This matter depends on the awareness of man regarding the reality of the human body and soul. We should know that there is great contradiction in the reality of human soul. I have mentioned more than twenty views in Bihar al-Anwar. Some say that there are forty different opinions regarding this subject; but most scholars are of the view that man is a composite of the soul and a body.

These two components are such realities that between them – despite there being extreme closeness and intimacy - there is extreme unfamiliarity. That is, the creation of one is from the essence of angels and the ethereal world, while the creation of the other is from dust, which is nothing but a centre of darkness and degradation. There is for each of them such an effect and act, which is not present for the other.

The following are the effects and acts of the body: seeing, hearing, wearing, speaking, sleeping, touching and such other matters and are related to those organs and the apparent senses. The pleasure of the body and its pain lie in achieving or not achieving these, while all qualities, powers, perceptions, knowledge and beliefs are the function of the soul.

We cannot say to the body that it is generous, brave, noble, believing, or knowledgeable. On the contrary, the partial perceptive acts also, which are performed by the body and its organs, like seeing and hearing; all these are works of the soul. And this body and all organs are some tools of those actions, as you say that I saw with the eye, I heard with the ears; I said with the tongue; the word of ‘I’ implies the soul and that is your being.

All these acts are in fact the acts of the soul and all these organs and powers are merely its tool. For example, the act of writing is performed using a pen. But, in reality, the writer is someone else. Some have said that among the effects and laws of the soul are eating, drinking, hearing and speaking as well, but all the apparent organs, as is clear from the circumstances of the dream; that the body and all its powers are unaware of it; and the body is sleeping in its place; but the soul with its intention comes, goes and wanders through the cities; it speaks and hears and does everything; but there is a difference of opinion in this.

Thus, it is concluded that man is in fact a soul and the body is like an instrument. Some say that soul in the body is like a lamp in the chandelier. All light is from the lamp and the chandelier is a veil of darkness for it. If you see the lamp unveiled, you will become aware of its elegance. And if you witness the body-less soul, you will know the value of its perfection, and at that time you will know that the chandelier is a defect for the lamp and not a cause for its elegance. Although the lamp is weak, because of the wind, it needs to be concealed and veiled.

As long as the patient is weak and sick, he is in need of a blanket and coverings. The shining sun does not require a chandelier and the healthy person is not in need to abstain from the spring breeze.

It is narrated in Basa’ir al-Darajat from Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (‘a) that the soul of a believer in his body, is like a gem in a box. When they remove the gem, they discard the box and do not accord any importance to it.

It is mentioned in Kitab Ma’arij al-Yaqin that someone asked Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (‘a) how a person sleeps in one place while finding himself in another place in his dream. He replied: The soul is like the sun; whose centre is on the heavens, but its light has spread to the whole world.

Moreover, in Basair, it is narrated from Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (‘a) that the soul does not merge with the body, it surrounds like a covering. Differences that have arisen about the soul can be summed up in the question whether the soul is a body or a material object, or it is an abstract thing. Among the theologians that regard the soul to be a body, the reliable ones have two views.

First, that it is the compass of perception. Second, there are two types of parts of the body; one is the original parts present from the beginning of life till its end, and the other comprises the additional parts that continue to change, decrease, and increase. And man, who is the focus of the word of ‘I’; in him also there are original parts, and the gathering and reward and punishment is also based on them.

Some Shi’a scholastic theologians have also believed this, and some traditions also support this contention; but not in the meaning that it is the same soul. On the contrary, whatever remains from the body of man in the condition of life and in the grave; and which is raised on Judgment Day; it is these parts only as will be mentioned after this. Those who do not regard it as a body; but they consider it to be a physical breadth; their views are absurd and not worthy of mention. And those who regard it to be abstract; they are mostly philosophers and thinkers.

Some are from the ancient Mutazali scholars, then there is al-Ghazali and Raghib Isfahani and from Shi’a scholars, is Shaykh al-Mufid. Though, some have said that he recanted this view in his last days. Shaykh Bahauddin and some later scholars have said that this meaning is apparent from many traditions, but I have not seen any clear tradition regarding this.

If some reports imply this slightly, one cannot adopt this belief only based on this report, and the proofs they mentioned in refutation of abstraction; even though they are not perfect and complete; but many traditions recorded in glorification of Almighty Allah apparently prove it. That being abstract is from the exclusive qualities of Allah and most traditions, in which the capturing of soul and it’s accompanying the dead, visiting the relatives, and being transferred to Wadi as-Salam and similar things are mentioned.

All prove that the soul is a body; but should be interpreted as the facsimile body. In the same way, are those in which the creation of the souls before the bodies and surrounding the ‘Arsh, and similar things are mentioned; they prove that soul is also a body. Except that their interpretation is through such unlikely explanations, which without any need are unlikely from the people of Gnosticism.

Thus, negation and acceptance; both are difficult. Some have taken the tradition of ‘One, who has recognized his self; he has in fact recognized his Lord’ to mean that just like Allah cannot be recognized, in the same way, it is not possible to recognize the self.

The Messenger of Allah (S) said: Be silent about issues, in which the Almighty Allah is silent. Amir al-Mu’minin (‘a) says: Do not talk about what you are not duty-bound to speak; because it often happens that you may believe against the Almighty Allah, and you may not be excused by Him.

What most people say that after separating from the body, the endurance of the body and belief in spiritual resurrection is based on accepting abstraction, is absurd.

It is possible that it is like how the bearers of divine scriptures and some scholars have said: The soul is an illuminated body from the ethereal and sanctified world, like a close-fitting garment. In that body, it is like a lamp in a room; its light reaches to all the parts of the body and its death is coming out of its body and separating from it.

The body of the soul is like the body of angels, and like all heavenly bodies is extremely subtle and fine and it remains secure by the power of Allah. As Shaykh Abu Talib Tabarsi has narrated that a heretic asked Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (‘a) many questions, and after getting the replies, he embraced Islam. One of his questions was: Please tell me what happens to the light, when a lamp is extinguished? Imam (‘a) replied: It goes away and does not return.

He remarked: It is possible that man is also like that at the time of his death; that the soul separates from him and does not come back. Imam (‘a) said: You have not made a right analogy, because the fire is concealed in the body and the bodies are established with senses; like stone and iron; thus, when one is hit upon the other, fire is produced between them, by which lamps are lit; thus, fire is proved in those two bodies and light is destroyed and becomes non-existing, but the soul is a subtle body put around that dense body. It is not like a lamp, as you said. Indeed, the God who created the foetus through clear water and made it a compound from different nerves, ligaments, hair, and bones; it is Him only, who brings it back to life after death and brings back man after he was annihilated.

He asked: What is the abode of the soul? The Imam replied: Under the earth, where the body remains, till it is raised. He asked: Where does the soul of a person, who is crucified, live? The Imam replied: It remains in the hand of the angel, who captures it; as long as he is not buried. He asked: Does the soul disintegrate after leaving the body or it endures. The Imam replied: The soul is in existence till the blowing of the horn. At that time, all things become invalid and annihilated. Neither does a body survive nor does perception.

Thus, all the things are brought back by their controller as He had created them the first time. The creatures will remain non-existent for four hundred years; from the first blowing to the second. In Islam, it is a necessary requirement to believe that most angels - rather all angels - have bodies, and many verses and widely narrated traditions prove that they have bodies.

Thus, it is possible that the soul might be of the same kind. And if it resides in the heavens, as is clear from some traditions, it is possible that it should gain connection with the beastly soul that inhabits the body of man and resides in his heart. And as a result of the expulsion of the beastly soul, its connection with the body breaks, and then at the time of its return to the body, by the command of Allah, it gains the connection. Since many traditions prove the facsimile body, thus, it is possible that the soul, as a result of being needful of an instrument after being separated from this body, may become connected to that body.

The reward and punishment of the world of Barzakh and its arrival and departure may be in this body only. On the contrary, some believe that the facsimile body exists during the lifetime as well and it is in accordance with this body or is external to it, because the weak souls do not have power to control both of them.

During the condition of life and wakefulness it is mostly related to the apparent body and in sleep, it is related to the facsimile body and with that same body, it rises to the heavens and is informed of the heavenly spirits and tours through the east and west of the earth. The holy souls are raised with the noble angels and divine inspirations come to them. The evil souls are raised with the Satans and according to the demands of:

وَإِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ لَيُوحُونَ إِلَىٰ أَوْلِيَائِهِمْ

“Most surely the Shaitans suggest to their friends…” (6:121).

After death, the relation of the soul increases with the facsimile body and most of its reward and punishment is related to that body. On the contrary, it is possible that strong souls, like the souls of prophets and successors have greater control over the facsimile bodies and if thousands of people die in one time, it can be present with all of them and in this way, it is possible to reconcile different traditions.

Admitting the abstractness of soul also leads to acceptance of the facsimile body. Without this, it is very difficult to understand the verses and traditions and to reconcile them. Some people have thought that by accepting this matter, one necessarily admits to transmigration. That is absurd, because those who believe in transmigration are unbelievers since they deny the final gathering (Hashr), reward and punishment. Furthermore, they don’t say that the soul returns to these same bodies. On the contrary, they believe that it is transferred from the body of Zaid to the body of Amr. Or it becomes connected to the body of some animals in this world only. They also believe that and there is no other world than this present one, and that this is their reward and punishment.

They regard the soul to be eternal. They do not believe in the creator of the Universe; they do not have faith in prophets and consider obligatory duties to be cancelled. Thus, they are unbelievers due to these invalid beliefs, not only because of their belief in transmigration of souls.

According to authentic chains of traditions, it is narrated from Habbe Arani that he said: One night, I went to the desert of Najaf with Amir al-Mu’minin (‘a), which is known as Wadi as-Salam. The Imam stood there, and it seemed as if he was conversing with some people. I continued standing for such a long time. I was exhausted, so I sat down. When this prolonged for a long while, again I became restless and stood up again. I did this several times. After that I gathered my robe and said: O Amir al-Mu’minin (‘a), I fear that you might suffer some harm due to standing for so long; please rest for some time.

The Imam said: I am in an intimate conversation with the believers. I said: O Amir al-Mu’minin (‘a), are they able to converse even after death? He replied: Yes, and if they become visible to you, you will see them sitting in circles and speaking to each other. I asked: Are their bodies present here or their souls. He replied: Their souls; and no believer dies at any place in the world, but that his or her soul is told to enter Wadi as-Salam. This valley is a part of the ‘Adn Paradise.

According to reliable chains of narrators, it is narrated from Abu Walaad that he said: I asked Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (‘a): People narrate that the souls of believers are in the nest of the birds of heavens, who live around the Arsh. He replied: No, the believer is more respectable in the view of the Almighty Allah that He should keep his soul in the bird nest; their souls are in a body, same as a body he previously had.

Moreover, Abu Basir has narrated from the Imam that they are seated on a tree of Paradise like bodies; they recognize each other and inquire about the well-being of each other. It is also narrated from the Imam that people asked, where the souls of believers reside.

He replied: They reside in Paradise in the form of their bodies. If you see them, you will recognize them and you will say: This is so and so person, whom you have seen in the world. It is mentioned in some traditions that after death, the soul remains in a body like the body of this world, and it is mentioned in some traditions that a body like the body of this world lives in the body. This was the condition of the soul, which was mentioned, but as for the condition of the body; we should know that there are different beliefs of people regarding the physical bodies.

Some regard the body to be a composite of an amorphous substance and a particular and physical form. This is the opinion of most philosophers. When the body disperses, they say that both - the bodily form and the particular form - are destroyed and only a silhouette remains. But the other two forms - physical and particular - are incidental to the amorphous substance.

Muhaqqiq Tusi, Khwaja Naseer (r.a.) and some philosophers do not accept the silhouette; and they say that the body is nothing other than the bodily form. It continues to exist in both conditions - jointly and separately - and as a result of separation and joining, nothing is destroyed from the body. On the contrary, it is a dimension; that is joining, which disappears. And the separation affects it. It is a very appropriate statement, but the doubt of impossibility of the return of the non-existing is difficult only from this statement.

Most Shi’a and Sunni scholastic theologians, in order to remove this and other doubts, have accepted it in general and regard all bodies as having the same reality, and independence of parts. According to their belief, nothing is destroyed from the body. When we learn about these statements, and it is known that most of the doubts that haunt the deniers of physical resurrection are improbabilities (whose reply is known), and their best doubt - on which all philosophers have relied - is the impossibility of return of the non-existent.

Based on the first statement, the doubt in the reality of the body is stronger because according to their belief, bodily and typical forms have to be necessarily annihilated; and then to return with all the parts is not possible, without return of the non-existent. Those who have the second and the third opinions think that this doubt is reduced as a result of adopting these two opinions.

But it is doubtful because it is clear that when the body of a person is burnt, and his ashes are blown away in the wind; the identity of Zaid does not remain while the form and parts do. But in the return of any person, it is necessary that his identity should also return after annihilation of that identity; while according to the opinion of some scholastic theologians - who hold that the identity of every person is established with his original parts created from semen - those parts are all enduring throughout his life and even after his death and after the disintegration of his parts.

Thus, the identity is never destroyed and on the basis of this, if some non-identifiable dimensions are destroyed and in their place some others stage a return, they cannot refute that this person is in fact in existence as the Ahl al-Sunnah have narrated from the Holy Prophet (S) that all the parts of the human beings get decayed, except the bones at the end of his backbones joined to the anus.

Al-Kulayni has narrated through reliable chain of narrators that some people asked Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (‘a), whether the body of the deceased gets decayed or not. He replied: Yes. Neither any flesh remains nor any body, except the essence he was created from; it does not decay, and it remains in the grave in its original form, so that he may be created again as he was created the first time.

After these prefaces, we should know that even it is supposed that not accepting the return of the non-existent is impossible because you came to know that no proof is established for it and to claim that it is destined is absurd, there is no doubt in physical resurrection. Especially, to believe that everything would be annihilated; as at that time, there is no other choice, except to accept the impossibility as will be mentioned after this, God willing.

Even if a person believes in the impossibility (of the return of the non-existent), it is possible that he is a believer in physical resurrection, because we say that whatever is mentioned in the Islamic law regarding the return of human beings that much is sufficient, that from its substance exactly or from those parts exactly the same things are created.

Especially when in qualities and dimensions there is a simile of that person, in such a way that if they see him, they will say he is the same one, because it is the soul, which perceives pleasure and pain. That is why, since the soul enters the man, till the time of old age, they say he is the same person, even though his face and form has changed or has deteriorated, and his parts are destroyed, and other parts appear in their place.

Rather, even if they severe most of his parts, even then it is said in law and in public parlance that he is the same person. For instance, if during his youth, he had become liable for any corporeal punishment or retaliation, they will still award him this penalty, even though he might have become old. If a slave commits a crime in his youth and his master gains control over him when he has aged and he punishes him, no one says that the master is unjust, and this is only due to the endurance of the original parts.

It is probably from the perspective that the soul is the most important component. And only due to it, is that person considered same. Reason suggests punishing him and does not regard it as injustice. In the same way, to punish after death, since based on popular belief the soul endures in its original form, and traditions also indicate that the person comes back in the same way, as they should issue the command on him according to general parlance that it is the same person.

Just as they put water from one vessel into two vessels; it is legally and generally said that it is the same water, which was present in a vessel, even though they might be believing in transmigration of souls, and are not based on such legal and philosophical precisions, otherwise the statement was definitely according to transmigration that they should command the appearance of that of impure water, from which one drop is taken out.

This matter is hinted in some traditions and the Qur’anic verses also, as the Almighty Allah has said:

أَوَلَيْسَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ بِقَادِرٍ عَلَىٰ أَنْ يَخْلُقَ مِثْلَهُمْ بَلَىٰ وَهُوَ الْخَلَّاقُ الْعَلِيمُ

“Is not He Who created the heavens and the earth able to create the like of them? Yea! And He is the Creator (of all), the Knower” (36:81).

Then, in the description of the people of Hell, it is said:

كُلَّمَا نَضِجَتْ جُلُودُهُمْ بَدَّلْنَاهُمْ جُلُودًا غَيْرَهَا لِيَذُوقُوا الْعَذَابَ

“So oft as their skins are thoroughly burned, We will change them for other skins, that they may taste the chastisement” (4:56).

It is mentioned in the traditions of Sunni and Shi’a that the arrogant ones are raised in form of ants. Sunnis have narrated that the teeth of the infidels will be like Mount Uhud. There will be no hair on the face of the folks of Paradise; they will be clean-shaven and wearing antimony.

It is mentioned in Ihtijaaj Tabarsi and Majalis from the traditions of Shi’a and Sunni that Ibn Abil Awja, the heretic, inquired about the interpretation of the following verse:

بَدَّلْنَاهُمْ جُلُودًا غَيْرَهَا لِيَذُوقُوا الْعَذَابَ

“We will change them for other skins, that they may taste the chastisement” (4:56).

He said: What is the sin of that skin that it is being punished? Imam (‘a) replied: Woe on you; it is the same skin and other than that also. He asked: Please mention an example of it from this world. Imam (‘a) said: It is like the breaking up of a brick and then to make another brick in the same form. In that case it can be said that it is the same brick, and it can also be said that it is other than that. He said: Yes, may the Almighty Allah benefit the people through you.

Despite those ranks, the preferable stance is that we should verify those matters mentioned in a large number of widely related traditions and verses, and as per need testify whatever proof is derived about physical resurrection and whatever is mentioned about its distinctive qualities. We should not contemplate in these matters, because we are not duty-bound to do so; lest we should start believing in something that is not in accordance with the truth, and we are not excused, as was mentioned previously.