What does the saying mean: whoever knows himself knows his Lord?

The saying applies to someone who has not distorted the nature God gave them. Whoever knows themselves as they were created recognises within the workings of their Lord.

Allah has created every human being with a pure nature, as the first verse above says. This nature is very close to God. There is no contradiction between it and God’s law. Whoever stays true to their nature therefore finds the workings of their Lord within themselves.

But the saying does not mean that every person, good or bad, will know God as soon as they know themselves. One person knows himself as a bad man, another as a good one. If both found their Lord within, each would have a different God, one wicked and one pure. That cannot be what is meant.

What is meant is knowing oneself as one ought to be, one’s true self. That requires not having distorted one’s nature. Someone who has bent his personality out of shape no longer sees himself clearly. How then could he recognise his Creator within?

The second verse above shows that the two belong together. Whoever forgets God ends up losing himself as well. The third verse shows where the right path leads. Whoever keeps the soul pure and purifies it will succeed.

The saying is therefore an invitation to be honest with oneself. Whoever clears away what has settled over their pure nature discovers beneath it what God has placed there, and in this way comes to know their Lord.