Is spirit (vitality) some kind of energy?

- Why can it be not an energy?
- What is our answer to those who say that human is matter + energy?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Talking freely about an unknown thing such as spirit, which cannot be tested with scientific methods, means going beyond the limits.

Those who ask questions about the nature of the spirit are given the following answer in the Quran: “Say: The Spirit (cometh) by command of my Lord” and then, the point that “humans have very little knowledge” is particularly emphasized. (see al-Isra, 17/85)

- Energy is defined as “the power that exists in matter and manifests itself in the form of heat and light”.

However, as the verse above indicates, the spirit is a being that does not have a nature that can build and that comes from the realm of command. Those who call it energy think that the spirit is a force that arises based on matter, and do not accept its independent existence.

- It would be beneficial to learn about the issue from Badiuzzaman Said Nursi, who is an expert about it:

“... For according to the Quran’s glorious decree of قُلِ الرُوحُ مِنْ اَمْرِ رَبِّى spirit too is a conscious and living law which has come from the World of the Divine Command, and which Pre-Eternal power has clothed with external existence. That is to say, just as the unconscious laws which proceed from the Divine attribute of will and the World of the Divine Command are always, or mostly, enduring, so is it even more definite that the spirit, which is a sort of brother to them, and like them is a manifestation of the attribute of will and comes from the World of the Command, manifests immortality. It is also more worthy of it, because it is existent, it has an external reality. And it is more potent, more elevated, because it possesses consciousness. It is also more enduring than them, and more valuable, because it is living.” (see Sözler, Yirmi Dokuzuncu Söz, p. 518)

“Spirit is a law possessing external existence, a conscious law. Like the stable and enduring laws of creation, spirit comes from the World of the Divine Command and the attribute of will. Divine power clothes it an existence decked out with senses. He makes a subtle, flowing being the shell to that jewel. Existent spirit is the brother of the conceivable law. They are both enduring and come from the World of the Divine Command. If pre-eternal power had clothed the laws governing in the species of beings in external existence, they would have been spirits. And if the spirit banishes consciousness, it still would be an undying law.” (see Mektubat, Hakikat Çekirdekleri, p. 470).

It is clearly understood from the statements of Nursi that “Spirit is not energy.”

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