Therefore, if a creature has no feelings or emotions or is an entity which is not moving, it is likely that that creature is dead.
This can be seen in the Qur'an in which in its detailed discussions on the spiritual life and death that it, for example, speaks about some 'dead' people as actually being at the level of those who are alive when it states: وَلاَ تَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ قُتِلُوا فِي سَـبِيلِ اللٌّهِ أَمْواتاً بَلْ أَحْـيَآءٌ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ يُرْزَقُونَ “And do not consider those people who have been killed in the way of Allah as being dead, rather, they are alive in the presence of their Lord receiving sustenance.”[^2] In another place in the Qur'an, a group of people who are (apparently) alive are classified as being dead when we are told: إِنَّكَ لاَ تَسْمَعُ الْمَوْتَى وَلاَ تَسْمَعُ الصُّمِّ الدُّعَآءِ “And surely you can not make the dead hear and you can not make the deaf hear (your call).”[^3] In another place in the Qur`an we are told: لِيُنْذِرَ مَنْ كَانَ حَيّاً “So that you may warn those who are (spiritually) alive…”[^4] Thus, those who receive admonition from the Qur`an (and act according to it) are considered alive in the view of the Qur`an.
The Life and Death of the Hearts Humanity Possess many Examples of Life and Death! The first example of life and death is seen in the plants in the form of their growing and development, their nourishment and their reproduction - and all plants are the same in these regards. Another form of life and death is seen in the animal world. This too is a clear example of the feelings, emotions, movement and action (of a life form) and in these regards, all animals are the same.
However, the third form of life and death which is limited to humanity and is what separates them from plants and animals is the life which can be divided into “physical” and “spiritual” life. This is what which has been mentioned in the Islamic traditions and is referred to as the “spiritually alive heart” in which the meaning of heart in this definition is the soul, intellect and emotional capacity of the person. In the words of the Commander of the Faithful, ‘Ali b.
Abi Talib (as) in his speeches and short sayings narrated in Nahj al-Balagha, we see a great emphasis placed on this issue. In speech 110, he says the following in regards to the Qur`an: تَفَقَّهُوا فِيهِ فَإِنَّهُ رَبِيعُ الْقُلُوبِ.