nebāt (Sufism Glossary)

Nebāt (plant) is a growing body. In terms of rank, it is lower than minerals. This is because a mineral is a composite (murakkab) body formed from simple substances. For this reason, the majority of the ḥakīms (philosophers) are of the opinion that plants possess rūḥ (the spirit). Thus, the Barāhima (those belonging to the Brahmanic religion of India) have prohibited the cutting of trees. So much so that if one of them needed even a thorn, he would not uproot it. According to their view, it is necessary not to harm living beings. They do not harm living beings. They neither eat nor kill animals, and they do not even eat things like eggs that can turn into animals. Moreover, accepting that they possess rūḥ (the spirit) and that they grow and develop, they have even forbidden the cutting of trees. According to them, growth occurs only by means of rūḥ. In their lands, I saw a tree which, even when approached just to touch it, would close and shrink its leaves as if it had a spirit. Furthermore, according to the muḥaqqiqūn (those who have attained certainty), whether it is a plant, mineral, animal, or anything else, everything that possesses a perceptible (that can be sensed) existence necessarily possesses rūḥ. (Marātib, 38)