Imam Al-Sadiq (From Him is Peace) said:
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 with in 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-Mufaddal ibn Omar Al-Jofi, as Translated by Abdullah Hashem Aba Al-Sadiq (From Him is Peace), Door 66, p. 367
And Imam Al-Sadiq (From Him Is Peace) said:
“Verily, 2,000 years before Allah created the bodies, He made the souls into siblings in the Shadows. So when the Qaim from us, Ahlul-Bayt, rises, he shall make the brother inherit from the brother whom he paired him with in the Shadows, and he does not make him inherit from his physical brother.”
– Mustadrak Al-Wasa’il, Al-Mirza Al-Nuri, Vol. 17, p. 186; Bihar Al-Anwar, Mohammed Baqir Al-Majlisi, Vol. 58, p. 79
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 the Holy Qur'an, it says,
“Every soul will taste death. And We test you with evil and with good as trial; and to Us you will be returned.”
كُلُّ نَفۡسٖ ذَآئِقَةُ ٱلۡمَوۡتِۗ وَنَبۡلُوكُم بِٱلشَّرِّ وَٱلۡخَيۡرِ فِتۡنَةٗۖ وَإِلَيۡنَا تُرۡجَعُونَ
Kullu nafsin tha-iqatu almawtiwanablookum bishsharri walkhayri fitnatanwa-ilayna turjaAAoon
– The Holy Qur'an, Chapter 21 (Al-Anbiya), Verse 35
However, there is a mistranslation in this verse. The Arabic word نفس ‘nafs,' does not mean soul, it means self. The Arabic word for the soul is روح 'ruh’.
So the verse says, every ‘nafs’ or ‘self’ will taste death, not every soul.
Unfortunately, many English translations mistranslate the word ‘nafs’ to mean the soul when it actually means the self. And this is a great example of how the non-working 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, that 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 if 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-Kisaa (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 Al-Hussein (PBUH) and Imam Musa Al-Kathim (PBUH).”
- Abdullah Hashem 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?’”
- Abdullah Hashem 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.”
- Abdullah Hashem 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.”
- Abdullah Hashem 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 & Abdullah Hashem 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.