Aslam

Praise be to Allah.Allaah is the Creator of all things, and the soul is

something that has been created just like everything else. The knowledge about its true

essence is something that belongs exclusively to Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted.

Allaah has kept this knowledge exclusively to Himself, as is stated in the hadeeth of

Abd-Allaah ibn Masood (may Allaah be pleased with him), who said: Whilst

I was with the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) on a farm, and he was

resting on a palm branch stripped of its leaves, the Jews passed by, and some of them said

to others, Ask him about the soul. Some of them said, What urges you to

ask him about it? Others of them said, Dont ask him in case he says

something you dislike. But they said, Ask him, so they asked him about

the soul. The Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) kept quiet and did not

respond to them, and I knew that he was receiving Revelation, so I stayed where I was.

When the Revelation of the aayah was complete, he said (interpretation of the meaning): And

they ask you [O Muhammad] concerning the rooh [the spirit]. Say: The rooh: it is one

of the things, the knowledge of which is only with my Lord. And of knowledge, you

(mankind) have been given only a little. [al-Isra 17:85] (Reported

by al-Bukhaari). The rooh (soul or spirit) has been described by

Allaah in His Book and by the Messenger

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in

his Sunnah, and various verbs and adjectives have been used in conjunction with the word

rooh, such as seizing or grasping, taking (as in death), it may be

fettered or shrouded, it comes and goes, it goes up and comes down, it may be pulled out

like a hair being pulled out of dough It is obligatory (in Islam) to believe in

these attributes which are narrated in the two Revelations (i.e., the

Quraan and Sunnah), and also to realize that the soul is not like the body.

Allaah created Adam and breathed the soul into him, as is stated in the

Quraan and in the hadeeth of the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon

him): When Allaah created Adam and breathed the soul into him, he sneezed and said

Al-hamdu-Lillah (Praise be to Allaah). He praised Allaah by His

permission. Then his Lord said to him, May Allaah have mercy on you, O Adam. Go to

those angels, to a group of them who are sitting, and say, As-salaamu

alaykum (peace be upon you). They said, Wa alayka al-salaam

wa rahmat-Allaah (and upon you be peace and the Mercy of Allaah). Then he went

back to his Lord, who said, This is your greeting and the greeting of your

descendants amongst themselves. (Reported and classed as hasan by

al-Tirmidhi. Sunan al-Tirmidhi, 3290).

Allaah sends the angel to breathe the soul into the

foetus as was reported by Abd-Allaah ibn Masood, who said: The Messenger

of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who is the most truthful (of human

beings) and his being truthful (is a fact) told us: The constituents of one of you

is gathered in his mothers womb for forty days, then it becomes a clot of blood

within another period of forty days. Then it becomes a lump of flesh, and forty days

later, Allaah sends His angel to it to breathe into it the soul. The angel comes with

instructions concerning four things, so the angel writes down his livelihood, his death,

his deeds and whether he will doomed or blessed. (Reported by Muslim, 1528).

The soul of the deceased is taken from the ends of the

toes towards the top of the body, and when it reaches the throat, the death rattle sounds

in the throat of the person who is about to die, and his eyes glaze over and roll upwards.

Um Salamah said: The Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon

him) entered upon Abu Salamah (after he had died) and his eyes were open, so he closed

them then said, When the soul is taken, the eyes follow it. (Reported

by Muslim, 1528).

The soul is met by the angels. The Prophet

(peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: The angels met the soul of a man from among

the people who came before you, and said, Did you do anything good? He said,

'I used to tell my employees to postpone collection of payment or to let off anyone who

was in difficulty. So it was said, Let him off. (Reported

by al-Bukhaari, 1935).

The soul is taken up to heaven by two angels after it is

taken (i.e., after a person dies), as was reported in the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah who

said: When the soul of the believer is taken, it is met by two angels who take it

up (The narrator said: then he mentioned its good fragrance and scent of

musk). The people of heaven say, A good soul that has come from earth, may Allaah

bless you and the body in which you used to dwell. Then they take it up to its Lord, may

He be glorified and exalted, then He says, Roam with it until the end of the

world. When the disbelievers soul comes out (the narrator mentioned its

putrid smell and curses). The people of heaven say, An evil soul that has come from

earth, then it is said, Roam with it until the end of the world. Abu

Hurayrah said: then the Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)

put a piece of cloth over his nose, like this. (Reported by Muslim, 5119).

More information about how the soul comes out (at death)

was reported in the hadeeth of Imaam Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him) from

al-Bara ibn Aazib who said: We went out with the Prophet

(peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him) for the funeral of a man from among the Ansaar, and we

reached the grave whilst it was still being dug. The Messenger of Allaah

(peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him) sat down and we sat down around him, and it was as if we

had birds on our heads. In his hand was a stick with which he was scratching in the earth.

He raised his head and said, Seek refuge with Allaah from the punishment of the

grave, two or three times. Then he said, Verily, when the believing slave is

about to depart this world and enter the Hereafter, there come down to him angels from

heaven with white faces, as if their faces are the sun. They bring with them one of the

shrouds of Paradise and some of the perfume of Paradise. They sit with him as far as the

eye can see. Then the Angel of Death (peace be upon him) comes to him and sits by his head

and says, O pure soul, come out to the forgiveness and pleasure of Allaah.

Then his soul comes flowing out like a drop of water flowing from a cup. Then he takes the

soul, and no sooner does he seize it but they take it and place it in that shroud and

perfume. Then out of it comes the most excellent fragrance of musk to be found on the face

of the earth. Then they ascend with it and they do not pass by any group of angels but the

angels ask, Who is this pure soul? and they reply, It is So and so the

son of So and so using the best names by which he was known on earth. Then

they bring it to the lowest heaven, and ask for it to be opened, and it is opened for him.

Those who are of high rank in each heaven accompany it until they approach the next

heaven, and so it goes until it reaches the seventh heaven. Then Allaah, may He be

glorified and exalted, says: Record the book of My slave in Illiyoon (the

highest heaven) and take him back to the earth, for I created them from it, and I shall

return them to it, then I shall take them out from it again. Then his soul is

returned to his body and two angels come and make him sit up, and ask him, Who is

your Lord. He says, Allaah. They ask, What is your religion?

He says, My religion is Islam. They ask, Who is this man that was sent

amongst you? He says, He is the Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of

Allaah be upon him. They ask him, What knowledge do you have? He says,

'I read the Book of Allaah and I believed in it. Then a voice will call out from

heaven, My slave has spoken the truth. Prepare for him a bed from Paradise and give

him clothes from Paradise, and open for him a door to Paradise. And he will feel its

breeze and smell its fragrance, and his grave will be widened for him as far as his eye

can see. Then a man with a handsome face, beautiful clothes and a pleasant fragrance will

come to him and say, Good news! This is the day that you were promised. He

will say, Who are you? You face looks as if it brings good news. He will say,

'I am your good deeds. (The deceased) will say, O Lord, let the Hour come so

that I may see my family and my wealth again.

When the disbelieving slave is about to depart this world and enter the

Hereafter, there come down to him angels from heaven with black faces, bringing with them

sackcloth. They sit with him as far as the eye can see. Then the Angel of Death comes to

him and sits by his head and says, O evil soul, come out to the wrath and anger of

Allaah. Then his soul disperses in his body and is dragged out like a skewer being

pulled out of wet wool. Then he takes the soul, and no sooner does he seize it but they

take it and place it in that sackcloth. Then out of it comes the most putrid stench of

rotten flesh to be found on the face of the earth. Then they ascend with it and they do

not pass by any group of angels but the angels ask, Who is this evil soul? and

they reply, It is So and so the son of So and so using the worst names

by which he was known on earth. Then they bring it to the lowest heaven, and ask for it to

be opened, and it is not opened for him. Then the Messenger of Allaah

(peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him) recited (interpretation of the meaning):

For them the gates of heaven will not be opened, and they will not enter Paradise until

the camel goes through the eye of the needle [al-Araaf 7:40]. Then he

said, Then Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, says: Record the book of

My slave in Sijjeen (the lowest Hell) in the lowest earth. Then his soul is cast

down. Then he recited (interpretation of the meaning): and whoever

assigns partners to Allaah, it is as if he had fallen from the sky, and the birds had

snatched him, or the wind had thrown him to a far off place. [al-Hajj 22:31]. He

said, Then his soul is returned to his body and two angels come and make him sit up,

and ask him, Who is your Lord. He says, Oh, oh, I dont know.

They ask, What is your religion? He says, Oh, oh, I dont

know. They ask, Who is this man that was sent amongst you? He says,

Oh, oh, I dont know. Then a voice will call out from heaven, He is

lying. Prepare for him a bed from Hell and open for him a door to Hell. And he will

feel its hot winds and smell its stench, and his grave will be constricted for him until

his ribs interlock. Then a man with an ugly face, ugly clothes and a horrible stench will

come to him and say, Bad news! This is the day that you were warned about. He

will say, Who are you? You face looks as if it brings bad news. He will say,

'I am your evil deeds. (The deceased) will say, O Lord, do not let the Hour

come! (Musnad al-Imaam Ahmad, 17803; this is a saheeh hadeeth).

At the end of time, Allaah will send a wind which will

take the soul of every believer, as was reported in the hadeeth of al-Nawwaas ibn

Samaan, who said: The Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be

upon him) mentioned (the coming of the Dajjaal [Antichrist] and the descent of

Eesa [Jesus], peace be upon him, and the good life and happiness of mankind at the

time of Jesus and afterwards). He said, And whilst the people are living like that,

Allaah will send a good wind which will seize them under the armpits and will take the

soul of every believer and every Muslim. The evil people will remain and they will behave

like donkeys, then the Hour will come upon them. (Reported by Muslim,

5228).

When people sleep (and sleep is the lesser

death), the soul is taken, but not completely, so the sleeper is still alive. Allaah

says (interpretation of the meaning): It is Allaah Who takes away the souls at

the time of their death, and those that die not during their sleep, He keeps those (souls)

for which He has ordained death and sends the rest for a term appointed. Verily, in this

are signs for a people who think deeply. [al-Zumar 39:42]

The Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)

advised the Muslim, when he lies down to sleep, to say: Bismika Rabbee

wadatu janbi wa bika arfauhu wa in amsakta nafsi farhamhaa wa in arsaltahaa

fahfazhaa bimaa tuhfaz bihi ibaadika al-saaliheen ( In Your name, my Lord, I lie

down, and in Your name I rise. If You should take my soul then have mercy on it, and if

You should return my soul then protect it as You protect Your righteous slaves).

When the Muslim wakes up, he should say, Al-hamdu Lillaah alladhi aafaani

fi jasadi wa radda alayya roohi wa adhina li bi dhikrihi (Praise be to Allaah

Who has restored to me my health and returned my soul and has allowed me to remember Him

). (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 3323 He said, a hasan hadeeth).

These are a few of the aayaat and saheeh ahaadeeth which describe the

soul. Maybe you will find in them information that will guide you to the way of truth, the

Religion of Islam. Thank you for your question.