The Resources of the Human Spirit - Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Society

The Resources of the Human Spirit25Regarding the mixed nature of the spirit, he adds: “The individualsoul (the human spirit), although originally pure, on its father’sside, only exists thanks to the existence of the physical body. Forthis reason, the spirit is born mixed.” 5 In his work Al-Tadb¨råtal-ilåhiyya f¨ ißlå¢ al-mamlaka al-insåniyya, the author states thecause of this mixed nature:Since the human spirit has one face turned towards pure lightand another turned towards total darkness or nature, its essenceis a combination of light and dark. Consequently, the spirit wascreated to govern an elementary, natural existence. If the humansubtlety is not subject to any of these characteristics, the spiritwill be moderate in character. But if either pure light or pure darknessare dominant, the spirit will possess the characteristics of thedominant element. 6This blended nature of the human spirit, the result of thefusion of the breath of the divine spirit and the already formedbody, confirms the fact that Ibn ¡Arabi denies the possibilityof transference of the human spirit from one body to another.Every human spirit is thus reserved for only one body, which isgoverned by it and where it came into being.Furthermore, the moment the spirit enters a body is themoment when the body is ready to receive the breath of the spirit.According to the Hadith, Ibn ¡Arabi establishes this moment atthe beginning of the foetus’ fourth month of development. Hesays: “The spirit which emanates from the breath (the humanspirit) starts some four months after the formation of the foetusinside its mother’s womb.” 73. The human spirit is created by God’s commandmentIn accordance with the Quranic text, Ibn ¡Arabi distinguishestwo divine archetypes which make existence possible: thosewho exist “due to Creation” and those who exist “due to the5. Fut. II.272.6. Tadb¨råt, p. 168.7. Fut. I.732.