The Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam — Page 11
11 Thus physical injuries disclose that there is a mysterious relationship between the soul and the body which is beyond the ken of man. Reflection shows that the body is the mother of the soul. The soul does not descend from outside into the womb of a pregnant woman. It is a light that is inherent in the sperm which begins to shine forth with the development of the foetus. The Word of God Almighty conveys to us that the soul becomes manifest from the framework that is prepared in the womb from the sperm, as is said in the Holy Quran: 16 ثُمَّ اَنْشَأْنَهُ خَلْقًا أَخَرَ فَتَبَرَكَ اللهُ اَحْسَنُ الْخَلِقِينَ This means that God bestows a new creation on the body that is prepared in the womb and that new creation is called the soul. Greatly blessed is God Who has no equal as a creator. The affirmation that a new creation is manifested from the body is a mystery that reveals the reality of the soul and points to the strong relationship between the soul and the body. We are also instructed thereby that the same philosophy underlies the physical acts and words and movements when they are manifested in the cause of God, that is to say, all these sincere 16. Then We develop it into a new creation. So blessed is Allāh, the Best of Creators. (The Holy Quran, al-Mu'minun 23:15)