Word 45: The one who recognizes the Nafs as immaterial will find it eternal. Destruction is the property of a complex object, but a simple essence is intellect, intellected, and intellectual.

Word 45: The one who recognizes the Nafs as immaterial will find it eternal. Destruction is the property of a complex object, but a simple essence is intellect, intellected, and intellectual.

In the introduction chapter, we discussed that the “Nafs” are simple, immaterial, and free from the material’s properties. A simple object is the opposite of a complex object, which is made of a combination of elements. The matter is generally composite; for example, the human body is a composite of members such as hands, feet, head, ears, etc. These are gathered together and become the human body. And these organs themselves are composed of different parts like bones, skin, meat, etc. These components also are made up of cells such as bone cells, skin, flesh cells, blood cells, etc. These cells are also complex objects, and they are composed of molecules. Every cell is composed of different molecules. Again, molecules are also composed of atoms. This means that different atoms are arranged and attached in precise order and have become molecules. The atom is composed of atomic particles like electrons, protons, and nucleus. Recently, scientists discovered that the central nucleus of the atom is composed of smaller particles like quarks, which consist of up quarks, down quarks, antiquarks, charm quarks, etc. The research is not concluded yet, and we might find more particles in the near future with advanced technologies. As a result, we concluded that no matter how far we go, we will not find an object in the material world that is simple.

Any material object is complex. We discussed with our loved ones that we have two types of “One”: 1- Real One and 2- Imaginary One or False One. A real “One” is like a human being, but a mound of sand is an unreal “One”. Another example of an imaginary “One” is an army, an army consisting of several thousand soldiers. We have gathered several thousand soldiers and called them an army; this is not a real one. It does not exist externally; that is, an army does not exist apart from the soldiers.

We said that there is no real “One” for matter because matter is made up of members, components, particles, etc. For example, my body is made of hands, head, feet, and skin; therefore, my body is not a real “One”. We also discussed why we realize ourselves as “One” identity. Is our “I” the real “One”? The term and reality of the “I” that we use is immaterial and does not have the rules of matter. The main characteristic of material objects is composition, which means they are composed of members and components. Our “Nafs” or “I” is immaterial, which means that there is no composition for it. The “Nafs” or “I” is not combinable; it is simple; it is a broad and unified truth.

Corruption exists whenever we have a complex object that is made of different components. When the members and components are separated from each other, the composition is broken, and the object is destroyed. Similar to an army, which vanishes when its troops scatter. A book will be destroyed if its pages are separated from one another. Therefore, complex objects are corruptible and destructible. Everything in the material world is destructible. However, an immaterial thing is not composite and does not consist of pieces and components. It is a simple object that is no longer corruptible.

So, Our “Nafs” or “I” is non-destructible and non-corruptible, which means we will exist forever.

We have provided several examples and stated that dreaming is one of the sweetest, clearest, and most effective signs of immateriality. How do you see things in a dream? We ask a materialistic person who rejects the supernatural and immaterial world. “I see with my eyes,” he declares. How are you hearing in dreams? “I hear with my ears,” he declares. How do you taste food in dreams? “With my taste sense”, he says. Well, your eyes are closed while you sleep, right? However, you claim that I dreamed. How did you observe it? Which eye did you see with? With your eyes closed, did you see it? Which ear did you hear with? The physical ear was out of order. Who was the dreamer who saw and heard? The materialist would respond: It was me.

The “I” is something other than the body because when you say, “I saw, I heard, I went, I ate in a dream,” you are implying that you are something other than your material body. Therefore, when the material body is destroyed, your “I” or “Nafs” reality will remain eternally.

The death belongs to this body and not to “me” or my reality. People do not lose their personality when they die. The body will be dissolved because it belongs to the material world. As mentioned, this material body is made of components; therefore, when the composite parts are separated from each other, the composite form is destroyed, and this body becomes corrupted. But the “I” is not from the material world; therefore, it will last forever. The human body can be cut into pieces, but the human mind cannot be cut into pieces. The thoughts are immaterial, and they are not made of matter that can be cut into pieces.

So death is not annihilation; it is only separation from the material body. We (our Nafs) will exist forever. The destruction belongs to the body and not to the soul. The soul is simple and not made up of parts and organs. The soul is a real “One,” not an imaginary “One”, so it is eternal.

“Eternal” means that it is beyond the time limit and exists forever. The time that we count belongs to the material world. This body perishes just as billions of humans have come and lived and died throughout history. That is, they abandoned the material body, and they continued to live in other worlds with another body proportional to the Hereafter.

So far, we understand the first part of Allameh Hassanzadeh’s sentence: “The one who recognizes the Nafs as immaterial will find it eternal. Destruction is the property of a complex object, but a simple essence is intellect, intellected, and intellectual”.

Simple essence means the truth, which is not composite; it is not made of parts. It is a real “One”, and it is a simple or immaterial truth. It is intellect, intellected, and intellectual. What is intellect, intellected, and intellectual in the phrase?

We have discussed in the past that matter does not have the ability to perceive; it cannot perceive; therefore, if we perceive, then we are immaterial. The question is, why is that? Why can no knowledge exist in the material world?

In the definition of “knowledge”, we said: The presence or achievement of a form or concept of an object before a person is called “knowledge”. It means that the form of something or the concept of something appears for our “I”.

For example, you did not see a person, you do not know him, and you know nothing about him. When you see him with your eyes, his face appears in front of your “Nafs,” and you have found knowledge about his face. Or is it a concept and meaning that becomes present for you? For example, you do not know what a genie is. What is the definition? I’ll explain what it is, and then its concept and meaning are present before you, in your mind, in your soul. Therefore, you get some knowledge about it. Since knowledge is immaterial, then its perceiver or container, which is you and I, must be immaterial.

So knowledge means that the form of something or the concept of something or the meaning of something appeared within us or to be present within us. Our question to materialists is that you say: Everything is only matter; tell us how this form appears before you. Or how does this concept appear to you? Does knowledge exist in matter? How do you perceive immaterial knowledge? And many more questions.

Perhaps even if the materialist is the most accomplished scientist, he could state, “Well, I look at something, light hits an object, it is reflected in my eyes, and light enters through the cornea, which acts like a window at the front of the eye. The amount of light entering the eye is controlled by the pupil, which is surrounded by the iris – the colored part of the eye. The pupil changes size according to how much light is present; it is smaller in bright light and becomes larger when there is less light. Our brain works together with our eyes to process the information we see and transform it into recognizable images. Once the image is clearly focused on the sensitive part of the retina, energy in the light that makes up that image creates an electrical signal. Nerve impulses can then carry information about that image to the brain through the optic nerve, which is a collection of more than a million nerve fibers. As the cornea bends light when it enters the eye, the brain receives images that are upside down, so it turns them the right way up when it processes the information. At last, the brain perceives the image.” We agree with most of these statements except the last parts.

We ask a question: So, the image of the object appears or becomes present in your brain, right? “Yes,” they will reply. We ask another question: How does the image of a tree or a mountain that you are seeing appear in your brain? The real image of the tree does not fit in your brain. How can it be achieved or present in your eyes? Most people will reply, “Well, it becomes very small and goes to the brain.” We then ask, “If it becomes a small picture, you must perceive it as small while you perceive it as a large scale.”

Again, we will question materialists who assume that the image of the tree becomes smaller in our brains, “Where does it appear or reside in the brain?” Because the brain is made of many parts and millions of cells. Each of these cells is a living organism itself. They have birth, food, death, reproduction, etc. Which cell does this picture show up in?

Some people say that the brain will perceive it. We know that the brain is made of many cells and atoms. If we assume that the brain will perceive it, each part of the small picture should be perceived by specific cells. These cells are not one identity; they do not have knowledge about each other; they are separate from each other. As if one piece of a photo is in my hand and one piece is in your hand. Another part is in the hand of another guy on the other side of the city, who would want to stick these together and perceive it. The photo should be presented to one person, one identity. There is no real “one” identity in material objects.

Therefore, you see that in an unreal “One”, like “one” army or a group, we always need to have a commander. We need a leader who gathers all the information because they are scattered.

Another big problem with materialist theory is how we perceive meanings and concepts. For example, the concept of love—you understand the concept of love. Each language has a name for it. We are talking about its meaning and concept, not the word. How is the meaning of love present to us? Which cell does this concept want to go to? Does the concept have a shape? Does it have a size? Concept and meaning have no shape and size. The question is how the meaning is perceived by a cell. For example,is it possible to ask someone to pour the meaning and concept of love into a glass? The concept of love cannot be poured into a glass because love is not a material object, and even if it wants to be present, it cannot be. Where in the cell should it be present?

The cell is made up of different molecules. If it appears for a molecule, the molecule is made up of different atoms; in which atom will it be located? The atomic particles are far from the central nucleus. Physicists say the distance between the nucleus and its particles is like the distance of planets to the sun. Some scientists have said that if we remove the distances between atomic particles, the earth will be the size of a ball.

Since “I” know my own knowledge, I am immaterial. The material objects do not have the competence of knowledge at all. Those who claim that the human brain is the container of information or knowledge have no idea what they’re talking about. How can knowledge be transferred into a glass? Knowledge is not poured into a glass, and the same is true for the brain.

Don’t say that we save knowledge on CDs, flash memories, or even in clouds. The key point is that knowledge is not saved on CDs or flash memories because what is saved on the CD is the images, sounds, or words, but not the knowledge. Data is different from knowledge. For example, the words are saved in a book, but we have proved that there is no knowledge in the book since if the knowledge was in the book and a cow ate it, it should get the knowledge.

A book doesn’t have knowledge in it; it is a series of black ink poured onto paper. “I” perceive knowledge from these letters, and it cannot be said that this book has knowledge. CDs, flash memories, or clouds are all the same. They are a series of material chips saved on digital material objects. The knowledge is the presence of a form or meaning before an immaterial object.

Let’s go back to our discussion. Allameh said: “Nafs” is intellect, intellected, and intellectual. Intellectual means a person who reasons or thinks. Intellected means the reasonable one or the subject of thinking or perceiving. Intellect means the presence of reason before a wise person or the presence of an immaterial object in the presence of another immaterial object.

You are aware of yourself, so you are present before yourself, and then you become intellect; as we said, intellect is the presence of an immaterial object in the presence of another immaterial object. (Knowledge is immaterial, and our “I” is also an immaterial being). You are intellectual because you are aware of yourself, and you are also intellected because you are realizing and understanding yourself. So, you are intellect, intellectual, and intellected. Every simple or immaterial essence is such that it knows itself; it is present before itself.

If we have knowledge, this knowledge is related to the soul, not to our material part. It is not possible to extract knowledge from Avicenna’s brain. As we have said many times, knowledge is not placed or hidden in brain cells. The brain is only a tool for perceiving objects. This point is very important, and I hope you understand it well: material objects are not containers of knowledge; matter does not have knowledge due to its lack of presency. Therefore, every being that has knowledge is immaterial; that is, it has some level of immateriality.

Animals are also immaterial. They know what is good or bad for them. They know their enemies, they know their food, and many more, so they know about themselves. So, they have a level of immateriality, but their level is weaker than humans.

Insects are also immaterial because they have knowledge, understanding, and feeling. Even a worm that only has the touch sense is immaterial because it perceives something. Plants also have the experience of immateriality in a way, although their level is very weak. Therefore, the Nafs of an animal also remains because any immaterial creature cannot be destroyed. “When the beasts are gathered” (At-Takwir:5).

Question: What is forgetting or memorization power, especially in older people? Forgetting belongs to the mind; the power of memory is one of the degrees of our Nafs; when we understand the meaning or form, the power of memory keeps it in order to present it and make it appear in our imagination world when needed. Sometimes, the power of memory becomes weak; it cannot summon those faces in our imagination. That’s why we say that I forgot, then when the image appears for us, we say: Ah, I remembered. The power of memory belongs to the power of the Nafs. It is important to note that one of God’s essential gifts for existence in this world is forgetting. If it does not exist, no bitterness will be broken, no regrets will be ended, no grudges will be removed, and people will not enjoy the blessings of the world by remembering the troubles.

The brain is the base. It is not a container of knowledge. The brain is the power of the Nafs. The eyes are the base, tool, or power for seeing. The eyes themselves do not see; the eyes are a means to see. Similarly, the ears are a means to hear. The Nafs is the seer and listener.

Question: What happens if another person’s head is attached to another person’s body? This is a question that used to be raised in the past. If a person’s head is attached to another person’s body, which soul belongs to the body? It has not been tried to see how it will be, but what they used to say is that the Nafs is linked to the brain.

Beloved ones, if a person understands Allameh Hassanzadeh’s sentence, he will realize that we do not belong to this world. We are strangers in this world, and our home is somewhere else; we are imprisoned here. The soul is a prisoner of the body. This world is the prison of the believer and the paradise of the unbeliever (Narration). God willing, our soul will seek perfection as long as it is attached to our bodies. We must gain knowledge and perform good deeds because when we leave this body this body, it is no longer possible to achieve perfection.

One day, we will finally leave this body; we will all die and go to another world, and these bodies will be destroyed and turn into dust, just like our fathers and our ancestors and our father Adam (A). It seems that they never lived on the earth.

Muhammad Mahdi Me’marian

All praise is to God to the extent that He deserves it.