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As-Salaam alaikum, Traditional Western Sciences have assumed that a human being is nothing more than a physical creature functioning through a nervous system and controlled by a physical mind. This conception is, however, challenged by Islamic knowledge through which we come to understand that a human being is composed of nafs (the animal spirit) and ruh (the human soul), which are both contained in the chamber of the human body. The human soul (ruh) is also a body, but it is different in nature to the corporeal body,as explained by Maulana Yar Khan:--
"It (ruh) is luminous, radiant, incorporeal, subtle, living, dynamic and permeates all the organs of the physical body. It is a delicate circulation and diffusion just as water in a rose, or oil in an olive branch or fire in a pile of coal." (Khan 1965:29)
The human soul draws life from Divine light, nur. Just as the soul is the driving force for the physical body, the Divine lights which originate from Allah Ta'ala are the driving force for the soul. This nur is responsible for the purification and development of spirit and the purgation of morals- which are the primary tools in attaining Allah's nearness, pleasure and eternal salvation.
When the soul is detached from the body, it ceases to function independently. This detachment is the experience of death. The soul is not mortal, though, so it passes away to another world, called barzakh, a limited space where the soul will reside before Resurrection Day.
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