Imam Al-Sadiq (From Him is Peace) said:
“Verily, God chose between the souls in the shadows and then made them enter the bodies, and if our Qaim emerges he shall make the brother inherit from the brother whom God paired him within the shadows, and he does not make him inherit from his physical brother, know him from that, and whoever knows him from that there shall not remain upon him a stronger proof.”
- Al-Haft Al-Shareef, Al-Mufaddel ibn Omar Al-Jofi, Door 66, p. 129
And Imam Al-Sadiq (From Him Is Peace) said:
“Verily, 2000 years before Allah swt created the bodies, He made brothers between the souls in the Shadows. So when our – Ahlul Bayt- Qa’im rises, the brother inherits his brother in the Shadows, and he does not inherit his brother from the physical birth.”
– Mustadrak AlWasa’il by Al-Mirza AlNouri Volume 17 Page 186 (Arabic Version)
And the knowledge of the Soul is the greatest evidence that Aba Al-Sadiq and Ahmed Al-Hassan (From Them Is Peace) possess divine knowledge.
For example, one of the biggest myths regarding the soul is that Muslims believe that the self and the soul are the same.
For example, in Surah Al Anbiya Verse 35, it says,
“Every soul will taste death. And We test you ˹O humanity˺ with good and evil as a trial, then to Us you will ˹all˺ be returned.”
كُلُّ نَفۡسٖ ذَآئِقَةُ ٱلۡمَوۡتِۗ وَنَبۡلُوكُم بِٱلشَّرِّ وَٱلۡخَيۡرِ فِتۡنَةٗۖ وَإِلَيۡنَا تُرۡجَعُونَ
Kullu nafsin zaaa'iqatul mawt; wa nablookum bi sharri walkhairi fitnatanw wa ilainaa turja'oon
However, there is a mistranslation in this verse. The Arabic word ‘ نَفۡسٖ’ nafs, does not mean soul, it means the self. The Arabic word for the soul is ‘ruh’.
So the verse says, Every ‘nafs’ or ‘self’ will taste death, not the soul.
Unfortunately, many French translations mistranslate the word nafs to mean the soul when it actually means the self. And this is a great example of how the scholars are ignorant and do not have knowledge of the soul.
Another myth that Muslims have is that every person is born with a soul, the soul remains with a person until death, and that it is only at death that the soul leaves the body.
The reality is that the soul can enter into a human being at birth, during childhood, adulthood, or even old age. A soul can also leave a human being before the death of the human’s body. A soul can leave a human being and they remain alive for several years, even decades.
And now we move on to the biggest myth Muslims have about the soul and that is the false idea that the soul does not return to this world in the form of reincarnation.
Now what is the definition of reincarnation? Reincarnation is the rebirth of the soul into a new human body.
So since the meaning of death is that our soul completely separates from the body, our soul does reincarnate into another body.
The topic of reincarnation is a fascinating subject that has brought up many interesting questions from people. Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan (From Him is Peace) and Aba Al Sadiq (From Him is Peace) have both blessed us with answers to these questions.
“If the five Ahlul Kisa (From Them is Peace) are the 12 Imams, then does the return of one of them mean the return of all their characters from the rounds?”
“Yes, it is the same soul. And the return of Ahmed Al-Hassan (PBUH) Is the return of Imam Hussain (PBUH) and Imam Musa Al-Kadhim (PBUH).”
-Aba Al-Sadiq (From Him is Peace)
– Q&A Paltalk session on the 02.05.2016
“Did the Imam (From Him is Peace), until before his absence in 2007, not know that he is Hussain?”
“How, when he (PBUH) clearly says it in his sermon and says, ‘If I willed I would tell you about so and so?’”
-Aba Al-Sadiq (From Him is Peace)
– Q&A from 16.05.2016 with Aba Al-Sadiq (PBUH) on Paltalk
“Then how does he say, ‘My grandfather Hussain, how can we understand this in light of what you have clarified?’”
“The Imam (PBUH) used to speak to the people during that time as much as what Imam Mahdi (PBUH) allowed him, and during that time the 313 were not all ready.”
-Aba Al-Sadiq (From Him is Peace)
– Q&A from 16.05.2016 with Aba Al-Sadiq (PBUH) on Paltalk
“I absolutely believe in the Raja’a (Return of souls in reincarnation), but how can Imam Hussain (PBUH) be Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan (PBUH) himself?”
“The same way as Allah swt creates the body of a child, and also the father and the mother create the body of this child, the father in the soul world is a father, and the creation of the soul is by the power of Allah.”
-Aba Al-Sadiq (From Him is Peace)
– Q&A from 16.05.2016 with Aba Al-Sadiq PBUH on Paltalk
“Is there for the People of the Cloak (PBUT) incarnations other than the 12 Imams?”
“Yes, but the Imam (PBUH) has not spoken about it because he doesn’t want it to be too heavy on the people.”
Q&A from 02.05.2016 with Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan & Aba Al-Sadiq (PBUT) on Paltalk
For more information on the knowledge of the soul, watch these episodes from the School of Divine Mysteries
Body, Self and Soul | الجسد والنفس والروح
Imam Mahdi Establishes the Soul Family | الإمام المهدي يؤسس العائلة الروحية
The concept of the soul is mentioned throughout the book, The Goal of the Wise.