Farhana Mayer is Editor in the Qur’anic Studies Unit at the Institute of Ismaili Studies.
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Ismailimail 
Verily! Quran does talks about the Spirits in Human Being,but it talks about seven spirits,not three actually.Nafs al amaara is the energy that actually moves matter from Inside or it might be called a driving force inside any Being-be it plant,animal,human or any other objects in the universe,because everything changes and change can occur only when there is a motion,that motion is called Nafs al amara both in the Quran,Hadith and and the traditions of the Shia Ismaili Imams.Nafs is not a “BAD” thing actually as it’s stated by Farhana Mayer,Nafs is the Spirit that A Human being only receives while being in his mother’s womb,later Nafs transfers to Soul and later to Spirit and ultimately before it departs the Human body transfers to Aql.Nafs and Aql are actually the same thing,like an object and its shadow! They complete each others reality,the duality should exist,it must exist!Quran is the Word that keeps that shadow until the sun is shining and when the sun sets both the object and its shadow will not be seen,actually they will disappear!
Our Lord Jafar Ibn Muhammad As Sadiq(A) in almost all of his traditions talks about Aql,as the source and the ultimate adobe of all types of spirits.Aql is the Hadd about which Faqrhana talks.Aql is Hudud of the Quran,the Lotus!…………Ya Ali Madad!
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