God’s Existence: Does God Have a Soul or a Body?
A man is a compound creature, but is God?
Q: It is said that God created man in his own image. Does this mean that God too has a Carnal Self (Ego), a body and a soul like human beings?
Although God created man in his own image, an image is not everything. For example, if I take a picture of you, the picture will [capture] your features. However, the picture itself cannot talk or walk. In a similar way, what we have as a body is an image of God. But his power, authority and character haven’t been given to man; it is just the image.
What we need to understand about God and God’s existence is that man is a compound creature.
Some living beings are multicellular and some are unicellular. If a living thing is unicellular, then everything is performed by one single cell. Such is the case with amoebas which are microscopic creatures that you can’t see with the naked eye. Then there are multicellular living beings [for which different cells are assigned different tasks].
Similarly, a man is a compound creature, a host of life. This body is like a container and sustainer. Some of the souls in a human being come from the celestial realms. One of the souls in your body comes from the same realm where God dwells: the Ana. Then there is another soul in your body which is from the clan of Jinns: the Carnal Self (Nafs).
All of them have been well-kept in your body. Different features have been assigned and different functions have been utilised. For example, with a soul called the Sirri (the Secret), you are able to see and hear. With Akhfah (the Obscure), you are able to speak. There were cases in which people were told by the doctors, ‘There is no medical defect in your tongue; however, why you do not speak is a mystery.’
His Divine Eminence Gohar Shahi sums it is up in one single sentence. His Divine Eminence said, ‘It is not the tongue in your body that has the ability to speak. Your tongue is manoeuvred by a dedicated soul called Akhfah. When Akhfah is defective, you are not able to speak.’*
Your main soul (Rouh) is not able to see or hear anything. When you were sent down, different auxiliary spirits were allocated with your main soul: the Sirri, Khafi, the Spiritual Heart (Qalb), Akhfah, Ana and the Carnal Self. With the presence of Carnal Self, in this world, you can taste and enjoy different things.
There is no concept of a body or a soul for God.
We have a body, soul and then auxiliary spirits which help our main soul enable our body to speak, see and hear. Thanks to the spirit in your head, the Ana, you have cognitive features which are responsible for intellect and other different types of intelligence.
With God, his body is his soul and his soul is his body. There is nothing else. It is just existence. That very existence is God. Whatever you see, that is God — inside and out.
A man has both an inner dimension and an outer dimension. This is because man is multidimensional. Your soul is not able to perform all these things that you do with the help of your body. This is why there is more than one dimension to your being. God has all the ability in whatever form of existence he is in.
You may call it body, existence or essence or whatever. There is no other soul or spirit inside that body which makes it work, speak, eat or sleep. In whatever form God is, there is no inner dimension.
We have an inner dimension and an outer dimension; the inner dimension belongs to our souls and the outer dimension belongs to our body. Our souls were not able to walk or talk. Therefore, two dimensions have been granted to us to make us work. Otherwise, this creation would have resulted in a complete flop had there not been two different dimensions.
God is a complete being. He doesn’t need assistance from any soul or body in order to speak, see or perform anything else.
This was a transcript of an impromptu speech by Younus AlGohar in reply to a viewer on YouTube. Younus AlGohar is the CEO of Messiah Foundation International. Read more of his work on his website. He also answers questions from viewers live on AlRa TV every day starting at 10:00 PM UK Time.
*Learn more about the different functions of the auxiliary spirits in the book by His Divine Eminence Gohar Shahi, The Religion of God (Divine Love).
