I choose to disagree on that point.
You see, one who chases the world and its fancies, is someone who is away from the akhirah - therefore has a dead heart - not a dead soul. As you said:
format_quote Originally Posted by
~Zaria~
A dead heart - is one that remains blind to Allah (subhanawataála) and His rasul (sallahu alaihi wasalam).
This is what I agree with, as it supports what I am saying.
Like I said sis, a distincition should have been made. It is misleading - and can confuse some minds.
For the record, I always read posts before I reply to them.
About the soul, Ghazali wrote that the soul is the king of the body and its different organs are its servants to carry out its orders and commands. Ghazali’s idea of Islamic soul means, it (the soul) is the nerve centre or the control center of a human body. Contrast this to the modern medical evidence that our brain is the commander of our central nervous system. Ghazali (ibid) writes further that a man acquires the knowledge of Allah and His attributes by no other organs than the soul.Ghazali even discovered different parts of an Islamic soul. These are:
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Qalb: it has two meanings. The first part is a piece of flesh in the left breast called heart, which is hollow in interior, filled up with black blood and which is a source of Ruh or life. The second meaning of Qalb is that soul is immaterial aspect of formless. Ghazali considers this part of Qalb (or soul) is just like unseen electricity.
format_quote Originally Posted by
~Zaria~
A dead heart - is one that remains blind to Allah (subhanawataála) and His rasul (sallahu alaihi wasalam).
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Ruh: it is a material thing within the heart, which vibrates the whole body like the current of electricity wind, which runs through the veins of the body. It is called life. It has the power of touch, hearing, sight, smell and the power of the other limbs of the body. Sourcing Qur’anic verse 17:85 Ghazali writes that Ruh is acommand from Allah.
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Nafs: it is the passion part of a soul. It involves greed, evil, and other attributes.
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Aql: the first meaning of Aql is the intellect by which the true natures of material objects are known. The second meaning of Aql is the power to understand esoteric phenomena. Ghazali (p.3.15) classifies the souls in four categories. These are:
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The soul of a Muslim
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The soul of an unbeliever (non-Muslim)
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The soul of a hypocrite
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The soul of a mixed person (that is, between a Muslim and a hypocrite) He even writes that the greatest desire for the soul is its meeting with Allah, and that there are heavy souls and there are light souls. Good habits create light souls, which show many wonderful things. The heavy souls are the souls of non-Muslims. It is perplexing, no doubt. Ghazali certainly adds more to it (the Qur'an).
It is quite fascinating that Allah says in verse 39:42 He takes the souls at death and at sleep. According to Islam, sleep is a kind of death, and while in sleep, some souls are taken to Allah. If the person is destined to die then Allah keeps the soul, otherwise He sends the soul back to the sleeping person.
In verse 32:11 Allah says an angel takes the soul. It is more interesting to read verse 75:30. In this verse, Allah says that everything will be driven to Him. Ibn Kathir writes that, after due examination, when Allah is satisfied that it is not the time of death, Allah says to the couriers of the victim’s soul, "Return my servant to the earth, for verily, I have created them from it, I return them into it, and from it I will bring them out at another time.” According to Ghazali, during death, the soul separates from the body. After burial, the body of a man is returned to his soul, so that he may taste the punishment. Ghazali (p.1.256) says further that when a man sleeps with ablution, his soul is hung upwith the Throne and his dream becomes true. If he sleeps without ablution, his soul cannot reach there and he cannot see dreams, which are true.
We already read that in verse 79:1 Allah swears by the angels who tear out by force the souls of sinners (unbelievers). It is certainly a very painful way to extricate the soul of an unbeliever. In contrast, in connection with verse 10:64, here is what ibn Kathir writes about the comfortable manner in which the angels remove the soul of a Muslim: When death approaches a believer, angels, with white faces and white clothes,come to him and say: "O good soul! Come out to comfort and provision and aLord who is not angry.'' The soul then comes out of his mouth like a drop of water pouring out of a water skin. In verse 79:2 Allah confirms that the angels draw out gently souls of the believers. According to Ghazali if sins are committed one after another, the soul becomes dark and that is the seal on the soul. Ghazali also writes that Muhammad said, “The soul of a believer is bright and there is a bright lamp in it. The soul of an unbeliever is black and blind.” A strange property of an Islamic soul is that a Muslim’s soul has the sweetest fragrance, whereas the soul of a non-Muslim has the stench of a corpse.
Sunaan Nasai (2.1836) writes that during a Muslim’s death, his soul comes out with the sweetest smell. During an infidel’s death, the angels punish him; his soul comes out with the most unpleasant stench of a corpse. This hadeeth is repeated in many other hadeeth books. Here are a few samples:
Sahih Muslim (40.6867) writes that two angels take the soul of dead person into the sky, to Allah; if the soul is a believer’s then it has a beautiful fragrance; if the soul is of a non- believer then it has a foul smell.
Sunaan Tirmidhi (511) writes that a believer’s soul has the fragrance of musk; an unbeliever’s soul has foul stench. Further, Tirmidhi (510) records that a good soul will be taken to Allah to reside in paradise; a bad soul will be grieved in boiling liquid and then returned to the grave of the deceased. Here are a few more interesting features of Islamic souls:
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When the soul is taken away the sight follows it. So close the eyes of a dead person… (Sahih Muslim, 4.2003, 2005)
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The eye-sight of a person follows his soul…( Sunaan ibn Majah, 2.1454, 1455)
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A defaulter’s soul is suspended until he clears the loan…3.2423)
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If you did not clear your debt your soul will be held back until you clear the debt… (Sunaan Tirmidhi, 301)
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A believer's soul is attached to his debt till it is paid… (Sunaan Tirmidhi, 871)
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Human soul has power of sight as that of external eyes… (Ghazali, p.3.21)
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From the back of Adam, Allah created all the souls who are to be born…(Sunaan Tirmidhi, 37)
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Prophet Muhammad pbuh said that Allah is in the soul of a believer… (Ghazali, p.3.19)
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A soul is a container of knowledge. It is like a mirror (Ghazali, p.3.15)
The soul is eternal, and therefore accountable. It does not die, it was alive before you were born in this world, and will still be alive when your body dies in this world. The dead cannot see, but they can hear – because the soul does not die, and when the soul is returned to the body, it recognises that it only has a limited function – to taste the reward or punishment in the grave. And when you are raised again, on Yawm al Qiyamah, you will be raised whole – your body and soul.
Once again, the soul does not die. Even in hellfire, the soul remains alive even though the body will die many deaths.
Scimi