Knowledge of Imam Mahdi in the Light of Self-Knowledge

"Self-knowledge" is one of the fundamental issues in practical mysticism. Mystics regard “self-knowledge" as the foundation of all knowledge and the ladder to the knowledge of God. In the discussion of self-knowledge, "knowledge" means the intuitive and immediate knowledge of self. The “Perfect Man" is another basic concept in Islamic mysticism. At any time, the Perfect Man includes all spiritual guidance and pure Divine teachings. Imam Mahdi (may God hasten his glad advent) is the only living example of the Perfect Man in the present age. The main question of this research is whether a wayfarer stepping along the highest levels of the spiritual journey to the valley of "self-knowledge" can see the Perfect Man who is God’s living proof. The present paper seeks to expound the relationship between” the intuitive knowledge of self” and “Mahdism”. By using intellectual analysis, it is concluded that intuitive knowledge of the Perfect Man and his pre-eminent position is possible for some mystics, of course to the extent of the receptivity of the receptacle.