How Does Our Soul Testify Against Us and, How Does the Testimony of Our Soul Occur?
We are all curious about what happens after death and how our deeds will be accounted for. Many of us may have heard the statement that in the Hereafter, our own limbs and body parts will testify against us.
- But how is it possible for the soul to testify?
- Are not our limbs and organs part of our very being? Then, why would they reveal truths that could be to our detriment?
- How does our soul testify? Is it even possible for each of our limbs to possess an independent existence that enables them to give either positive or negative testimony?
As we know, this world is the realm of action, while the hereafter is the realm of reckoning. Every moment of our lives in this world—through our relationships, desisions, behaviors, and thoughts—we are shaping our souls and moving toward eternity. Some of us are constantly striving to acquire assets and human perfections, becoming more similar to Allah each day as our hearts and souls become more sound and strong, while others follow a different path. Regardless of our circumstances, sooner or later, we must eventually leave this world and begin our eternal life. Undoubtedly, the types of our birth into the hereafter and the quality of our eternal life will not be the same for everyone, as the assets we acquire in this world differ from person to person. The assets of each one of us are determined as soon as we are born into the Barzakh and the reckoning of our deeds begins.
Among all the profound truths concerning the hereafter, the testimony of our soul stands out as one of the most thought-provoking concepts. When we dapart from the material world and enter the realm of intuition, and as we undergo divine reckoning, the soul begins to testify. At that moment, our own soul testifies to the state of its purity and soundness. In this article, we will examine the reason behind the testimony of our soul and how it takes place.
How Is It Possible for the Soul to Testify?
Based on the law of proportion, the testimony of our soul occurs the moment we are born into the hereafter. This means that our existence is evaluated in relation to the structure of the world we are entering at that very moment, and in reality, our soul testifies to its compatibility or incompatibility with the hereafter. However, this testimony is not verbal; rather, it is an existential matter.
In discussing the law of proportion, we stated that the relationship between this world and the hereafter is like the realtionship between the mother’s womb and the world. When a newborn enters the world, they respond to the questions of this world through the state of their body. For example, a baby born with two healthy hands has, in effect, provided a complete and correct response to the world’s demand for grasping and holding objects. Conversely, a baby born with one or no hands—or with extra or missing fingers—has not fully responded to this requirement. The same applies to other organs of the body. Thus, the questions and responses in all our births are not verbal but existential and, in fact, the newborn responds to the requirements of the world through their healthy or unhealthy body organs.
Similarly, when we enter the Barzakh, the soul testifies to its own state. The inward self we have shaped through our relationships, desisions, behaviors, and thoughts in this world becomes fully apparent. Without the need for words, the soul itself answers every question posed in Barzakh, acknowledging its own condition—whether in a state of health, weakness, or sickness. The Book of Deeds is, in fact, a symbolic reference to this very inward self or the soul, in which everything has been recorded. This is why, on the Day of Judgment, we will be addressed, “Read your book; today there will be none but yourself to call you to account. [1]”
Based on what we stated, our compatibility or incompatibility with the conditions of the hereafter is determined the moment we are born into it. This is precisely what is meant by our souls testifying against us. It is similar to the case when the extra finger of the baby born with six fingers testifies against its health in this world. Likewise, the soundness or incompatibility of our soul’s structure with the conditions of the hereafter will also testify against us [2]. Thus, when the soul testifies, not only is there no room for excuses, but we will be the ones condemning ourselves! Having now understood how the soul testifies, an important question arises: What is the criterion for determining the soundness or lack of soundness of the soul?
The Scale and Criterion for Evaluating the Soundness of the Soul
To evaluate anything, a scale or a criterion is necessary, and the evaluation of the soul is no exception.The criterion by which the soundness of the soul is determined is a sound soul or heart—one that is compatible with the conditions of Heaven and possesses the necessary tools for eternal life in the Hereafter. Just as having a perfectly healthy body fully aligned with the living conditions of the world serves as a criterion for evaluating a newborn’s health.
A sound heart or soul is one that has compatibility with the hereafter and carries proper responses to every structure of the hereafter. As we discussed in previous lessons, a person possesses a sound soul when they have truly grasped the meaning of ‘There is no deity but Allah’. This means that their true deity and beloved is Allah. As a result, within their hierarchy of love, three beloveds—Allah, the Ahlul Bayt (the Household of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon them), and jihad (striving in the cause of Allah)—are prioritized over all other beloveds, whether inanimate, vegetative, animalistic, or intellective. Therefore, the more our soul is compatible with the scale and essence of ‘There is no deity but Allah’, the greater its soundness. Moreover, in the Holy Quran, Allah defines the scale as the Truth [3]. Truth is the Perfect Human Being whose birth into the hereafter is the healthiest, possessing the highest potentials.
In this lesson, we discussed the testimony of our soul and the criterion for evaluating its soundness. We established that the questions and responses of the Hereafter are not verbal but existential. Just as a newborn, upon birth, answers the questions of the world through its physical condition, our soul, upon departing this world and being born into eternity, responds to the questions of the Hereafter through its very state.In other words, our compatibility or incompatibility with Heaven is itself the testimony of our soul. Thus, the scale for evaluating the soundness of the soul is its possession of a sound heart or soul —a heart that is in love with God, where all other beloveds exist under the sovereignty of its one True Beloved, that is Allah.
References
[1]. Quran, 17:14
[2]. Quran, 24:24
[3]. Quran 7:8