SOUL IN ISLAM

DAY 7

SOUL IN ISLAM

What is the common understanding of soul in Islam?

Soul or rooh is the life within each one of us. It is what drives the entire existence of a human being. This rooh is put into the human body at the time of creation of the child in the mother’s womb. And at the time of death, this rooh is withdrawn from the body leaving it lifeless. Rooh is created by Allah, the body is created by Allah and what belongs to it, goes back to it at the time of death. 

What are the views of the Islamic theologians? 

Over the period of 1400 years, Islamic theologians have explained their understanding of the of the human existence. They make a difference between the rooh, the nafs and the akl. Rooh is the soul, nafs is the human consciousness and the akl is the rational faculty. 

Rooh or the soul comes from Allah. God breathed life into the human being through this energy of rooh. Soul is from God. It comes from God and is dependent on God. This also implies that all human beings are divinely. Divinity is recognized in all humanity. Soul is like the light that ignites the room and the room becomes enlightened. So the human body is like the room and the soul is the light that lights up the room. Ghazali says, soul is like the light from God’s beauty. Creation is dark and then Allah graces it with its divine light. All human beings are manifestation of this divine light. 

How is the soul linked to the Nafs and Akl? 

Soul is linked to akl and nafs. Soul is not affected by what happens to the akl and nafs. Its divine essence is never mitigated or harmed by what the mind and body go through. 

What is Nafs? 

Nafs is human consciousness which is embedded in the body and mind consciousness. It has three states as explained by Ghazali: 

1. Nafs which is drawn to compromises and weakness, base self, gratify impulses

2. Conscientiousness – it is a higher state which interrogates you for your decisions and helps to strike a balance 

3. Tranquility – if this balance is achieved then one is in a state of tranquility 

We are in a constant state to take the nafs to that state where it can match the sublime essence of the soul. 

What would it mean to us as human beings in our daily lives?

As human beings we are consumed by anger, sadness, guilt, shame. We are at times aggressive, arrogant and ruthless. Other times we are lazy, depressed with no goal or purpose or no motivation to steer life forward. At other times we feel like victims, we feel and bear the injustices of life. This is what we struggle with every day. But through all this mess we also find solace and happiness, we allow ourselves to let go of so many issues. We turn to gratefulness, we see the positive and the better. We at times take decisive actions, change life goals and somewhere strike a balance. When we strike this balance we seem to have moved a little closer to our soul and its divinity. 

It is easier said than done; how do we strike this balance?

Our rational faculty, akl helps us to do that. The rational faculty must be in control. We must operate out of an adult ego state which seeks and give information, is logical and not driven by strong emotions. Through akl we can train the nafs to be in harmony with the rooh. In other words, use the conscious mind and free will to bring the subconscious mind and body in harmony with the soul. 

Can you give an example?

The soul is the like the navigator constantly wanting you to move closer to itself, to be aware of your divine essence. The driver is like the akl which needs to constantly be in touch with its navigator and keep taking directions. The nafs is the vehicle which accordingly will move in that direction where the akl / driver takes based on the instructions of the navigator/soul. 

How should this impact the human existence?

Once we are aware of our divinity which is everything that is good, beautiful, filled with love and compassion, we will train our mind to achieve that in our real life by being good to ourselves to start with. We need to first love ourselves, see ourselves as a divine being. Loving one’s self will lead to loving others. Not just human beings but also all creation around us. Because they are all imbued with the same divinity. Are we contributing to our own wellness and that of the wellness of others? Are we adding to the creation or adding to the destruction? These are the questions that we need to ask ourselves. 

The Prophet’s life did reflect all of it, right?

That is what his purpose was. To be able to convey through his words and deeds the true essence of who we are. Allah being the most beneficient and merciful is what our souls are, as they manifest that divinity. If Allah is beneficient and merciful, can we be anything else? 

Reference: 

Khaled Abou Fadl, Soul in Islamic Theology, You Tube