رُّوحُ

Commentary:

Various meanings have been assigned to the word روح (soul) by scholars of different schools of Muslim religious thought. According to some of the commentators it applies to all angels; according to others it means only the angel to whom is entrusted the task of the creation of the world; yet others think that it particularly applies to the Archangel Gabriel.

Some scholars, however, are of the view that الروح means the word of God, while some others take it as applying to the Quran. But the most appropriate meaning of this word is "the human soul."

The question regarding the nature of the human soul was first put to the Holy Prophet at Mecca by some of the Meccan idolaters, probably at the instance of the Jews of Medina, when the news reached the latter that he had claimed to be a Divine Prophet. In reply the Prophet recited to them the present verse. When, however, he came to Medina the question appears again to have been put to him by the Jews and he must naturally have recited to them the same verse, thus giving rise to the wrong notion held by some traditionalists that this verse was revealed in Medina or that, after having been first revealed at Mecca, it was again revealed at Medina. The fact is that it was only revealed once and that was at Mecca.

As stated above, the most appropriate meaning of the word الروح is the human soul. The soul has been described here as something created by the direct command of God. As a matter of fact according to the Quran all creation falls under two categories: (1) Original creation which is brought about without the aid or help of any substance or matter previously created. (2) Subsequent creation which is brought about with the aid and help of means and matter previously created. The former kind of creation falls under the category of امر (lit. command) for which see 2:118, and the latter is known as خلق (lit. creating). In this verse we are told that the human soul belongs to the first category.

In the period of their spiritual decadence the Jews seem to have come to dabble in spiritualism and occult practices like many modern Spiritualists, Theosophists and Hindu Yogis. They had come to believe in magic and so-called spiritual practices. These occult practices appeared to have exercised great influence on them. It appears that the Jews started taking interest in magic and occult practices in the time of the Prophet David. These practices became very popular with them in the time of Jesus. According to Philo and the well-known Jewish writer, Josephus, the Essenes in the time of Jesus greatly indulged in these practices and by a life of renunciation they had greatly developed this art. The Quran also refers to the Jewish counterparts of the modern spiritualists in 72:8-10. References to black and white magic may also be found in the books of the Old and New Testaments. Some of the Jews of Medina also seem to have resorted to these practices in the time of the Holy Prophet. This is why when the Meccan idolaters sought their help in confuting the Prophet they suggested that they (the Meccan idolaters) should enquire of him regarding the powers and attributes of the human soul. The Quran answers this inquiry in the verse under comment by saying that the perfect soul derives its powers from the command of God and anything else that is claimed to be acquired by so-called spiritual exercises and magical arts is all meaningless. It may be added that by الروح is particularly meant the perfect soul. That the knowledge acquired by so-called spiritual exercises and by their professed communication with the dead carries little weight has often been demonstrated by the fact that the information claimed to be furnished by departed souls to different mediums regarding the next world always varies.

The question of the powers and attributes of the human soul is of more than local importance, inasmuch as it had not only agitated the minds of the Medinite Jews of the Prophet’s time but has also agitated those of Hindu Yogis, Theosophists and Spiritualists in our own time. Taking الروح in its general sense the verse would mean that the human soul is as much the creation of God as the human body.

2:98; 16:103.

Commentary:

In this verse the angel who brought the revelation from God to the Holy Prophet has been called الروح الامین i.e. the Spirit faithful to the trust. Elsewhere he is called روح القدس (16:103), i.e. the Spirit of Holiness. Both are the attributive names of the Archangel Gabriel who was the medium through whom Divine revelation came to the Holy Prophet. The epithet روح القدس has been used to point to the eternal and complete freedom from every error or blemish in the Quran and the use of the epithet الروح الامین implies that it shall continue to enjoy Divine protection against all attempts to tamper with its text. This latter epithet has been used exclusively with regard to the revelation of the Quran because the promise of everlasting Divine protection was held out to no other Divine Scripture and their texts, in course of time came to be interfered and tampered with. Strangely enough, the Holy Prophet himself was known as الامین (the trustworthy) at Mecca. What a great Divine tribute to, and evidence of, the trustworthiness of the Quran that its revelation was brought by an Amin to an Amin!

16:3; 40:16.

44:5.

Commentary:

الروح here signifies a new spirit, awakening, zeal and determination. The verse purports to say that in the Night of Destiny the angels of God descend to help the Divine Messenger or Reformer to promote and further the cause of truth and that his followers are inspired with a new life, a new spirit and a new awakening, to spread and propagate the Divine Message.

The expression من کل أمر signifies that the angels of God descend to meet and satisfy every religious need and to remove all obstacles and impediments from the way of the expansion and spread of the new Message.

Important Words:

الروح (Spirit) means, the human soul; spirit; the vital principle; inspiration; revelation; Word of God; the Quran; angel Gabriel; joy; happiness; mercy of God, etc. (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

الروح meaning human soul, the word may signify that development and progress of the human soul will know no end. Or the verse may mean that Divine plans and programmes take thousands of years to mature. Or, the words "fifty thousand years" may have reference to the age of the world as estimated by some geologists from a study of the layers of earth. Or the reference may be to a specific cycle of fifty thousand years in which a great change was decreed to take place, because Divine prophecies have their fixed periods, epochs and cycles in which they are fulfilled.

11:106; 20:110.

Commentary:

"The Spirit" here may signify the perfect Spirit—the Holy Prophet; and "the day" may mean the Day of Resurrection. As applied to the present world, "the day" may signify the day of the Fall of Mecca and "the angels" may stand for the angelic Companions of the Holy Prophet who were with him on that day. For الروح see 16:3; 19:18; 32:10; 42:53.