living islam _ Islamic tradition

    Spirits and Bodies

    [NFV]

    cosmos -> 3 worlds:
    _spiritual world,
    _imaginary world,
    _material world,

    nafs (almost)* = ruuH
    *(distinct in specific contexts)
    nafs, root: breath
    ruuH, root: wind

    other terms: 'aql, sirr, laTiifah

    Two ways of looking at nafs:
    - as a problem to be overcome,
    - as the object of study (of the) human reality .. in the cosmos. 270 l-2

    The Soul

    IA calls the nafs a barzakh , because it pertains to an intermediate domain. It belongs exclusively neither to the body nor to the divine Breath, but is rather configured by the Breath inasmuch as it animates the body. SDG270 ro

      Know that by soul (is meant) the attributes of the soul that are infirm* (ma'luul: effect, caused; from: 'illa: infirmity, cause)

    *bec. as all created things, the soul depends on other causes and takes its reality from others.

    "Know that ... the word 'soul' derives from the world of the barzakhs in two senses. This is true also for the Universal Soul." A barzakh (has always) two faces, one toward the occasion (of a thing in existence*) the other one toward Allah.
    *"Everything that has come into existence at an occasion has a face toward its occasion (sabab - its nature?/its natural disposition?) and a face toward Allah, so there is a barzakh between the occasion and Allah." SDG271 lo
    ...

      Hence the soul becomes manifest between the divine inblowing (Su 32-9) and the proportioning of the body [ot: and the proportioned body], this is why the constitution displays traces in the souls ... (ranking).

    [hier scn 271 lu - 271 rcl]

    [noch the soul] The Divine Spirit
    - The Divine Spirit (su**)
    The root of every soul and every spirit is the Divine Spirit (ar-ruuh al-ilaahii ), sometimes called the "ascribed spirit", bec Allah describes it to Himself with the pronouns "His," "My," "Our" esp. concerning the creation of Adam (as) as in Su 15-29,38-72, 32-9.
    Each person manifests its properties [the properties of the Divine Spirit] according to the extend of its own preparedness (isti'daad ).

    ** When referring to the "partial" or "particular" spirits born from the Divine Spirit, the latter may also be called "the All Spirit" (ar-ruuh al-kull ) or "theUniversal Spirit" (ar-ruuh al-kullii ) ... 272 lu

    [hier s. ez/sdg-272]

    C: The entities' diversity goes back to the diversity of their preparedness for wujuud . So also the diversity of the partial spirits can be traced back to the diversity of their preparedness to receive the light of the Universal Spirit. The "intellects" are angelic intelligences and human rational faculties. 272 l
    --------syct---

     

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