The commander toward corruption is the inciting ego [al-Nafs al-Musawwilah], whereas that which forbids it is the Luminous, Spiritual Soul, which originates from the essence of the Pathway linked directly to Intellect [al-'Aql] and Faith [al-Iman]. If the individual stubbornly persists in committing the detestable act, the soul of Intellect and Faith exits from him, leaving behind only the inciting, lower ego [al-Ruh al-Musawwilah al-Ammarah bi-al-Su']. Once he executes the ugly deed, that Luminous, Spiritual Soul returns to him, forcing him to witness the vileness of his action, whereupon deep remorse [al-nadamah] immediately takes hold of him.'

And Master Abu Sa'id said in Kitab al-Ma'arif: 'Verily, within the human being reside five pairs [of spiritual faculties]. The soul that never sleeps is that which remains perpetually awake and alive while the human being is asleep; and it is from this faculty that the dreams witnessed by a sleeping person originate. Verily, it never involves itself in sins nor in forbidden acts, for it is the soul of Faith [Ruh al-Iman]. It is directly proportional to the strength or weakness of this spiritual substance within the physical body that an individual's esoteric knowledge [al-'ilm] and righteous actions [al-'amal] manifest.'