Elucidation of Objectives — Page 51
Tau di h-e-Mar a m 51 the soul of man does in fact exist. Elsewhere at places in the Holy Qur’ a n, God swears by certain objects. Every time the sole purpose and intent of such oaths is to invoke the manifest as witness to the secret because of the qualitative resemblance between the two. A question would, however, arise regarding such wit- nesses as are produced to prove that the human soul is an existent entity. The question is how can the proper- ties of objects invoked as witnesses be shown to be the properties of the human soul also? And what is the proof? It is to dispel this doubt that God goes on to say: 59 Which means, with the creation of the soul of man, God has thrown open the doors to light and darkness, luxuri- ance and aridity. He who opts for the ways of darkness and sin or, in other words, the paths of evil, is allowed to approximate to the extreme logical end so much so that he comes to bear close resemblance to a dark night. He loses all taste except for sinfulness and depravity; he begins to enjoy and think evil; he likes evil companions and evil pastimes alone. Consistent with his evil- mindedness, he is motivated by sinfulness alone; he always thinks of vice and depravity and never of what is moral and good. On the other hand, if he chooses the enlightened path of piety, he is constantly guided by 59 The Qur’ a n 91:9-11 [Translator]