A Comparative Study of "God-like Man" Based on Sufism, Kabbalah and Gnosticism

Regardless of the method of explanation, god-like man is one of the teachings common among Sufism, Merkabah, Kabbalah and Gnosticism. The commonalities and differences of this idea in the form of proposing a holy example of man can be seen under such interpretations as Adam Kadmon, Anthropos and the first man in Jewish mysticism, Gnosticism and Sufism. The present paper contains  a comparative study of this idea. The results show that despite the common points, a fundamental difference can be found among these ideas. The inability of the Gnostics to separate the Almighty God from his first creation (Anthropos) has led them to dualism. The Merkabah have tried to make distinctions between the one God and Adam Kadmon, but in practice they have not been able to separate the two. While believing in monotheism, The Kabbalah have proposed the "An-Suf" and failed to state its relation to Jehovah, and therefore have made themselves liable to accusations of getting away from the monotheism, but have tried to remove this accusation. In Sufism, the resemblance of the first intellect to God has caused some sheikhs to assume that the first intellect is God , but resorting  to monotheism has ultimately led them to God Almighty.