روي أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: الأرواح جنود مجندة، فما تعارف منها ائتلف وما تناكر منها اختلف.
It is narrated that the Prophet (pbuh) said: [Before coming into this world] the souls were like enlisted troops,1 those that were well acquainted with each other [before coming into this world] are harmonious with each other [in this world also] and those that were at variance with each other [before coming into this world] would have differences among them [in this world too]2.
General Notes
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Just as the troops stand in line and get introduced to each other.
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Clearly, the very nature of the information given in this saying ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh) is such that we cannot authenticate it through any source. There is, however, evidence in the Qur’an that the human soul existed in some form before coming to this material world in the physical human form. The most that can be said under the circumstances is that because nothing entailed in the narrative is contrary to any information given in the Qur’an, therefore, if the narrators have accurately reported the saying of the Prophet (pbuh), then it would only be true.
Notes on the Text of the Narrative:
The narrative has been reported with no significant variations in Bukhariy’s narrative no. 3158, Muslim’s narrative no. 2638a and 2638b, Ibn Hibban’s narrative no. 6168, Abu Dawood’s narrative no. 4834, Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s narrative no. 7922, 10836 and 10969, Abu Ya`laa’s narrative no. 4381. Except where otherwise specified, the selected words have been reported in Bukhariy’s narrative no. 3158.
In some other narratives, as for instance in Muslim’s narrative no. 2638b, the narrators seem to have erroneously combined another saying of the Prophet (pbuh). The narrative reads as under:
الناس معادن كمعادن الفضة والذهب. خيارهم في الجاهلية خيارهم في الإسلام إذا فقهوا. والأرواح جنود مجندة، فما تعارف منها ائتلف وما تناكر منها اختلف.
People are like minerals – just like minerals of gold and silver. Those who were best among them before the advent of Islam would continue to be best among them after Islam, if they develop a thorough understanding; and [before coming into this world] the souls were like enlisted troops, those that were well acquainted with each other [before coming into this world] are harmonious with each other [in this world also] and those that were at variance with each other [before coming into this world] would have differences among them [in this world too].
This write-up is prepared by the Hadith Cell of Javed Ahmad Ghamidi