They believe that the spirit inside the human body is merely that which sustains the physical frame and processes food and drink. They view it as a dark, murky entity that experiences the pains and torments inflicted upon it, serving as an adversarial soul (nafs diddiyyah) that bears the negative attributes and punishments instead of the holy, speaking self.

The latter, in their view, is the true believer that suffers no torment or flaws, never passes through the entrails, and never indwells the physical body.

To support this, they argue using the statement of the Master Abu 'Abdullah al-Husayn ibn Hamdan al-Khasibi, may God sanctify his soul: "When the believer becomes fully purified, he does not pass through the entrails, is never swaddled, never defecates beneath himself, and never urinates upon his legs." According to them, this is the speaking self within the Imam, directly connected to the Unseen Essence, which is 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, majestic is his glory—whose inward reality is the Commander of the Faithful, the inward reality of the Commander of the Faithful is the Lamp (al-Misbah), the inward reality of the Lamp is the Pearly Star (al-Kawkab al-Durri), and the inward reality of the Pearly Star is the Tree (al-Shajarah),