The Soul

[عبد الرحمن العجمي]

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the name of God the Merciful

The ‘soul’ [or the ‘ghost’] is that which we call the ‘spirit’, but this is wrong; because the Spirit is Gabriel, the Honest and Trustworthy. And every word روح i.e. ‘spirit’ , mentioned in the Quran, means Gabriel, like His saying – be exalted – in the Quran 17: 85

وَيَسْألُونَكَ عَن الرُّوحِ ، قُل الرُّوحُ مِنْ أمْرِ رَبِّي وما أُوتِيتُم مِنَ العِلْمِ إلاّ قَلِيلاً
The explanation:

( They ask you [Mohammed] about [Gabriel] the Spirit [of inspiration]; say: “The Spirit is [one] of my Lord’s Am`r [or ethereal creatures] and you [people] are given only a little knowledge [thereof.]” )

That was because the idolaters, among the Meccans, asked Prophet Mohammed: “Who brings the revelation to you?”
The prophet answered: “Gabriel brings it to me.”
They said: “Who is Gabriel, and will you describe him [to us]? ”

So, this aya was revealed, the meaning of which is: They ask you about Gabriel; say to them: Gabriel is one of my Lord’s ethereal creatures whom you don’t see, at present, because you are in a material world, but when you will go to the ethereal world after your death; at that time you will see them; because you will be ethereal beings like them. Therefore, God said after that:
وما أُوتِيتُم مِنَ العِلْمِ إلاّ قَلِيلاً
The explanation:
(and you [people] are given only a little knowledge [thereof.]” )

However, people call it ‘spirit’, but God calls it ‘soul’; like His saying – be exalted – in the Quran 3: 30
يَوْمَ تَجِدُ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ما عَمِلَتْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ مُحْضَراً ، وَما عَمِلَتْ مِنْ سُوءٍ
The explanation:
( On the day [of death], when every soul will find itself confronted with all the [good] it has done, and all the [evil] it has done.)

The soul has a frame like the frame of the body; for it is a true copy of the body; because it forms inside the body, and takes its shape; so that if the body is long, then the soul will also be long; and if the body is short, then the soul will also be short; and as such its organs and special senses [organs] will be like the special senses [organs] of the body. Hence, if the mouth of the body is large, then the ‘spiritual mouth’ of the soul will also be large; and if the eye of the body is small, the eye of the soul will be small, too. Then if the soul separates from the body, by death, it will remain as it is, according to its shape and size: neither will it become bigger nor smaller; so that the child remains as a child forever, and will never get older; and a young man will remain a young one, and will never become older.

The spirit: it can be called a ‘spirit’ before it enters the body; because it is an amount of ethereal particles, but after it goes inside the body, those ethereal particles arrange inside the body forming an ethereal frame that hears, sees, speaks and thinks; then it cannot be called a ‘spirit’; but it should be called a ‘soul’.

Therefore, we use the word ‘spirit’ for the ethereal particles at their entrance into the body of the embryo or the fetus, and also while the fetus is inside his mother’s womb. The synonymous Arabic word روح ‘ruoh’ is used, in this way, in the Arab poetry. The late interpreter Mohammed-Ali Hassan mentioned, here in his Arabic book, some Arabic poetry to confirm his interpretation of this word.

God - be exalted - said in the Quran 91: 7-10
وَنَفْسِ وَما سَوّاها . فَأَلْهَمَها فُجُورَها وَتَقْواها . قَدْ أفْلَحَ مَنْ زَكّاها وَقَدْ خابَ مَنْ دَسّاها
The explanation:
( And [I swear by] the soul and [the body] that shaped it!
And inspired into it its lewdness and its God-fearing.
He will be successful, who purifies it.
And he will be disappointed, who corrupts it.)

[Man has a free will to choose his way:]
The meaning: And by the body which formed and fashioned the soul! This is an oath of threatening for the future, which indicates that: the soul will be reckoned with, according to his work and will be punished according to his deeds. While the body – which has formed it – will die, disintegrate after death, and become soil. Whereas that - which inspired into it its lewdness and its God-fearing – it is the friend that he accompanied in the life of the World; so that if the friend is God-fearing, he teaches him the God-fearing; but if the friend is evil, he will teach him the wickedness and the infidelity that he has.
Therefore, the human body confers to the soul the behavior and conduct; so that if a child accompanies some bad persons, he will become bad like them; and if he accompanies the righteous, he will become like them; and it is not God that imposes on them to be evil or good, but He lets them choose which of that they like.

God - be exalted - said in the Quran 76: 3
إنّا هَدَيْناهُ السّبيلَ إمّا شاكِراً وَإمّا كَفُوراً
The explanation:
( We have shown to him the [correct] way; [and have given to him the choice] whether to be grateful*or ungrateful.)
------------------------------------------------------------
[*i.e. grateful to his Lord for His bounties.]

God - be exalted - said in the Quran 39: 42
اللهُ يَتَوَفّى الأنْفُسَ حِينَ مَوْتِها وَالّتِي لَمْ تَمُتْ في مَنامِها
The explanation:
( It is God that takes back [to Him] the souls [of men] at the time of their death; and those [souls] that separate not [from their bodies] during their sleep …etc.)

Therefore, He – be exalted – called it a ‘soul’; that is at its departure from the body; He also called it a ‘soul’ while it is inside the body; that is His saying –be exalted – in the Quran 12: 53
وَما أُبَرِّئُ نَفْسِي ، إنَّ النّفْسَ لأمّارَةٌ بِالسُّوءِ إلاّ ما رَحِمَ رَبِّي ، إنَّ رَبِّي غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ
The explanation:
( Nor do I exculpate my own soul [of the sexual desire]; for the [human] soul incites to evil, except that whereon my Lord had shown mercy; for surely my Lord is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.)

Moreover, God - be exalted - said in the Quran 10: 54
وَلَوْ أنَّ لِكُلِّ نَفْسٍ ظَلَمَتْ ما في الأرْضِ لافْتَدَتْ بِهِ
The explanation:
( Every soul that has oppressed; if it possessed all that is in the earth, it would [seek to] ransom itself therewith.)

In addition, God - be exalted - said in the Quran 16: 111
يَوْمَ تَأْتِي كُلُّ نَفْسٍ تُجادِلُ عَنْ نَفْسِها ، وَتُوَفَّى كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ما عَمِلَتْ وَهُمْ لا يُظْلَمُون
The explanation:
( On the day when every soul will come pleading for itself, and every soul will be recompensed [fully] for all its actions, and they will not be wronged.)

In summary, I say: the soul is the true or real man, while the body is not more than a mould in which the soul is formed, and there will be no need for the mould [: the body] after the soul gets out of it.




The soul of man gets out of the body [by death], as does the chicken get out of the egg;
the soul will remain alive in the world of souls: eating, drinking, seeing, hearing, perceiving and feeling the pleasure and pain.
There will be no return of the soul to the body [after its departure from the body by death]; because the purpose from creating the egg is to form the chicken; and it is not logical that the chicken will return again to its egg, after it has been fully created and has cracked the egg shell.


The original Subject be found in this link:

http://quran-ayat.com/man/index.htm#What_Is_Man_

[John Wassov]

Has the animal a soul?

The animal has a spirit, which is a true identical aethereal image of that animal.

The plant has a spirit, which is an aethereal image similar to that particular plant.

The "soul" is the aethereal spirit of man.

When the baby reaches 40 days of age, and he starts to see and hear and feel the pain and pleasure --> he then is said to have a "soul".
The "soul" is called by some people as the "ghost".

http://quran-ayat.com/man/index.htm#The_Soul_

http://quran-ayat.com/man/index.htm#The_Spirit_

[thamer]

Features of the Soul

You have to know that the soul is composed of ethereal particles that collect or gather to each other inside the body, and there will be an attraction between them, so that they build a frame like the body frame; so that the material eye builds an ethereal eye inside it, the material ear builds, inside it, an ethereal ear, and the material hand builds inside it an ethereal hand; and as such each material organ builds inside it an ethereal organ; so that there will be an ethereal structure inside the material structure, i.e. inside the body, and will be a true copy of it; but only that the first is a material one, whereas the other one is an ethereal.

Then the ethereal structure continues to grow as long as the body is growing and enlarging, until the growth of the body will stop; that is when he becomes an adult; or by his death before attaining his adulthood so that he dies as a child or lad and the soul will stop growing; because of its separation from the body so that it becomes of the same size as the body from which it has separated. Hence, if the body is a child, then it will be a child, too; and if it is a youth then the soul will be a youth, too; and if the body is thin, then the soul will also be thin; and if the body is fat, the soul will similarly be fat.

In summary, the soul is a true copy that is identical with the body in which it has been formed.

It is narrated from some Imams [i.e. saints] that "the soul is a picture similar to the body".

And in another narration that "when God takes the soul of a righteous man, after death, He makes his soul in a mould [or shape] like his mould [or shape] in this World, so that they eat and drink, and if anyone comes to them, they recognize him by that picture which was his picture in the life of the World."

Another narration is that "the souls of the righteous in Paradise are identical with the shapes [and details] of their bodies; so that if you see anyone of them you recognize him."

Actually, the soul does not become old and does not decrease or disintegrate, and no defect can afflict him [or her], and he lives for millions of years.

God – be exalted – said in the Quran 44: 56 ; describing the people of Paradise:

لاَ يَذُوقُونَ فِيهَا الْمَوْتَ إِلاَّ الْمَوْتَةَ الأُولَى وَوَقَاهُمْ عَذَابَ الْجَحِيمِ

The explanation:
(They taste not death therein, save the first death. And [their Lord will] have saved them from the doom of Hell.)

God - be exalted – said in the Quran 35: 36; describing the people of Hell Fire:

وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لَهُمْ نَارُ جَهَنَّمَ لاَ يُقْضَى عَلَيْهِمْ فَيَمُوتُواْ وَلاَ يُخَفَّفُ عَنْهُمْ مِّنْ عَذَابِهَا كَذَلِكَ نَجْزِي كُلَّ كَفُورٍ

The explanation:
( But those who unbelieve, for them [in the afterlife] will be the fire of Hell; it shall not be decreed for them to die, nor shall its torment be lightened for them. Thus do We reward every unbeliever [and ungrateful one.])

The soul does not become emaciated, e.g. in case the body was fat during his youth, then became ill and lost weight and became emaciated and thin, then his soul will not become thin, but it will remain as it was in his youth. Similarly, if the body becomes old, at his elderly, then his soul will not become old but it will remain as it was during his youth. Similarly, if one of the body organs is lost, like one of his legs or one of his hands is cut or amputated, then his soul will not lose any of its organs; because it is an ethereal structure, and the ether does not perish and no defect can afflict it[1].

E.g. if a man becomes blind when he is young or afterwards, then his soul will not become blind, but will remain seeing, so that if it separates from the body at the time of death, then it will be seeing; so that it will see the objects as it was seeing when it was inside the body during his youth; moreover, its sight will be sharper than when it was inside the body.

God - be exalted – said in the Quran 22: 46

فَإِنَّهَا لاَ تَعْمَى الأَبْصَارُ وَلَـكِن تَعْمَى الْقُلُوبُ الَّتِي فِي الصُّدُور

The explanation:
( For, indeed, it is not the [eye-] sight that become blind, but it is the hearts which are within the chests that become blind.)

Therefore, the soul's sight does not become blind, but will be sharper when it separates from the body.

God - be exalted - said in the Quran 50: 22

لَقَدْ كُنْتَ في غَفْلَةٍ مِنْ هذا فَكَشَفْنا عَنْكَ غِطاءَكَ فَبَصَرُكَ اليَوْمَ حَدِيدٌ

The explanation:
([It will be said] "You were heedless of this[2]. Now have We removed your veil[3] from you, and sharp is your sight this day.")

It means: he will be sharp-sighted or keen-sighted, so that, in the life of the World, he could only see material things; while after his death, he will become able to see both material and ethereal objects; he will become able to see souls, genies, angels and other ethereal creatures; he will be able to hear them if they talk to him, and they hear him if he speaks to them.

God - be exalted - said in the Quran 25: 22

يَوْمَ يَرَوْنَ المَلائكَةَ لا بُشْرى يَوْمَئذٍ لِلْمُجْرِمِينَ ويَقُولُونَ حِجْراً مَحْجُوراً

The explanation:
( The day [of their death] when they shall see the angels [of death who shall take back their souls] – no glad tidings on that day for the guilty, and [the angels] shall say, "An arrest [and detainment for you by the devils] enclosed [upon you till Doomsday.]")

But if one is born, from his mother's womb, with congenital defect of some of his body organs, and he remains as such until he dies, then the soul will have the same defective organs like the body inside which it was formed.

Therefore, the body is not more than a mould for the construction and formation of the soul.

The example of that is the cement-made things: like pillars, skeletons or flower vases and other things: if we intend to make a statue of cement or a flower vase or anything else, then – at first – we should make a mould of wood with the required design, then we bring the cement and mix it with [pebbles and] water, then we pour it inside the mould, which is made of wood, and we leave it at least for twelve hours in order that the cement particles will compact with the pebbles, so that it will become a hard construction that will not break up afterwards. Then we remove the mould from the cement-construction and throw it away, and we keep the cement-construction; for it is our aim.

Now, suppose we remove the mould from the construction before elapsing of the required period, then we shall find the cement particles not compacted, and the construction will be crumbled with the least force.

As such is the rule about the soul inside the body: Now let us consider the body as the mould which is made of wood, and the ethereal particles as the cement: So just as that the cement particles do not hold together unless after the required period, similarly the spirit particles do not hold together inside the body until forty days after the birth of the fetus, when those ethereal particles – after the fortieth day – become a hearing, seeing, conscious and immortal soul.

But if the fetus dies in his mother's womb, then those ethereal particles of the spirit will vanish and go the ways of winds [i.e. will scatter away]; because they have not held together completely during this short period, just as that the cement particles will not hold together if the required period does not elapse, while it is inside the wood mould. For this reason, we should not call the spirit of the fetus – in his mother's womb – a 'soul'; because it will vanish if the fetus dies; and because it does not hear, see or understand; while the soul is opposite of that.

Therefore, the aim from this material body is the soul; because it is the true man, just as that the aim from making the wood mould is the cement construction; so that when the ethereal construction is completed and formed, then no need after that to the body, but its fait will be the putrefaction after death.

Hussein – peace be on him – said in this subject a poetry, that means: "Bodies are created for death; therefore, it is better for man to die by the sword in the way of God."

The indication of that the soul is the true man is His saying – be exalted – in the Quran 6: 104

قَد جاءَكم بصائرُ مِنْ ربِّكمْ فَمَنْ أبْصرَ فَلِنفسِهِ ومَنْ عَمِيَ فَعَلَيْها

The explanation:
( Now have [remarkable] insights come to you from your Lord; then whoso sees[, therewith, the way of the truth] it is for himself [: the advantage]; and whoso is blind [to the way of the truth], it is against his soul [: the punishment and evil consequences.] )

Therefore, if the body was the true man, then He – be exalted – would say: 'But he who is blind, it is against his body.' But the case is not so; because the soul is the true man.



The original Subject be found in this link:



http://quran-ayat.com/man/#Features_of_the_Soul_