Absolute Justice, Kindness and Kinship — Page 123
— Part I 122 There is another term extensively used in the Holy Quran which is Nafs. Nafs simply means 'life' and as such it is not a specific term like R uh. All living things have Nafs —life, but all living things do not have R uh —soul. This is the basic difference between the terms Nafs and R uh. R uh is the secondary and more advanced state of consciousness capable of living by itself after it is separated from the body at the time of death. This unit of energy is inexplicable because the knowledge of man has not yet reached the stage where he can understand the nature of R uh. The Holy Quran simplifies it for man’s understanding by declaring R uh to be the Word of God. That is all that man can understand. The central meaning of the term Nafkh is 'revelation from God'. Hence the process of revelation is covered by the same term. The creation of soul is a gradual evolutionary step of life. It is not introduced from outside, but is the first higher order granted to humans by Allah. Revelation from God is the second higher order by which some chosen servants are raised above the level of ordinary people. Among those who are recipients of revelation, there are some who are deemed worthy of rising to the next higher rank and this is what is termed as Prophethood. Thus a vicegerent of God is created on earth through Nafkh-i- R uh in a higher and more refined connotation of this term. From this angle the requirement of obedience to a Prophet of God is not unjust or unreasonable