The three types of soul and the concepts of heaven and hell

The word heaven means "harmony." The word hell is from the old English, meaning to build a wall around, to separate, to be ''belled'' was to be shut off from something, someone, or some place. Religions advocate a great reward for the spiritually fit in this life and the Hereafter. The best of these rewards comes in the Hereafter, where the faithful will live in Heaven, Paradise, Best Home, The Garden. While the place itself will be peaceful and beautiful, the priceless bliss will be living in the company of our Creator, along with the saints and the righteous of all time. Moreover, that priceless bliss is to last forever. Heaven, is also a place of harmony, with no pain and no suffering, it or appreciated in this worldly life. Hell is a resting place for the spiritually unfit; a place where no soul would want to spend the rest of its Hereafter, a place where the worst punishment of its inhabitants is that they will be "shut off," or separated, ''belled from" their Creator. "Verily they shall be shut off from their Lord on that Day." Is it possible in today's scientific age to believe in these traditional concepts of reward and punishment for the soul' Are the benefits of spiritual fitness in this life not enough that we must believe in reward and punishment for our souls in the Hereafter'

These are difficult questions, but the answers are often found within. They are, in reality, non-issues to those who are committed to being spiritually fit. Why must the intelect seek proof that it is scientifically possible for the universe as we know it now (including what we do nott currently know about it) to be one day transformed into Heaven and Hell? Is such a "supernatural" act possible? Can science provide conclusive evidence, will it, in our lifetime? Is it fair even to expect this? Heaven and Hell are a universe unto themselves, quite apart from the current material and physical world to which we are accustomed. Although it is possible to conceive of it through a scientific approach, it is only through divine revelation that we can get the whole picture. The Qur'an states that in such a universe, Heaven is a world of infinite beauty and pleasure, while Hell is a world of infinite pain and suffering. Human bodies then are redeSigned for eternal existence. The Qur'an further states that aging does not exist in Heaven and an enduring beauty prevails. The facility of speed is greatly increased Time is only event-driven; thus the concept of boredom does not arise and the immediate fulfillment of any wish is granted.

As we take care of our souls, we will notice qualitative and quantitative changes in our life. It is possible to observe and measure these changes by monitoring the condition of the soul. The status of the soul is a measure of our spiritual fitness and is sometimes referred to as the health condition of the spiritual heart. Uke our body and mind, the soul is capable of being in top condition. However, unlike our body and mind, the soul's development has no upper limits. There are three types of soul: The destructive soul: It is also referred to as the evil self, or the luring soul. The heart in this state is a dying heart, an unfit heart. This is a state of low spiritual fitness, a condition of spiritual darkness accompanied by an absence of self-knowledge. The watchful soul: It is also referred to as the reproachful self. The heart in this state is a sick heart. This is a state of oscillation between being unfit and fit, an intermediate and dynamic state of the soul on its journey toward spiritual fitness. The contented soul: The heart in this state is a healthy and fit heart, free from spiritual disease. This is a state of true selfknowledge, enlightenment, and a high degree of spiritual fitness. These types, or conditions, of the soul offer a scale of spiritual fitness within three main stages, of course, finer shades of distinction occur within them.

The destructive soul or, evil self, would have us believe that our physical bodies and their appetites are who we really are, thus creating the "hereand- now" attitude. It insists that it is "independent of" and "separate from" God. Negative attachment is the worship of created things; i.e. "there is nothing worth worshipping except myself." The destructive soul leads us to destructive behavior, inconsistent with the well-being of our physical, mental and spiritual existence. It moves us toward illness and death, rather than health and life. In this state the soul is preoccupied totally with biological survival and with physical and mental pleasure in the here-and-now. The journey to achieve these goals may lead to biological destruction, not survival; a great tragedy indeed.

Above all, the evil self overestimates the value of its limited knowledge, creating a state of arrogance that results in discarding the effort to acquire true knowledge about God. The Qur'an notes, ''lbey say, 'What is there but our life in this world, We shall die. We live now and nothing but time can destroy us.' But indeed, they have no knowledge, they merely conjecture. If we let our soul reach such a state, we limit our spiritual growth and exist in spiritual darkness.

Unlike the destructive soul, the watchful soul has not totally submitted to physical attachments and passions. The watchful soul has reached a degree of spiritual fitness, enough to know the true value of love, peace, sincerity, faith, repentance, hope, tolerance, patience, piety, fear, gratitude and perseverance. It has not yet practiced all of the above, but it is on the right path. The watchful soul wages an inner battle towards God and good. But it experiences impulses of doubt on its journey. It is in a state of perplexity and distraction, tom between constructive and destructive thoughts.

The contented soul is also described as "blessed," "guided" and "illuminated." It has reached a state above what is attainable solely through our body and mind. The contented soul is always practicing inner purification through the love of its Creator. In its search for spiritual development, it is guided by God's light. The contented soul has a clear vision of the relationship between body, mind and soul. The Prophet described it as the light of God poured into the eyes, ears and heart of the faithful, until the person's entire being is clothed in brightness. One's self-transformation from the watchful to contented soul is an integral part of healthy adult development and fundamental to the integration of the soul with the personality.

The three types of soul and the concepts of heaven and hell

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