Matters of The Soul

 Matters of The Soul

The soul and its composition are one of the many unknowns that confound science. Mankind has long pondered on matters of the soul. For instance, Aristotle described the soul from the “actuality” premise and stated, “The soul, then, must be substance as the form of a natural body that is potentially alive.” From that point onwards, there have been various propositions.  As scientists continue to grapple with the matter, there are scientific studies that tend to confine the soul to neuroscience and psychological concepts. For example, the quantum theory of consciousness concentrates on understanding the nature of the soul. Such enduring scientific paradigms are being expounded by theories such as Biocentrism. Robert Lanza posited the possibility of life after death and discusses the existence of the soul. 

Also, two renowned quantum scientists, Dr. Stuart Hameroff and Sir Roger Penrose posited, through a quantum theory of consciousness process called Orchestrated Objective Reduction (Orch-OR), that souls are contained inside “microtubules”, which reside in brain cells. 

According to Hameroff, if “the heart stops beating, the blood stops flowing, the microtubules lose their quantum state, but the quantum information, which is in the microtubules isn't destroyed, it can't be destroyed – it just distributes and dissipates to the universe at large”. Hameroff further stated that in the event of death, the “quantum information can exist outside the body, perhaps indefinitely, as a soul.”

As intriguing as the foregoing postulations may seem, an explication of the Islamic viewpoint is necessary to fully grasp the concept of the soul. One of the words used to refer to the soul in the Quran is Nafs, including its linguistic derivatives. The Quran states:  

Every soul must taste of death, then to Us you shall be brought back.  – Quran 29:57 

In another section, the Quran states: 

Allah takes the souls at the time of their death, and those that do not die [He takes] during their sleep. Then He keeps those for which He has decreed death and releases the others for a specified term. Indeed, in that are signs for a people who give thought.  – Quran 39:42 

Interestingly, both verses mention death. The first verse explicitly states that everyone with a soul must die and return to The Creator. However, the second cited verse further explains the dynamics of the soul during sleep. Basically, when humans sleep, they somehow die. So, the process of sleeping can be understood as a form of death, or near-death experience, because the soul is taken away, and only returned for those who are destined to be awakened. 

Below is a Hadith that mentions the near-death experience point: 

Narrated by Abu Qatadah: When the people slept till so late that they did not offer the (morning) prayer, the Prophet ﷺ said, "Allah captured your souls (made you sleep) when He willed, and returned them (to your bodies) when He willed." So the people got up and went to answer the call of nature, performed ablution, till the sun had risen and it had become white, then the Prophet ﷺ got up and offered the prayer. – Sahih al-Bukhari 7471 

The above-mentioned near-death explanation makes logical sense, especially when the nature of dreams is taken into cognizance. Science has long been preoccupied with the dream phenomenon; Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung are a few examples of scientists who have done extensive work on the nature of dreams. In the entertainment industry, there has also been an artistic preoccupation with the dreams phenomenon. The Matrix (1999) and Inception (2010) are a couple of examples of dream-oriented movies. The Inception movie has aspects about lucid dreams – in which a dreamer is conscious of their dream. Personally, I have experienced many lucid dreams. I remember a particularly strange incident where I dozed off behind the wheel. On that day, I was driving on a motorway and suddenly nodded off, then I started to dream, and in my dream, I realised I was dreaming about driving a car on a motorway. This dream realisation led me to remembering my reality of driving a car. By the time I woke up from my momentary sleep, the car was already veering off my lane of the motorway and was about to enter the median strip. I immediately regained control of the car's steering wheel and thanked God there were no other cars within my vicinity, during the incident.  In a scene from The Matrix movie, Morpheus asked Neo about ever having a dream that felt so real. In fact, every time we sleep should be a reminder for those who reflect. At times we sleep for just a few hours and dream. In the dream we live an entire life and do so many things that would normally take decades in real time. I have had dreams that were so real; I thought I existed in another realm. I dreamt I lived a detailed and fulfilled life, just as I would in the real world. But alas, it was just a dream! This sort of reality-oriented dream can be appreciated as a wandering soul – ethereal – without its body. Thus, making it clearer, that humans are spirit-like creatures trapped in a physical body. During dreams, the soul wanders off and returns during the point of awakening. The Quran explains the process thus: 

And it is He who takes your souls by night and knows what you have committed by day. Then He revives you therein that a specified term may be fulfilled. Then to Him will be your return; then He will inform you about what you used to do. – Quran 6:60 

In view of these points, the soul must be appreciated as what it is – a distinct creation in its own right. In explaining the phases preceding the actual creation of man, the Quran states: 

When your Lord said to the angels, ―Indeed, I am going to create a human being from clay. So when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My [created] soul, then fall down to him in prostration. – Quran 38:71-72 

What the above-mentioned verse establishes is that, after man was created from dust in a complete and well-proportioned form, his perfected body was created a soul by The Creator. Basically, the body was created, and the soul was created, and these two creations (body and soul), are separate entities that complement each other – working in unison to fulfil optimal human functionality. Without the soul, the body of man will just be an empty shell. To further buttress the phases of man's creation, a Hadith on the creation of Adam states that he was created and was left hollow for a certain period. Following this period of hollowness, Adam was brought to life with a soul. Anas reported, the Prophet ﷺ saying: 

When Allah fashioned Adam in Paradise, He left him as He liked him to leave. Then Iblis roamed round him to see what actually that was and when he found him hollow from within, he recognised that he had been created with a disposition that he would not have control over himself. – Sahih Muslim 2611 a, Book 45, Hadith 146 

The existence of the soul undoubtedly highlights the limitations of science. Advancements in science can, for example, replicate human bodies and prosthetics, but cannot bring the human body to life. The most that can be achieved by science are robotic replications of the human form, particularly via artificial intelligence. The absence of a soul during replications of creations buttresses man's inabilities, despite the oft-purported scientific advancements. Contemporarily, scientists are exploring the boundaries of artificial intelligence and attempting the programming of consciousness into computers. Mind uploading and emulation are theoretical possibilities. Despite such supposed developments, the inability of humans to create a soul still culminates in futility. The soul is an exclusive creation that can only be created by The Creator. In essence, man (science) can only copy but cannot create. The act of creation is solely exclusive to The Creator. The soul is the software that powers the hardware (body). Just like computer hardware, without the appropriate software, the computer is functionless. 

and when the souls ˹and their bodies˺ are paired ˹once more˺, – Quran 81:7 

Excerpt from pgs 64-68 of P.R.I.S.M: Primal Religious Instruction Serving Mankind by M.B.O Owolowo ©️