Near-synonyms 1: spirit and soul; heart and intellect; body

Soul and spirit

نَفْس / رُوح

The roots of these two words evoke breath, so much so that most commentators consider that the نفس is only a « colouring » or « darkening » of the روح. There is a whole controversy on the question of whether the spirit is created or not. But these questions go far beyond our purpose, which is exclusively linguistic.

Let us note that in the Qur’an, the word روح is presented first as a divine mystery. In some passages it is presented as belonging to God — He uses the expression « His spirit ». Elsewhere it is associated with Jesus or with the angel Gabriel.

As for the word نفس, it designates first « the person » or « the individual » (it may be God Himself). It then designates the various states of « the soul », being associated with adjectives.

وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الرُّوحِ قُلِ الرُّوحُ مِنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّي وَمَا أُوتِيتُمْ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا
They question you about the Spirit. Say: « The Spirit proceeds from the command of my Lord. And you have been given only little knowledge. » (17:85)

ثُمَّ سَوَّاهُ وَنَفَخَ فِيهِ مِنْ رُوحِهِ
Then He fashioned him harmoniously and breathed into him of His Spirit. (32:9)

تَعْلَمُ مَا فِي نَفْسِي وَلَا أَعْلَمُ مَا فِي نَفْسِكَ
You know what is in my person, and I do not know what is in Your Person. (5:116)

وَمَا أُبَرِّئُ نَفْسِي إِنَّ النَّفْسَ لَأَمَّارَةٌ بِالسُّوءِ إِلَّا مَا رَحِمَ رَبِّي
Yet I do not seek to absolve myself, for the soul strongly incites to evil, except [in] that on which my Lord has mercy. (12:53)

Heart

فُؤاد / قَلْب

The root of the word قلب means « to turn over », « to alternate ». It is thus customary to say that the heart bears this name because its states are changeable. It is to the قلب that the Qur’an associates sensible intelligence.

As for the root of the word فؤاد, it evokes « kindling » and « fire ». It is thus the seat of sensitivity and ardour.

It is to these two terms evoking the heart that the Qur’an metaphorically associates clear-sightedness. (Note that for the Arabs, rational intelligence — عَقْل — was associated with the brain, دِماغ, as appears notably in certain hadiths.)

In Sufi terminology, the فؤاد is presented as the inner part of the heart, or « the heart of the heart ». But this is a distinction that falls outside the linguistic frame.

لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ لَّا يَفْقَهُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌ لَّا يُبْصِرُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ ءَاذَانٌ لَّا يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَآ
They have hearts with which they do not understand; they have eyes with which they do not see; they have ears with which they do not hear. (7:179)

فَإِنَّهَا لَا تَعْمَى الْأَبْصَارُ وَلَكِنْ تَعْمَى الْقُلُوبُ الَّتِي فِي الصُّدُورِ
For it is not the eyes that go blind, but it is the hearts within the breasts that go blind. (22:46)

وَأَصْبَحَ فُؤَادُ أُمِّ مُوسَى فَارِغاً إِن كَادَتْ لَتُبْدِي بِهِ لَوْلَا أَن رَّبَطْنَا عَلَى قَلْبِهَا لِتَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
And the heart of Moses’ mother became empty (or distraught). She almost disclosed everything, had We not strengthened her heart so that she would be among the believers. (28:10)

فَأَوْحَى إِلَى عَبْدِهِ مَا أَوْحَى مَا كَذَبَ الْفُؤَادُ مَا رَأَى
He revealed to His servant what He revealed. The heart did not lie about what it saw. (53:10-11)

نَارُ اللَّهِ الْمُوقَدَةُ الَّتِي تَطَّلِعُ عَلَى الْأَفْئِدَةِ
The kindled Fire of God, which rises over the hearts. (104:6-7)

Intellect

عَقْل

The root of this term also evokes « bonds » and « fetters ». The عقل thus initially refers to rational intelligence: the capacity to make « links » between things and concepts, or the faculty that prevents us from acting wrongly. Nevertheless, the Qur’an often gives it a broader sense, to speak of spiritual intelligence or conscious reason. One may see in it the capacity to make links of a spiritual order, or to connect oneself to the spiritual. Note that this root appears only in the verbal form.

كَانَ فَرِيقٌ مِنْهُمْ يَسْمَعُونَ كَلَامَ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ يُحَرِّفُونَهُ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا عَقَلُوهُ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ
A group of them used to hear the Word of God, then alter it knowingly after having understood it. (2:75)

أَفَلَمْ يَسِيرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ فَتَكُونَ لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ يَعْقِلُونَ بِهَا أَوْ آذَانٌ يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَا فَإِنَّهَا لَا تَعْمَى الْأَبْصَارُ وَلَكِنْ تَعْمَى الْقُلُوبُ الَّتِي فِي الصُّدُورِ
Why do they not travel the earth, so that they may have hearts with which to reason, and ears with which to hear? For it is not the eyes that go blind, but it is the hearts within the breasts that go blind. (22:46)

لُبّ

This word evokes the « core » of any thing. It refers, according to context, to « the pulp », « the flesh », « the marrow », « the brain » or « the heart ». In this sense the Qur’anic expression أُولوا الألباب can be understood as « those who have a brain » or « those who have a heart ».

يُؤْتِي الْحِكْمَةَ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَمَنْ يُؤْتَ الْحِكْمَةَ فَقَدْ أُوتِيَ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا وَمَا يَذَّكَّرُ إِلَّا أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ
He gives wisdom to whom He wills. Whoever has been given wisdom has received an immense good. But only those endowed with a [discerning] heart take heed. (2:269)

نُهْية (ج نُهًى)

The root of this term evokes on the one hand « prohibition » and on the other « finality, the end ». Commentators thus indicate that the Qur’anic expression أُولي النهى (those endowed with reason) designates those who « forbid » the soul from committing bad actions, or those whose opinion is consulted « in the end » or « ultimately ».

إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِأُولِي النُّهَى
There are indeed in that signs for those endowed with reason. (20:54)

حِجْر

The root of this term means « to forbid access », « to protect », « to defend ». In its primary sense, the word حِجْر designates the « lap », « the forbidden space », « the lair ». The Qur’anic expression ذو حِجْر is thus very close to the previous one and evokes people who « guard themselves » or « forbid themselves » from committing bad actions — that is, endowed with reason in the Qur’anic sense.

هَلْ فِي ذَلِكَ قَسَمٌ لِذِي حِجْرٍ
Is there not in that an oath for one endowed with reason? (89:5)

Body

جِسْم

In the broad sense, this term is used to speak of all bodies as matter: bodies as opposed to spirits. A hadith says in this sense: « God created the spirits two thousand years before the bodies (أجْسام). » In the restricted sense, it is used to speak of animate bodies, generally human beings or large animals. The adjective جَسِيم means of large size (or volume).

قَالَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَاهُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَزَادَهُ بَسْطَةً فِي الْعِلْمِ وَالْجِسْمِ
He said: « God has indeed chosen him over you and increased his share in knowledge and physical stature. » (2:247)

وَإِذَا رَأَيْتَهُمْ تُعْجِبُكَ أَجْسَامُهُمْ وَإِنْ يَقُولُوا تَسْمَعْ لِقَوْلِهِمْ كَأَنَّهُمْ خُشُبٌ مُسَنَّدَةٌ يَحْسَبُونَ كُلَّ صَيْحَةٍ عَلَيْهِمْ هُمُ الْعَدُوُّ فَاحْذَرْهُمْ
And when you see them, their bodies arouse your admiration; and if they speak, you listen to their speech. They are like [pieces of] wood propped up [against walls]. They think every cry is directed against them. They are the enemy, so beware of them. (63:4)

جَسَد

This term is used in the Qur’an to evoke a lifeless body. Unlike the previous term, it designates the body in its outward appearance exclusively, independently of its vital functions. This is why it is notably used to refer to the golden calf.

وَاتَّخَذَ قَوْمُ مُوسَى مِنْ بَعْدِهِ مِنْ حُلِيِّهِمْ عِجْلًا جَسَدًا
And the people of Moses, after him, fashioned from their ornaments [the likeness of] a calf’s body. (7:148)

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا قَبْلَكَ إِلا رِجَالا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِمْ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِنْ كُنتُمْ لا تَعْلَمُونَ وَمَا جَعَلْنَاهُمْ جَسَدًا لا يَأْكُلُونَ الطَّعَامَ وَمَا كَانُوا خَالِدِينَ
We sent before you only men to whom We revealed [Our messages]. If you do not know, ask the People of the Reminder. We did not make them bodies that could do without food, nor were they immortal. (21:7)

بَدَن

In its sole Qur’anic occurrence, this word designates a lifeless body (that of Pharaoh). In this sense it approaches the term جَسَد. But more generally, its root evokes corpulence and stoutness. One may thus see in it the body as mass and volume (including in the Qur’anic passage mentioned).

The word بُدْن, of the same root, designates the camels (or cows, according to some) intended for the sacrifices of Mecca during the pilgrimage or the ʿumra; it is said that these camels are so called because of their large size.

فَالْيَوْمَ نُنَجِّيكَ بِبَدَنِكَ لِتَكُونَ لِمَنْ خَلْفَكَ آيَةً وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِنَ النَّاسِ عَنْ آيَاتِنَا لَغَافِلُونَ
Today We shall save you in your body, that you may be a sign for those who come after you. Yet many people pay no heed to Our signs. (10:92)