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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Islamic Family-life Ethics The Eighteenth Talk Spiritual And Intellectual Needs Today’s discussion is about the fourth need - the spiritual need. Just as a person needs to be physically satisfied, he needs spiritual satisfaction. This is the main difference between human beings and the animals. Animals only have instincts and physical needs. At the most they need love and sympathy.

But man has both the physical as well as the spiritual aspects in his nature. This spiritual aspect has been endowed to him from the Aalam e Malkoot ! The human being is so spiritually developed that Allah has made a special reference to him highlighting his felicity. فَإِذَا سَوَّيْتُهُ وَ نَفَخْتُ فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِى فَقَعُواْ لَهُ سَجِدِين So, when I have made him and have breathed into him of My spirit, do ye fall down, prostrating yourselves unto him.

(Sura al Hijr, 15: 29) Allah ordered the angels to prostrate when He blew His spirit into him. This privilege is endowed only to man. When we consider the material aspect of life, we find that animals have very well defined and strong instincts and needs, which are easily satisfied. Therefore, we can say that the superiority of man lies in his spiritual aspect. Man has two aspects, thus he requires two types of nourishment.

One is the material nourishment required for the maintenance of the physical existence. Similarly spiritual nourishment is necessary for him. If both the spiritual and material wants are not satisfied, man perishes! The difference between the two aspects is that when a person dies physically, it is not so important.

But if he dies spiritually, according to the Holy Quran, he is worse than the lowliest of the animals and is headed straight for Hell: وَ لَقَدْ ذَرَأْنَا لِجَهَنَّمَ كَثِيرًا مِّنَ الجِْنّ‏ِ وَ الْانسِ لهَُمْ قُلُوبٌ لَّا يَفْقَهُونَ بهَِا وَ لهَُمْ أَعْينُ‏ٌ لَّا يُبْصِرُونَ بهَِا وَ لهَُمْ ءَاذَانٌ لَّا يَسْمَعُونَ بهَِا أُوْلَئكَ كاَلْأَنْعَمِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ أُوْلَئكَ هُمُ الْغَفِلُون Already have We urged unto Hell many of the jinn and humankind, having hearts wherewith they understand not, and having eyes wherewith they see not, and having ears wherewith they hear not.

These are as the cattle---nay, but they are worse!! These are the neglectful. (Sura al-A’raf, 7: 179) Allah says that if man doesn’t get spiritual nourishment, then his destiny is Hell. Such men have eyes, but they don’t see. They don’t distinguish between good and evil.

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