"Who or what am I?" Possibly you may at some point have asked yourself this question. If so, you probably worked out some sort of an answer for yourself. But and again this is of utmost importance-how can you know whether or not your answer is correct? We will now turn to Islam's answer to this question, which has been provided by the Creator Himself. In the Qur'an, God informs us that among His many creations, we human beings are quite unique. While it is a fact that our physical bodies are similar to those of animals, we're not simply a higher form of animal life. For the thing that, more than anything else, makes us unique is that we possess immortal souls. Islam teaches that our souls originated in the spiritual world. While we were in our mothers' wombs, they were put into our developing fetuses and came into this life with our bodies at birth. As long as we're here, our bodies are our souls' temporary homes-the places that have been 'leased' to them for a while, so to speak. Then, when the lease is up, our souls move out. When this bodily life ends, they return to the spiritual realm from which they came, prior to their final stop, their permanent destination. But we'll return to this point a little later. Another thing that makes us human beings unique is that we have been given reasoning minds. Our minds work with our bodies and senses, sifting, analyzing, storing and transmitting knowledge. And still another unique part of us is the heart, not the bodily heart but the spiritual one, which feels, recognizes and understands at the spiritual level. The heart is allied with the soul, and has a desire and attraction for higher, spiritual things."
(Source: Suzanne Haneef, Islam: The Path of God, pages 28–29 PDF copy)
Suzanne Haneef is an author and an American woman who converted to Islam. A devote Christian during her girlhood, Suzanne Haneef later discovered Islam through contact with Muslims and extensive reading. She is active in the field of Islamic education and has traveled widely in the Muslim world. she wrote two beautiful books:
1- What Everyone Should Know About Islam and Muslims (PDF)
http://www.islamicbulletin.org/free_downloads/new_muslim/what_everyone.pdf
2- Islam: The Path of God (PDF)
http://www.islamicbulletin.org/free_downloads/new_muslim/islam_the_path.pdf
Written by an American Muslim, this work presents a brief yet comprehensive survey of the basic teachings on the significance of Islam’s central concept, faith in and submission to God. It introduces the reader to how Muslims feel about various aspects of life, how they worship, and how Muslims living in the West practice their religion. Perhaps you have been hearing a lot about Islam and Muslims in the news and are interested in knowing, justifiably, just what this religion is all about. This is the classic English-language book for introducing Islam to non-Muslims in the West. It is a well-balanced book that does an excellent job of covering the basics of belief, practice, and culture, without overwhelming the reader in minutia. This is generally the first book that I recommend to people who are interested in learning about Islam.