From Our Archives

22 From Our Archives By A. R. Mughal The Soul and the Body 1. What is soul and how much do we know about it? The answer in most cases would be! very little; in fact not much of a beginning, a middle or an end. But like everything else, if you want to solve the problem of life you have to start some-place here and now. 2. According to the Hindu myth, the Matter and the Soul both existed independently in the beginning of the universe. God had no hand in the creation of these two entities. He simply controlled the combination as also the permutation of the sets of animate and inanimate objects. The determination of genders and the innumerable changes that this ancient couple (Matter and Soul) had to undergo in the past ages, confounds all reasonable calculations. This is only for academics. Because Parmaeshar was not the sole Creator and, therefore, cared little for the multitudes. 3. The Jews and the Christians had fewer options. Some sects among the people of the Book believe that the body is the soul. A quotation from the Genesis says: “The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. ” According to the Jewish belief, the soul can be killed or destroyed permanently. On Resurrection, the dead will rise again and be judged according to their deeds. This is more or less nearer to what the muslims believe with the proviso that soul cannot be killed or destroyed. It is the body alone which suffers mortal changes. 4. Perhaps it is now our turn to solve this knots landing. To say that human beings have not been able, so far, to unravel the mystery of the soul, is not to say that our efforts in this regard have not met with any degree of success. The Holy Quran is an unfathomable ocean of knowledge. Its secrets have been revealed to an immeasurable extent by the Holy Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement, the Reformer of the Latter Days and the ultimate Mujaddid (peace and blessings of God be on him). What he has said about the origin of soul is perhaps the last word in the sciences of the unknown. Says he: “It is a bright essence in the human seed itself. It is not apart of it in the sense that matter is apart of matter. But at the same time it is untrue to say that it comes from outside… It is hidden in the seed 23 as fire is latent in the flint”. The exact origin of soul could not be described in better terms. 5. I am writing this short note only as an introduction to an article contributed to our Magazine by Mr. B.A. Orchard, Trinidad, inMarch 1960. ‘TheSouland the Body’ is a vast and delicate subject and, perhaps, much more than what has already been said, can be said about it. lintendto write a detailed article on this subject, based on the writings of the Promised Messiah (peace be on him) InshaAllah. 6. Before winding up this note, I might add:— a. Signs of life do not represent the soul. Because during sleep, when the soul has departed from the body temporarily, the life symptoms are still present. b. The soul may be said to be present in matter in a latent state. c. In euphemistic language, soul is almost substantive. d. It is absurd to be pre-occupied with origin and quality of life until and unless the problem of the quantity of life is solved. 7. The above sub-headings are not conclusions based on some sort of a mathematical data. This only provides food for thought. ********************** Man is subject to Divine decree. If a human design should not be in accord with the design of God no amount of effort can succeed in putting it into effect; but when the time of the design of God arrives, that which had appeared most difficult becomes easily available. (The Promised Messiah). ********************** The purpose of religion is that man should obtain deliverance from his passions and should develop personal loveforGod Almighty through certain faith in His existence and His perfect attributes. Such love of God is the paradise which will appear in diverse shapes in the hereafter. To be unaware of the true God and to keep away from Him and not to have any love for Him is the hell which will appear in diverse shapes in the hereafter. Thus the true purpose is to have full faith in Him. Now the question is which religion and which book can fill this need. The Bible tells us that the door of con verse with God is closed and that the ways of obtaining certainty are sealed. Whatever was to happen, happened in the past and there is nothing in the future. . . Of what use then is a religion which is dead? What benefit can we derive from a book that is dead? What grace can be bestowed by a God who is dead? (The Promised Messiah).