Legislative or prescriptive guidance (hidayat-e tashri’i)...

Legislative or prescriptive guidance (hidayat-e tashri’i) Just as the order of life has originated from the boundless wisdom and knowledge of God, guidance about the purpose of man in the system of existence is likewise from God, because the necessary consequence of life and intellect is to have an objective and goal.

Aside from the intuitive knowledge that is inherent in every human being and which assists him in recognizing certain truths so that he may freely, without any preconceptions, choose his path based on this essential inner faculty ( fitra ), external guidance that would strengthen and support the intellect and the fitra is also necessary. This is so that he may reform the rebellious and immoderate elements in his temperament as well as protect his intellect and fitra from perversion.

Just as God Almighty guided man to seek physical perfection through the instinct of self-interest, He likewise guided him to reach human perfection through the agency of legislative or prescriptive directives, in addition to the guidance of the fitra . This is because when existential guidance encounters self-interest, it requires some assistance.

God appointed Prophets (A) to come to the aid of man, to take his hand and introduce him to the subtle cognitive abilities latent in his own fitra and to enliven his positive and noble inclinations and motivations and inspire him to use these faculties in the manner they were meant to be used, and point out to him all the impediments that might obstruct his journey towards perfection.

It should be noted that this guidance is a manifestation of God’s grace and a preparation to examine the worthiness of the individual and to determine the kind of reward he will earn through his actions; it is not mean to divest man of choice or the power of independent rational thought and to extinguish the radiance of his free will, rather this is the manner in which the measure of the excellences and failures of individuals is manifested.

Every human being can use the internal and external Divine guidance at his disposal to ennoble his actions and ascend the ladder towards intellectual maturity and perfection. Indeed, the path to perfection does not accept stagnation and man’s ascent will not take place until he consciously takes steps to fundamentally transform himself. 3.