Back to search
The question

How accurate is the popular saying that souls were created before bodies and lived in "Alam al-Darr" (the world of pre-existence), and that a feeling of familiarity or discomfort towards someone is a result of prior interaction with them in that world?

Share this answer

Source: FtawySummarized from the full answer at Ftawy · imported Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

The souls were created before the bodies, and the world of souls is more comprehensive than the world of particles (alam al-dharr), where souls became acquainted with each other. Some scholars interpret the Hadith: "Souls are like recruited soldiers; those who recognize each other will harmonize, and those who disavow each other will diverge," to mean that the souls that recognized each other in the world of particles before inhabiting bodies are those that will later harmonize, while those that disavowed each other will diverge. Ibn Mas'ud narrated that souls meet in the air and recognize each other, so those that recognize each other harmonize, and those that disavow each other diverge. It was also reported that Ali ibn Abi Talib, in his response to Umar ibn al-Khattab, stated that a man's love for another man, without prior interaction or acquaintance, stems from the meeting and recognition of souls before the creation of bodies.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · imported

Read the full answer on Ftawy
Source platform
Ftawy
Original fatwa ID
98653
Imported
Translation status
Source text, unreviewed
Read the full ruling
Read the full answer on Ftawy