2. The reproaching self which commits sins and then returns in repentance: 3. The peaceful soul which is mainly characterized by the love ofgoodness and

to its Creator. Such a soul has two facets; good and evil; but whenever it commits evit it regrets and turns to Allah in repentance. It is called 'reproaching' because it reproaches itselffor committing sins. It continually wavers between good and evil.

good deeds and abhorrence ofevilness and evil deeds. These are all characteristics and conditions of one entity, because each human being has only one soul. The word Rub (i.e., soul or spirit), on the other hand, has a number of connotations too. It is used to mean the Quri:tn revealed by Allah to His Messenger. This meaning is spelled out in the verse that reads, ~nd thus We have revealed to you an inspiration ofOur command [i.e., the Qur'ttn}.•.' (Quran: Ash-Shma: 52) Another meaning of the word 'RClb' is fibril (Gabriel) as demonstrated in the verse that provides, 'The Trustworthy Spirit [i.e., Gabriel} has brought it down: (Quran: Ash-Shu'ara: 193) A further meaning of the word 'RClb' is revelation that has been inspired to prophets and messengers. command [i.e., revelation} upon whom He wills ofHis servants•• .' (Quran: Ghafir: 15) It (the inspiration) is called <RClb' because ofthe benefits it brings about for human beings, for life without it cannot be beneficial at all. <RClb' is also used to mean air going in and out of the body. Finally, <RClb' refers to the soul leaving the body at death; this meaning is highlighted above. According to this, ~rRClb' and An­ Nafs are two synonyms, as their meanings are identical. To conclude, the two words differ in that An-Nafs refers also to the body and the blood while Ar-RClh. does not. Allah knows best." .:. The Trial of the Grave, its Torment and its Pleasure Believing in the Last Day means believing in all that the Prophet (PBUH) conveyed about the conditions of man after death. Among these conditions are the trial ofthe grave; its torment and its pleasure. Between death, which ends the first life, and Resurrection, which begins the second one, there is a period of time the name of which was mentioned in the Glorious Quran as «Barzakh (i.e., the barrier or the interval between the two worlds)." Allah, Exalted and Glorified be He, says: «[For such is the stote ofthe disbelievers), until, when death comes to one of them, he says, 'My Lord, send me back that I might do righteousness in that which I left behind: No! It is only a word he is saying; and behind them is a Barzakh (barrier) until the Day they are resurrected:' (Quran: Al-Mu'minu.n: 99-100) Barzakh, here, means a barrier that separates two things (the worldly life from the life in the Hereafter). In effect, this barrier is an example of the recompense of the Hereafter. It represents the first abode among the abodes of the Hereafter, as it includes the questiOning ofthe two angels and then torment or pleasure.