The Book of Stations

1. Mawqif 204 · The two souls of a human being

   See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 442, Damascus 1966, p. 443, Damascus 1966, p. 444, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 414, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 415, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 416 (archive.org) In the Damascus scan, PDF pages 438 and 439 are bound in the wrong order: printed p. 442 is PDF p. 438 and printed p. 441 is PDF p. 439 (the links go to the right images).

   ¶249
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   قَالَ تَعَالَى: «كَتَبْنَا عَلَى بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ أَنَّهُ مَنْ قَتَلَ نَفْساً بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ» الْآيَةَ.

   He, exalted is He, said: “We decreed for the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul other than for a soul …” (Q 5:32), to the end of the verse.

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   ›About the vowels: added by AI; uncertain words are underlined

   The source of this text, a printed edition or a manuscript, has few or no vowel marks, as is usual for such texts. The vowels shown were added by AI and checked against an independent grammatical analyser; the few words where the two disagree are underlined as uncertain. Choose “Unvowelled” under Aa to read the letters alone.

2. ¶250
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   اعْلَمْ أَنَّ لِكُلِّ اِنْسَانٍ نَفْسَيْنِ: نَفْسٌ مُدَبِّرَةٌ، وَهِيَ النَّفْسُ الرُّوحَانِيَّةُ الرَّبَّانِيَّةُ الْعُلْوِيَّةُ، وَنَفْسٌ مُدَبَّرَةٌ (اسْمُ مَفْعُولٍ) وَهِيَ النَّفْسُ الطَّبِيعِيَّةُالْعُنْصُرِيَّةُ السُّفْلِيَّةُ الْحَيَوَانِيَّةُ،

   Know that every human being has two souls. One is a governing soul, which is the spiritual, lordly, higher soul. The other is a governed soul (passive participle), which is the natural, elemental, lower, animal soul.

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3. ¶251
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   وَحَقِيقَتُهَا كَيْفِيَّةٌ تَعْرِضُ بَيْنَ النَّفْسِ الرُّوحَانِيَّةِ الْكُلِّيَّةِ وَبَيْنَ الْجِسْمِ.

   Its reality is a modality that arises between the universal spiritual soul and the body.

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4. ¶252
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   فَهِيَ مَثَلاً كَالصُّورَةِ فِي الْمِرْآةِ عِنْدَ الْمُقَابَلَةِ، بِوَاسِطَتِهَا يَصِلُ تَدْبِيرُ النَّفْسِ الرُّوحَانِيَّةِ لِلْجِسْمِ،

   It is, for example, like the image in a mirror when the mirror faces something. Through it the governance of the spiritual soul reaches the body.

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5. ¶253
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   وَبِاخْتِلَافِ الْقَوَابِلِ التَّجَلِّي النَّفْسِ الْمَقْبُولِ تَعَدَّدَتِ النُّفُوسُ، وَتَمَيَّزَتْ وَصَحَّ الْاِطْلَاقُ عَلَى الْمَقْبُولِ الْوَاحِدِ بِالتَّعَدُّدِ،

   Through the difference of the receptacles of the received manifestation of the soul, souls became many and distinct, and it became valid to speak of the single thing received as many.

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6. ¶254
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   فَمَنْ قَالَ: زَوَالُ الصُّورَةِ الْحَاصِلَةِ فِي الْمِرْآةِ مَثَلاً هُوَ الْمَوْتُ، قَالَ: الْمَوْتُ أَمْرٌ وُجُودِيٌّ.

   So whoever says that the disappearance of the image formed in the mirror, for example, is death, says that death is an existential thing.

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7. ¶255
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   وَمَنْ قَالَ: عَدَمُ التَّجَلِّي هُوَ الْمَوْتُ. قَالَ: الْمَوْتُ أَمْرٌ عَدَمِيٌّ، أَيْ عَدَمُ الْحَيَاةِ.

   And whoever says that the absence of manifestation is death, says that death is a privative thing, that is, the absence of life.

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8. ¶256
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   فَتَقَابُلُ الْمَوْتِ وَالْحَيَاةِ؛ اِمَّا تَقَابُلُ عَدَمٍ وَمِلْكِهِ، وَاِمَّا تَقَابُلُ تَضَادٍّ، عِنْدَ بَعْضِ سَادَاتِ الْقَوْمِ.

   So the opposition of death and life is, according to some of the masters of the Folk, either the opposition of a privation and its possession, or the opposition of contraries.

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9. ¶257
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   وَلَمَّا كَانَتِ النَّفْسُ وَاحِدَةً لِلْعَالَمِ جَمِيعِهِ، وَالْقَوَابِلُ تَقْبَلُ بِحَسَبِ اسْتِعْدَادَاتِهَا مِنْ ذَلِكَ التَّجَلِّي كَانَ: «مَن قَتَلَ نَفْساً».

   Since the soul is one for the whole world, and the receptacles receive from that manifestation according to their preparednesses, it was that “whoever kills a soul” (Q 5:32).

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10. ¶258
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    أَيْ مَنْ كَانَ سَبَباً فِي اِبْطَالِ تَصَرُّفِ النَّفْسِ الْكُلِّيَّةِ فِي الْجِسْمِ «بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ» أَيْ بِغَيْرِ اِذْنٍ شَرْعِيٍّ.

    That is, whoever is the cause of annulling the operation of the universal soul in a body “other than for a soul” (Q 5:32), that is, without the permission of the Law.

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11. ¶259
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    وَاِنَّمَا وَقَعَ النَّصُّ عَلَى النَّفْسِ وَالْفَسَادِ فِي الْأَرْضِ لِأَنَّهُ الْغَالِبُ: «فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ النَّاسَ جَمِيعاً».

    The text names a soul and corruption in the land only because that is what usually occurs: “it is as though he had killed all people” (Q 5:32).

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12. ¶260
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    وَدَخَلَ فِي النَّاسِ جَمِيعاً نَفْسُ الْقَاتِلِ، فَكَانَ قَاتِلَ نَفْسِهِ؛ بِمَعْنَى كَانَ عَلَيْهِ وِزْرُ مَنْ قَتَلَ جَمِيعَ النَّاسِ، وَقَتَلَ نَفْسَهُ.

    The killer's own soul is included in “all people”, so he has killed himself. This means he bears the burden of one who has killed all people and killed himself.

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13. ¶261
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    وَذَلِكَ لِوَحْدَةِ النَّفْسِ الْكُلِّيَّةِ.

    That is because of the oneness of the universal soul.

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14. ¶262
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    وَهَذَا مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ فِي سُورَةِ الْبَقَرَةِ: «وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَكُمْ لاَ تَسْفِكُونَ دِمَاءَكُمْ وَلاَ تُخْرِجُونَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ مِنْ دِيَارِكُمْ... إِلَى أَنْ قَالَ: «ثُمَّ أَنْتُمْ هَٰؤُلاَءِ تَقْتُلُونَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ...».

    This is the meaning of His words in the Sūra of the Cow: “And when We took your covenant: you shall not shed your blood, nor expel yourselves from your homes …” (Q 2:84), until He said: “Then you are those who kill yourselves …” (Q 2:85).

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15. ¶263
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    وَمَا قَتَلُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ فِي الْحِسِّ، وَاِنَّمَا قَتَلُوا أَعْدَاءَهُمْ بِالظُّلْمِ وَالْحَمِيَّةِ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ،

    They did not kill themselves in the sensible world. They killed only their enemies, out of wrongdoing and the zeal of the Age of Ignorance.

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16. ¶264
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    وَلِشَرَفِ الْاِنْسَانِ خَصَّهُ الْحَقُّ– تَعَالَى– بِهَذَا،

    Because of the nobility of the human being, the Real, exalted is He, singled him out for this.

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17. ¶265
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    وَاِلاَّ فَالْقِيَاسُ أَنْ يَكُونَ هَذَا الْحُكْمُ عَامّاً فِي كُلِّ مَنْ كَانَ سَبَباً فِي مَنْعِ تَجَلِّي النَّفْسِ عَلَى جِسْمٍ مِنَ الْأَجْسَامِ، بِغَيْرِ اِذْنٍ شَرْعِيٍّ، مِنْ جَمَادٍ وَنَبَاتٍ وَحَيَوَانٍ وَاِنْسَانٍ، اِذْ لِكُلٍّ مِنْهَا نَفْسٌ تَلِيقُ بِهِ، تَظْهَرُ آثَارُ النَّفْسِ الْمُدَبِّرَةِ فِيهِ بِحَسَبِ اسْتِعْدَادِهِ

    Otherwise, analogy would require this ruling to be general. It would cover everyone who, without the permission of the Law, causes the prevention of the soul's manifestation upon any body, whether mineral, plant, animal or human. For each of them has a soul befitting it, in which the effects of the governing soul appear according to its preparedness.

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18. ¶266
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    «وَمَنْ أَحْيَاهَا» أَيْ كَانَ سَبَباً فِي اِبْقَاءِ وُصُولِ تَجَلِّي النَّفْسِ عَلَى الْجِسْمِ الْاِنْسَانِيِّ، بِمَعْنَى دَفْعِ الْهَلَاكِ الْمُتَوَجِّهِ عَلَى اِنْسَانٍ، بِحَيْثُ أَنَّهُ لَوْلَا هُوَ فِي بَادِىءِ الرَّأْيِ لَهَلَكَ ذَلِكَ الْاِنْسَانُ، كَاِطْعَامِهِ فِي مَسْغَبَةٍ، وَسَقْيِهِ عِنْدَ عَدَمِ الْمَاءِ، وَتَخْلِيصِهِ مِنْ حَيَوَانٍ مُفْتَرِسٍ أَوْ دَفْعِ ظَالِمٍ يُرِيدُ قَتْلَهُ،

    “And whoever revives it” (Q 5:32), that is, whoever is the cause of keeping the soul's manifestation reaching the human body. This means warding off destruction bearing down on a person, such that, at first sight, but for him that person would have perished. Examples are feeding him in famine, giving him drink when there is no water, rescuing him from a predatory animal, or warding off a wrongdoer who wants to kill him.

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19. ¶267
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    فَكَأَنَّمَا أَحْيَى النَّاسَ جَمِيعاً، فَيَكُونُ لَهُ أَجْرُ مَنْ أَحْيَا جَمِيعَ النَّاسِ، لِمَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ وَحْدَةِ النَّفْسِ.

    Then it is as though he had revived all people, and he has the reward of one who revived all people, because of what was said earlier about the oneness of the soul.

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Translations, word glosses and term notes are AI-generated (Claude) and marked as such; no published translation is reproduced.Word analysis is automatic (CAMeL Tools), guided by the text's vowelling. How this text was established.