that the perfect man is the vicar of God and his mediator with the people. If this intermediary disappears, the world will disintegrate and the hereafter world will begin. The existence of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as the first intellect and the most perfect human being in the universe, is another common intellectual result of Bara’ati and Sufism. All beings in the universe, including angels, prophets, and other human beings, are subject to the will and command of this first intellect. One of the obvious differences between the two ideas is that Baraati believes that the example of a perfect human being is manifested in the existence of divine prophets and infallible imams, and that other human beings are on the path of growth and perfection through perfect human beings in proportion to their inner capacity and talents. But in Sufism, in addition to the Holy Prophets, the elders and dervishes of Sufism are also in the category of perfect human beings.