defines it as “condensed thought” and Ouspensky as “a mere
condition.” The dualism of spirit and matter has, therefore, no place
either in modern science or in modern philosophy. However, the
distinction between the functions of the Church and State is still
maintained in the West. The Church is concerned only with spiritual
matters and has nothing to do with secular affairs. Its sphere of
activity is strictly circumscribed. In this way, the dualism of spirit
and matter is a built-in part of the modern States in the countries of
Western Europe.
Islam, however, has never lent support to the view that spirit and
matter are separate and opposed to each other. As a matter of fact,
these terms do not occur in the Qur’an, which regards man as a
unitary being and not as the combination of two radically different
elements. The concept of soul, too, as a spiritual entity inhabiting a
material body, does not harmonise with the Qur’anic view that man
is one and indivisible. According to the Qur’an, the process of
creation was set going by the Divine fiat (amr). What it is, is known
only to God. We cannot presume to probe into the transcendental
reality. We can only believe that it is one and indivisible, although it
discloses itself in an infinity of forms. To conclude, the Ruh is
neither spirit nor soul, neither intellect nor mind. It is the
transcendental ground of all these.
The Qur’an itself guides us to the true understanding of the Ruh
which was breathed into man. After it has secured a lodgment in
man and has thereby acquired individuality, The Ruh appears as the
nafs (self) of man. The following verses leave no room for doubt on
this point:
And the nafs and its perfection. He endowed it with the possibilities
both of integration and disruption. He will indeed be successful who
develops it. And he will indeed fail who stunteth it (91:7-10).
The self is God’s inestimable gift to man. When man receives it, it
is inchoate but endowed with immense potentialities. He is under
the moral obligation to actualise its latent powers and develop it to
the fullest extent. He who shirks this duty fails to qualify for
elevation to a higher plane of existence. He recedes from the Real
and draws nearer to the unreal. And who assiduously develops the
nafs (self), draws “closer to God” (i.e., realises and manifests godly
attributes) and partakes more and more of reality. The distinctive
The Self of Man and Its Destiny 84