Effectiveness of Soul in Physical Body

By: Ayatullah Shaheed Sayyid Abdul Husain Dastghaib
Though it will be the soul which will be rewarded of punished, it is also possible that, under the effectiveness of the soul, the body may also feel it. Sometimes it does so happen that, owing to the soundness of the soul, the body also does not disintegrate in the grave. It remains fresh even for a thousand years. There are many testimonies to this fact. For instance, the body of Ibne Babuya (r.a.), around one hundred fifty years after his death in the time of Fateh Ali Shah, was found fresh. Not only this but, more astonishingly, even his kafan (shroud cloth) also was not worn out not the colour of henna on his nail faded out after such a long time!

The Body Of Shaykh Sadooq Was Found Fresh
It is written in Rawzat-al-Jannat that a hole had developed in the grave of Shaykh Sadooq (r.s.) due to heavy raining around the year 1238 H.E. People thought of filling it up. So they entered the tomb and found that his body was safe and sound though his physique was rather bulky. The colour of henna was also traceable on his nails. This news spread in Tehran. When Fateh Ali Shah heard it, he along with some government officials as well as religious scholars went to the tomb to enquire. They all saw what they had heard. The king ordered to close the hole and to rebuild the tomb over the grave with decorations.

The Fresh Body Of Hurr And The Handkerchief On His Head
Similar is the event of Hurr bin Yazid Riyahi. Hadith writer (Muhaddith) Jazaari has mentioned it in Anwaar-e-Nomaaniyah like this: Shah Ismail Safavi went to visit Karbala and when he came to know that some people have no good opinion about Hurr, he ordered the excavation of his grave. So when the grave was opened people saw that the martyr's body was exactly in the same condition as it was on the day of his martyrdom in Karbala. There had been no change at all in it. So much so that even his handkerchief also was intact on his head. Since it was historically known to all that the chief of all martyrs, Imam Hussein (a.s.) himself had tied his own handkerchief on the wounded head of Hurr Shah Ismail ordered that the kerchief may be untied so that he may take it to put it in his own Kafan as a good luck sign. As soon as the kerchief was removed people saw that blood gushed out of shi head wound. So it was replaced where and as it was and blood stopped flowing. Thus people knew that Hurr's condition was good (that God was pleased with him and that God had given him a good great reward due to his assistance to Imam Hussein (a.s.) in Karabla). The king built a grand tomb over his grave and appointed a servant to look after.

A Suckling Babe In The Grave Of Abu Jafar Kulaini (r.a.)
The tomb of Shaykh Kulaini (r.a.), author of Kaafee, is situated near the bridge in Baghdad. A fellow from the oppressor rulers thought of destroying the Holy shrine of Imam Moosa Kazim (a.s.) so that people may stop visiting Kazimain. His minister was a Shia (in heart). He became restless to find out any way to stop that fellow from his evil intention. But he was unable to say anything openly because any doubt of his being a Shia was enough to put his life in danger. Anyway, they proceeded to Kazimain with the aforesaid evil intention. As soon as they approached the Baghdad bridge, the minister said: Here is the grave of a big Shia scholar who was one of the delegates of Imam Kazim (a.s.), and people say that his body is still fresh and that it will always remain fresh and safe. If the king agrees this may be checked. If it is found that what people say is correct then it would not be wise to touch the tomb of Imam Kazim (a.s.). The ruler agreed and, as per the king's command, the grave of Kulaini (r.a.) was opened. They saw that his body was quite fresh and not only that, more surprising was the existence of also the fresh and safe body of a little child by Kulaini's side. It could not be known whether the child was related to Kulaini (r.a.) or not. What is worth nothing is what can a soul do. If any other person also comes close to a pious soul it also is affected thereby. No doubt the Holy Progeny are the fountainhead of good and so their corpses are also alive and people can see occasional miracles from their graves.
Contrary to it, if somebody is a person of hell, the chastisement to his or her soul also affects the body. Accordingly, when Bani Abbas overpowered Bani Umayyah and destroyed them totally and even dug out their graves it was observed that nothing except some body traces could be seen in the grave of the cursed Yazeed.