ous and efficient administrative structure and out
of respect for the Shehu’s teaching and the author-
ity of his family. During the last decade of the
19th century, however, the Sokoto Caliphate was
exposed to growing pressure from French colonial
power to the north and British power to the south.
It was eventually conquered by Sir Frederick
Lugard, who established British authority over the
region in 1903.
See also colonialism; Jihad movements; West
aFrica.
Stephen CoryFurther reading: R. A. Adeleye, Power and Diplomacy
in Northern Nigeria, 1804–1906 (London: Longman
Group Limited, 1971); H. A. S. Johnston, The Fulani
Empire of Sokoto (London: Oxford University Press,
1967); Beverly B. Mack and Jean Boyd, One Woman’s
Jihad: Nana Asma’u, Scholar and Scribe (Bloomington:
Indiana University Press, 2000); Ibraheem Sulaiman,
The Islamic State and the Challenge of History (London:
Mansell Publishing, 1987).
Somalia See east africa.
song See music; qawwali.
soul and spirit
The life force that animates the body is com-
monly known as the soul or spirit. Comparative
study shows that beliefs about the soul and spirit
vary widely, based on different ideas about what a
human being is and how humans are believed to
be related to the wider universe in both its physi-
cal and metaphysical aspects. Native classifica-
tions for the life force and its related aspects can
become quite complex and contradictory—even
within a single culture or religious tradition. It
has become associated with notions of breath, the
heart, mind, reason, blood, and body. The English
word soul is old Germanic in origin and is thought
to have originally been a translation of the ancient
Greek word psych, which means “life,” “spirit,” or
“consciousness.” These meanings are connected
with the idea of the life breath, as is the term
spirit, which is derived from Latin. In many reli-
gions the soul or spirit is believed to be separate
from the body, having a preexistence and an after-
life and being able to leave the body temporarily
during sleep, trances, or states of ecstasy. It is also
often believed to be connected with beings such
as sacred ancestors, deities, and a universal spirit
or cosmic energy.
Islamic beliefs about the soul and spirit were
first expressed in the Quran and later elaborated
and systematized by theologians, philosophers,
and mystics. These beliefs differ, beginning with
a significant shift less than two centuries after
Muhammad’s death in 632. Nevertheless, a degree
of learned consensus was reached by theologians
and traditionalists by the 10th century. The differ-
ing views about the soul and spirit can be attrib-
uted in part to variations of belief among local
Muslim communities, sects, and movements but
are also the results of several other factors. These
include the heritage of indigenous pre-Islamic
beliefs in Arabia and the wider Middle East, the
Muslim reception of Jewish and Christian doc-
trines, and the influence of the ideas of Hellenistic
philosophy and Neoplatonism, especially after
Greek texts were translated into Arabic during
the abbasid caliphate, particularly between the
eighth and 10th centuries.
The two key Arabic terms for soul and spirit in
Islam are, respectively, nafs and ruh, both of which
are derived from Arabo-Semitic terms for “breath”
or “respiration,” a requirement for life. The Hebrew
cognates are nefesh and ruah, which occur in the
Bible. Both Arabic words occur in the Quran with
equivalent meanings but also with meanings that
differ. Nafs often denotes the “self” and is used
reflexively with reference to humans, the Jinn, God,
and sata n. It is also used in the sense of “person.”
Thus, the Quran states that it is God “who created
you from a single person [nafs] and made from her,
her mate, that he might find rest in her” (Q 7:189).
Nafs is a feminine noun in Arabic, so this verse
indicates that men and women originated in a sin-
gle feminine nafs (person). In several contexts the
Quran gives nafs negative meanings; it connotessoul and spirit 631 J