Here is a question that was expressed recently : God created us in His own image. Then how can we be imperfect?

It is a question that touches our own nature, the nature of God, and the frustration that all of us have felt when things go ‘wrong,’ or when we fall short of the standard we feel we should maintain. The wise tell us that we should remember God even to the extent of recalling Him with every breath, and yet days may go by when we don’t think of Him at all. If we have been made in the image of God, does it mean that God is as neglectful as we are?

To resolve this puzzle, there are several points to consider. What do we mean by perfect and imperfect? And how to understand ‘image’ in this context?

In giving birth to the Creation, the Divine Artist has made all that there is from Himself alone, and every form and being reflects something of Him. In the rock He has portrayed His firmness, in the water He has shown His fluidity, in the lion He has shown His fierce power, in the bird, His lightness and His melody, and so on. In the human being, in addition to the animal aspect, He has bestowed qualities that are not found elsewhere, such as mercy, compassion, generosity, friendliness and justice. All of the qualities that we ascribe to the Divine Presence, as are mentioned in the ’99 Names’ for example, we are able to recognize only because they are also found in us. If a person had never known nor felt compassion, then to tell them that God is compassionate would be meaningless. It would be like trying to describe the colour of milk to a sightless person.

Therefore, the human being is indeed made in the image of God. All His qualities are there in us – but not developed to perfection, or not yet. Perfection refers to that which is completely evolved, which has reached a finished state. If we take for example the quality of justice, we may strive to be just, but perfect justice requires not only a lack of any personal bias in the matter, but also complete awareness of all the related facts – and for a limited human that is not easy to reach. Or consider the quality of love: Hazrat Inayat Khan gives the example of a thief who steals from strangers out of a desire to feed his family. We could say that love is working in the heart of the thief, but it still has far to go on its journey to perfection.

‘The image of God’ is our inheritance, then, and all share this heritage, but not everyone makes the journey to perfection. In this context, to be perfect is not to transcend into the ether, nor grow wings and become angels – there are angels enough in heaven. What makes human perfection so special is that we do it in harmony with our animal nature. The perfect fulfilment of our purpose is to be a human, a real person who is capable of making a reality of all the gifts that have been bestowed upon us – while living and walking on earth. That is why Pir-o-Murshid Inayat gave extensive teaching on the art of personality, the art of being a human being which comes with the maturity. of the soul and which finishes the beauty of creation. As he declares in Vadan Talas, The rose brings forth fragrance, color, and beautiful structure; so the soul, with its unfoldment, shows personality, atmosphere, and refined manner. And in Gayan Boulas, we find this confirmation : The development of one’s personality is the real purpose of human life.