Does Soul Get Worse?
Does soul have any levels? Can it improve and deteriorate?
“Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: "I am about to create man from clay:
When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit, fall ye down in obeisance unto him." (Surat-u Sad, 71- 72)
“Verily we have honoured the Children of Adam. We carry them on the land and the sea, and have made provision of good things for them, and have preferred them above many of those whom We created with a marked preferment.” (Surat-u Isra, 70)
The expressions “breathed into him of My spirit” and “We created with a marked preferment” in the ayahs above indicate that Allah has created the soul as an obedient, divine and dignified creature.
“Hast thou seen him who maketh his desire his god, and Allah sendeth him astray purposely, and sealeth up his hearing and his heart, and setteth on his sight a covering ? Then who will lead him after Allah (hath condemned him) ? Will ye not then heed ?
And they say: There is naught but our life of the world; we die and we live, and naught destroyeth us save time; when they have no knowledge whatsoever of (all) that; they do but guess.” (Surat-u Casiye, 23- 24)
Like man pollutes his body with harams (prohibitions), he pollutes his soul through obeying the carnal desires of nafs, doing evil and committing sin. If he goes on sins, after a while his soul declines to such a stage that completely deteriorates and enjoys doing evils and harams any more. Moreover it starts being proud of committing sin.
If the soul has not completely deteriorated yet, his sins bother his heart and conscience every time. If he overcomes his nafs and repents, he can recover and his soul can return to its essential dignity and improve immediately by the blessing of Allah (swt).
“The sinner who regrets and repents is the one whose heart is grieving. Allah (swt) is with him. In a hadith qudsi, Allah (swt) indicates that “I’m by those whose hearts are grieving.”” (Kashf-ul Khafaa, 1/ 203)
“Repentance with Allah is only for those who do evil in ignorance, then turn (to Allah) soon, so these it is to whom Allah turns (mercifully), and Allah is ever Knowing, Wise.” (Surat-u Nisa, 17)