THE DAILY ISLAMIC REMINDERS. Yaum Al-Khamis, 19th day of Zul Hijjah 1439, (Thursday 30th August 2018). THE SOUL, THE MIND AND THE BODY?. Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem. My respected Brothers and Sisters in Islam, Something of Heaven lives within each and every one of us. It’s the Ruuh, the soul, the creation of ALLAH that was inspired into our mortal flesh before we were born, and it will detach from this body when we die. When life as we know it comes to an end, our bodies will return to the earth whence it came. Our bodies decompose into its constituent elements, carbon and hydrogen and magnesium, and all the minerals and gases and liquids that sustained us through life. After death these elements will again nourish the earth and what’s left of our bodies will help to ‘push up the daisies’ as the saying goes. When we die, our soul also returns to its origins, to the timeless, space-less realm of eternity, whence it came. Before we were born, our soul was pure, unblemished, like a shining mirror. When we die it returns to ALLAH, carrying with it a record of our deeds. We should remember this fact, so that we are constantly mindful of the burden that we place on our soul to carry into the next world. Brothers and sisters, our human personality is made up of a body, a mind and a soul. Modern life lays so much emphasis on the needs of the body and the mind, but it cares little about the soul. What is the relationship between the body and the soul? Which one is more important? Am I a body, attached to a soul, or am I a soul, attached to a body? This is a very important questions​. If we believe our body is more important than our soul, then our main concern throughout life will be to satisfy our bodily needs, and we may neglect the soul as majority do today. If we believe that our soul is more important then we need to know more about the nature of the soul, what strengthens it and what harms it. We Human beings need much more to complete our destiny. Believers from all faiths contend that the Soul is more important than the Body. But the soul and the body each have its own needs. How do we satisfy one without harming the other? Different faiths have different answers. Some teach that renunciation of the world and the demands of the body will lead to spiritual fulfilment. That’s why some people devote their lives to seclusion in monasteries and temples. Islam the only true way of life to paradise teaches a holistic message that we can and should enjoy physical, intellectual and spiritual growth in a balanced way. Muslims daily recite this well-known prayer, [Sura Al Baqara, 2:201] “Rabbana aatinaa fid dunya hasanatan, wafil aakhirati hasanatan, wa qinaa athaaban naar.” “Our Lord, grant us the best of this life, and the best of the life to come, and defend us from the torment of the fire.” To a Muslim, it’s not an either-or situation. We don’t have to make a choice between the body and the soul. Each one has its place, and we must enjoy life in a holistic way. Everything we have is a gift from Allah to be enjoyed as a trust, in due proportion. Unfortunately, those human beings who know how to balance body, mind and soul perfectly are very hard to find. Indeed the very best examples were the Prophets, human beings chosen by Allah to be our spiritual guides and role models. If we look around us we can see how the wrong approach to satisfying body and soul has damaged so many lives. Many of the problems we encounter in human relationships can be traced to this imbalance. From personal values to family and community life, to international affairs, human suffering and human happiness is directly connected to the balance or imbalance between body, mind and soul. How do we address their needs? Whose formula do we apply? Do we rely on our human, subjective solutions, or do we turn to the One who created us all and Who continues to sustain us? To be continued tomorrow in Shaa ALLAH. May ALLAH increases us in wisdom to comprehend HIS creation. Aameen.