The story began during a conversation about the soul of a recently deceased Mufti. Albertus Bobouius, a learned visitor in Constantinople, was talking with a dorgist (a local scholar and merchant) about the soul and its fate. The dorgist asked Albertus whether he believed that the Mufti’s soul remained in the grave until the Day of Resurrection.
Albertus admitted that he was uncertain and wished to learn the answer. The dorgist then explained the Munafihi belief in metempsychosis, or the transmigration of souls. According to this teaching, the souls of humans, after death, enter the bodies of animals that match their character and behavior in life Istanbul Daily Tour.
Examples of Soul Assignment
The dorgist gave several examples to explain this idea:
The gluttonous soul enters the swine.
The lecherous or lustful soul enters the goat.
The generous soul enters the horse.
The vigilant or watchful soul enters the dog.
He explained that each animal’s temperament matches the character of the human soul it carries, creating a natural harmony between soul and body.
To support his explanation, the dorgist even produced a book describing the different animals and the proper human souls that enter them after death. He also expressed regret that so few people in Constantinople shared or followed this belief. Most of the followers he knew were part of his own trade and professional circle, and they kept these ideas mainly within their community.
Moral Lessons of the Belief
This belief illustrates the Munafihi emphasis on moral conduct and mindfulness. Since souls are thought to continue in other forms, every action, every vice, and every virtue has spiritual consequences. It encourages people to live carefully, cultivate virtue, and avoid vice, knowing that their character may influence their next life—even in the body of an animal.
In practice, these ideas created a unique blend of philosophy and religion in Constantinople, combining Islamic tradition with Pythagorean and naturalist concepts of the soul.