We do not mean that all the Gnostics have erred so much in this connection.

We do not mean that all the Gnostics have erred so much in this connection. They have not ignored the significance of society, or, nature, and as the Holy Qur’an have placed nature, and men side by side, they, too, believe that nature is a mirror of God, and His beauty.

Shabestari, in his poetic masterpiece, speaks of humanity in this regard: "In the name of Him who taught life the skill of thought, and illuminated it with the light of the heart, By His grace both worlds were brightened, and by His favor Adam's earth was a garden" And he goes on to say: "For him whose life appears with glory, the whole world is the book of God almighty." If we place the Holy Qur’an on one side, and Gnosticism on the other, and pay attention to the Holy Qur’an’s regard for nature, we realize that it pays more attention to nature without denying its attention to the self, and mind in any form.

Thus, the perfect man of the Holy Qur’an, besides his inclination to intellect, and heart, has an inclination to nature. Another question is that of self-renunciation. Gnosticism respects the heart, but scorns “the self”, and believes in its abandonment. This, in itself, is right, and Islam accepts it. But, there are two types of “self” in Islam, one of which is negated, and the other is revived by Islam.

This is like a friend, and an enemy placed side by side while our target is the enemy in which case we must aim very carefully not to mistakenly hit the friend. That self which is to be crushed is meanness and vileness, and the other self, which must be preserved, is the source of all human values. The miracle of Islam lies in the fact that these two selves are so exactly distinguished that there is no room for error.

In Gnosticism, there is sometimes a distinction between the two, but, more often the friend is shot instead of the enemy, that is, instead of killing that vile self, the man and his heart are killed. Such an attitude, on account of the sweetness of the language of literature and its wider influence among people, has had a deep effect on the destiny of our society, and a perfect man, for most people, is the figure introduced by Gnostics.

Therefore, a further explanation is necessary to illustrate this subject. An important issue in the Gnostic school, in connection with a perfect man, is the relation of man with his “self”, a problem that is Islamic in nature.