What is the real nature of concepts such as soul mate / twin soul?

Dear Brother / Sister,

The word nafs (soul) mentioned in the verse “When the souls are sorted out, (being joined, like with like)...” is generally accepted as soul/spirit in general. The spouses of the souls are their special bodies. The soul and the body, which are together in the world, are separated by death. The soul that lives alone in the realm of barzakh will reunite with the body, which is its spouse, on the Day of Judgment.

“O (thou) soul, in (complete) rest and satisfaction! Come back thou to thy Lord,- well pleased (thyself), and well-pleasing unto Him” (al-Fajr, 89/27-28)

As a matter of fact, the word nafs is used in the sense of soul in the verse above.

As a secondary meaning, the word nafs is interpreted as class, type and variety. Accordingly, the meaning of the verse is as follows: “When people are sorted out as believers, unbelievers, righteous, sinners...”. This explanation is compatible with the meaning of the following verses:

“And ye shall be sorted out into three classes. Then (there will be) the Companions of the Right Hand… And the Companions of the Left Hand… And those Foremost (in Faith)...” (al-Waqia, 56/7-10) (see Abu Saud, Ibn Ashur, the interpretation of the verse in question).

We can summarize the explanations made regarding the phrase “when the souls are sorted out, (being joined, like with like)” in the verse as follows:

a. The souls will reunite with the bodies and resurrect; then, they will go to the Gathering Place.

b. Every soul owner will come together with their peers. Prophets will be together with prophets, saints with saints, martyrs with martyrs in the Gathering Place - in Paradise. The unbelievers will be together with the unbelievers, the hypocrites with the hypocrites, the Jews with the Jews, and the Christians with the Christians in the Gathering Place -in Hell.

c. People will be divided into three groups on the Day of Judgment; each person will be in the group that is suitable for their position. (For these and other views, see Tabari, Razi, Ibn Kathir, Alusi, the interpretation of the verse in question).

We are of the opinion that there is no expression that evokes “twin spirit” in the Quran and hadiths. Therefore, such an inference has never been made by Islamic scholars.

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