What is Soul?

what is the soul ?

The soul is something which we neither see nor understand, yet we believe in it, for we see its effects. The soul is one of the greatest proofs of the existence of our Lord. It also serves as a refutation of the materialists who always desire tangible evidence so that they may perceive with their senses, for they believe in the soul although they cannot perceive it with their senses, rather through its effects. The soul is one of the heavenly secrets. No one knows its true reality except Allah, and any attempt to investigate it is futile. Allah says: (And they ask you (O Muhammad) about the soul. Say, “The soul is of the affair of my Lord. And mankind have not been given of knowledge except a little.) [ 17:85 ]

Ar-Raaghib al-Asfahaani ‘(The spirit) is that with which a body would come to life, move about, sense his surroundings, gain knowledge and hold certain opinions, and be able to discern (between good and evil). If a person loses this, he would not possess any of these traits, and would become a carcass that needs to be carried… It is that to which the spiritual characteristics are attached just as physical characteristics are attached to the body” In this stage (mudghah) the bones are formed and then clothed with flesh. Allah says: (We made out of that little lump of flesh bones, and then We clothed the bones with flesh.) [ 23:14 ]

Allah also says this when narrating the story of ‘Azeez: (Look at the bones, how We bring them together and clothe them with flesh.) [ 2:259 ]

The fetus continues to develop until the time which Allah prescribed for it comes to pass, and then it emerges out into this world. Allah says: (To him [alone ] is attributed knowledge of the Hour. And fruits emerge not from their coverings nor does a female conceive or give birth except with His knowledge.) [ 41:47 ]

Allah says: (And certainly did We create man from an extract of clay. Then We placed him as a Nutfah in a firm lodging. Then We made the Nutfah into a clot, then We made the clot into a little lump of flesh, then We made out of that little lump of flesh bones, then We clothed the bones with flesh, and then We brought it forth as another creation. So blessed be Allah, the Best of creators. After that, surely, you will die. Then, surely, you will be resurrected on the Day of Resurrection.) [ 23:12-16 ]

In another ayah, Allah says: (O People, if you should be in doubt about the Resurrection, then [consider that ] indeed, We created you from dust, then from a sperm-drop, then from a clinging clot, and then from a lump of flesh, formed and unformed - that We may show you. And We settle in the wombs whom We will for a specified term, then We bring you out as a child, and then [We develop you ] that you may reach your [time of ] maturity. And among you is he who is taken in [early ] death, and among you is he who is returned to the most decrepit [old ] age so that he knows, after [once having ] knowledge, nothing. And you see the earth barren, but when We send down upon it rain, it quivers and swells and grows [something ] of every beautiful kind. That is because Allah, He is the Truth, and it is He Who gives life to the dead, and it is He Who is Able to do all things.) [ 22:5-6 ]

Allah always speaks the truth; He says: (We will show them Our Signs in the universe, and in their own selves, until it becomes manifest to them that [the Qur’an ] is the truth. Is it not sufficient in regard to your Lord that He is a Witness over all things?) [ 41:53 ]

In his book, “The Developing Human”, Professor Keith Moore (He is a doctor and professor of embryology, at the University of Toronto, Canada. Taken from Muhammad al-Mut›ee›s book: ‘I won Muhammad and did not lose the Messiah’.) said:
“It is clear to me that these statements must have come to Muhammad from God, or Allah, because most of this knowledge was not discovered until many centuries later. This proves to me that Muhammad must have been a messenger of God, or Allah.”

He further said: “I have no difficulty in my mind reconciling that this is a divine inspiration or revelation, which led him to these statements.”