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?
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 : "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.
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Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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