ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A Shi'ite Creed Concerning Souls (nufus) And Spirits (arwah ) Says the Shaykh, may the mercy of Allah be on him: Our belief regarding souls ( nafs , plural nufus ) is that they are the spirits ( ruh , plural arwah [^1]) by which life (hayat) is maintained, and they were the first of created things.

This follows from the saying of the Prophet, the blessings of Allah be upon him: The first things which Allah created out of nothing (abda'a )[^2] were the blessed and pure souls (al-muqaddasa, al-mutahhara) and compelled them to affirm His unity.[^3] Thereafter He created (the rest of creation). And concerning the souls, we believe that they were created for eternal existence (baqa') , and not for extinction (fana') .

For the Prophet has said: You were not created for extinction, but for eternal existence[^4] and you will only be transferred from one abode to another. Verily the souls are strangers in the earth and imprisoned in the bodies. And our belief concerning them is that after their separation from the bodies, they survive, some of them in happiness, others in torment, until Allah, in His power, causes them to return to their bodies.

(Once upon a time) Jesus, the son of Mary, said to his disciples: I tell you, forsooth, nothing rises up to heaven except what has come down from it. And Allah, glorious be His praise, says: “And had We willed We would have raised him by their means (that is, by signs), but he clung to the earth and followed his own lust” (Qur'an 7:176) .

Therefore that soul among them which is not raised to the Divine Kingdom remains forever hurled down in the burning fire ( hawiya ).[^5] And this is because both in Paradise and in Hell, there are stages ( darajat and darakat )[^6]. And the Mighty and Glorious says: “The angels and the Spirit ascend unto Him” (Qur'an 70:4) . And He says: “Lo! the righteous will dwell among gardens and rivers, firmly established in the favor of a Mighty King” (Qur'an 54:54-55) .

And He says: “Think not of those who are slain in the way of Allah, as dead. Nay, they are living. With their Lord they provision. Jubilant (are they)......” (Qur'an 3:169-l70) . And He says: “And call not those who are slain in the way of Allah dead” (Qur'an 2:154) . And the Prophet said: The souls are like a collection of armed forces ( junudun mujannadatun )[^7]; those among them that are well acquainted with one another are united; while those who are not, are disunited.