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Ayah al-Ruh
Verse's Information
NameAyah al-Ruh
Suraal-Isra' (Qur'an 17)
Verse85
Juz'15
Page290
Content Information
Cause of
Revelation		Response to the inquiry of the polytheists concerning the spirit
Place of
Revelation		Medina or Mecca
TopicSpirit
AboutThe reality of the spirit


Qur'an 17:85 (known as Ayah al-Rūḥ; Arabic: آیة الروح) is the eighty-fifth verse of al-Isra', revealed in response to an inquiry by the polytheists of Mecca concerning the nature of the spirit. In this verse, God instructs the Prophet (s) that the spirit proceeds from the command (amr) of the Lord, and that humanity has been granted but little knowledge concerning its reality.

Exegetes have posited that this verse addressed inquiries from the Jews or the Quraysh tribe regarding the spirit. The brevity of the explanation is intended to incite reflection or to preclude futile disputation.

Scholarly opinion differs regarding the occasion of revelation for this verse; some classify it as Medinan, while others consider it Meccan. Regardless of the location, reports indicate that the Jews interrogated the Prophet (s) about the spirit to test his prophethood, prompting this concise divine response.

The term "Spirit" (rūḥ) carries multiple semantic nuances in the Qur'an, ranging from the divine spirit that fortifies prophets to Gabriel (a), who is also designated as al-Ruh al-Qudus. Regarding Qur'an 17:85, commentators offer divergent interpretations, suggesting the spirit may refer to an entity from the divine Realm of Command (ʿālam al-amr) or to the vitalizing force of life.

Introduction and Text of the Verse

Qur'an 17:85, famously known as Ayah al-Rūḥ,[1] elucidates the magnitude of the spirit while highlighting the finite nature of human knowledge in this domain.[2] Commentators identify the addressee as either the Prophet (s),[3] the Jews,[4] or humanity at large.[5] The verse addresses inquiries concerning the spirit's reality, quality,[6] temporal origination or eternity,[7] and its status as either a substance (jism) or an accident (ʿaraḍ).[8] Through this verse, God underscores[9] the human incapacity to fully comprehend the essence of the spirit,[10] declaring that knowledge thereof is exclusive to the Divine.Template:Note Some scholars argue that the spirit's subtlety, transcending matter, renders it imperceptible to human senses.[11]


Exegetes maintain that the Prophet (s) was mandated to define the spirit succinctly as an entity pertaining to the Realm of Command;[12]Template:Note and, in response to the Jews' pretension to omniscience, to characterize human knowledge of the spirit's reality as minuscule.[13] Some scholars suggest the omission of a detailed explanation serves a beneficial purpose (maṣlaḥa), encouraging human contemplation,[14] while others deem the comprehension of such abstruse matters unnecessary, viewing the mission of the prophets as restricted to the delivery of the divine message.[15]

Occasion of Revelation

Commentators disagree on the occasion of revelation for Qur'an 17:85.[16] One group identifies the verse as Medinan,[17] asserting that the People of the Book[18] or the Jews of Medina interrogated the Prophet (s) regarding the reality of the spirit.[19] Conversely, others classify it as MeccanTemplate:Note, positing that leaders of the Quraysh[20]—such as Abu Jahl,[21] al-Nadr b. al-Harith, and Uqba b. Abi Mu'ayt—traveled to Medina to confer with Jewish rabbis concerning the Prophet of Islam (s) and his prophetic claims.[22] The Jews advised them to question the Prophet (s) about the spirit as a test. It was purported that if the Prophet provided a verbose technical description, he would be deemed untruthful, as such details were absent from their own scriptures.[23]

In another tradition, it is recounted that the Jews instructed the Quraysh to pose three questions to the Prophet (s), one of which concerned the spirit.[24] They asserted that if the Prophet (s) answered all three, his nubuwwa would not be established; however, if he answered the inquiries regarding the Companions of the Cave and Dhu l-Qarnayn but refrained from a detailed explanation of the spirit, his prophethood would be confirmed.[25]

According to al-Tabarsi, the Prophet (s) initially withheld his response, as the questioners' intent was to foment controversy and obstinacy, and a response would have only exacerbated their animosity.[26] Consequently, the verse was revealed after a delay of fifteen days,[27] offering a concise yet profound allusion to the spirit that astonished the audience.[28]

Usage of "Spirit" in the Quran

Quranic scholars note that the term "spirit" (rūḥ) appears 21 times in the text,[29] denoting various concepts: divine fortification of the prophets (Surah al-Baqara), assistance to believers (Surah al-Mujadila), Gabriel (Surah al-Shu'ara'), a celestial entity transcending the angels (Surah al-Qadr), the Quran itself (Surah al-Shura), and the human spirit (Surah al-Sajda and al-Hijr).[30] The concept is also referred to as "al-Ruh al-Qudus"[31] and "al-Ruh al-Amin".[32]

Meaning of the Spirit in the Verse

Regarding the specific semantic import of "spirit" in Qur'an 17:85, Shi'a commentators[33] and Sunni scholars[34] hold diverse opinions, with various traditions recorded in exegesis literature.[35] Despite this plurality, scholars have attempted to categorize these interpretations into five[36] or six[37] distinct groups.[38]

'Allama Tabataba'i, analyzing Quranic verses, posits that all worldly beings are signs indicating the Names and Attributes of God, possessing no intrinsic independence. He ascribes the spirit to the divine Realm of Command and the sovereignty (malakūt) of existence, defining it as an entity existing independent of material causes or spatiotemporal constraints. In this framework, the spirit is identified as a divine creation localized within the Realm of Command (World of Malakut).[39]

Mughniyya interprets the spirit as life itself, citing the complexities of cellular biology and human inability to create life as evidence.[40] Others, relying on hadith, describe the spirit as a colossal angel in human form, surpassing all other creations in magnitude.[41]

According to al-Qurtubi, a Sunni exegete, the majority of commentators favor the interpretation of the spirit as the human soul. Specific interpretations include the human soul,[42] the animal soul,[43] or the animating force of the body.[44]

Commentators have also engaged in extensive theological discourse concerning the reality and independence of the spirit.[45] A narration from Imam al-Baqir (a), while identifying the spirit with the human and animal soul, also alludes to specific aspects of its ontological reality.[46]

See Also

Notes

  1. ↑ Riḍāʾī Iṣfahānī, Tafsīr-i Qurʾān-i Mihr, 1387 Sh, vol. 12, p. 148.
  2. ↑ Riḍāʾī Iṣfahānī, Tafsīr-i Qurʾān-i Mihr, 1387 Sh, vol. 12, p. 148.
  3. ↑ Dīnawarī, al-Wāḍiḥ, 1424 AH, vol. 1, p. 462; Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, Beirut, vol. 6, p. 515.
  4. ↑ Ṭabarānī, al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, 2008, vol. 4, p. 135; Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-bayān, 1412 AH, vol. 15, p. 104.
  5. ↑ Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān, 1364 Sh, vol. 10, p. 324.
  6. ↑ Wāḥidī, al-Wajīz, 1415 AH, vol. 2, p. 646.
  7. ↑ Bayḍāwī, Anwār al-tanzīl, 1416 AH, vol. 3, p. 265; Nayshābūrī, Waḍḥ al-burhān, 1410 AH, vol. 2, p. 20.
  8. ↑ Ibn Shahrāshūb, Mutashābih al-Qurʾān, 1369 AH, vol. 1, p. 42.
  9. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 12, p. 250.
  10. ↑ Jaʿfarī, Tafsīr-i kawthar, 1376 Sh, vol. 6, p. 354.
  11. ↑ Deobandī, Tafsīr-i Kābulī, 1385 Sh, vol. 3, p. 591.
  12. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 12, p. 252.
  13. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 12, p. 252.
  14. ↑ Qirāʾatī, Tafsīr-i nūr, 1388 Sh, vol. 5, p. 113.
  15. ↑ Deobandī, Tafsīr-i Kābulī, 1385 Sh, vol. 3, p. 591.
  16. ↑ See: Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-bayān, 1412 AH, vol. 15, p. 104.
  17. ↑ Ibn ʿAṭiyya, al-Muḥarrar al-wajīz, 1422 AH, vol. 3, p. 481.
  18. ↑ Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-bayān, 1412 AH, vol. 15, p. 104.
  19. ↑ Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿaẓīm, 1419 AH, vol. 5, p. 104; Abū l-Futūḥ al-Rāzī, Rawḍ al-jinān, 1408 AH, vol. 12, p. 283.
  20. ↑ Jaʿfarī, Tafsīr-i kawthar, 1376 Sh, vol. 6, p. 353.
  21. ↑ Ibn Sulaymān, Tafsīr Muqātil b. Sulaymān, 1423 AH, vol. 2, p. 547; Dīnawarī, al-Wāḍiḥ, 1424 AH, vol. 1, p. 462.
  22. ↑ Ibn ʿAṭiyya, al-Muḥarrar al-wajīz, 1422 AH, vol. 3, p. 481.
  23. ↑ Ṭabarsī, Jawāmiʿ al-jāmiʿ, 1412 AH, vol. 2, p. 343.
  24. ↑ Abū l-Futūḥ al-Rāzī, Rawḍ al-jinān, 1408 AH, vol. 12, p. 283.
  25. ↑ Ibn ʿAṭiyya, al-Muḥarrar al-wajīz, 1422 AH, vol. 3, p. 481; Maybudī, Kashf al-asrār, 1371 Sh, vol. 5, p. 613.
  26. ↑ Ṭabarsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1372 Sh, vol. 6, p. 674.
  27. ↑ Ibn ʿAṭiyya, al-Muḥarrar al-wajīz, 1422 AH, vol. 3, p. 481.
  28. ↑ Riḍāʾī Iṣfahānī, Tafsīr-i Qurʾān-i Mihr, 1387 Sh, vol. 12, pp. 148-149.
  29. ↑ Qirāʾatī, Tafsīr-i nūr, 1388 Sh, vol. 5, p. 112.
  30. ↑ See: Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, 1390 AH, vol. 13, p. 198; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 12, p. 251; Qirāʾatī, Tafsīr-i nūr, 1388 Sh, vol. 5, pp. 112-113.
  31. ↑ Quran, 5:110; 16:102.
  32. ↑ Quran, 26:193.
  33. ↑ Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, 1363 Sh, vol. 2, p. 26; ʿAyyāshī, Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, 1380 AH, vol. 2, p. 316; Fayḍ Kāshānī, Tafsīr al-ṣāfī, 1416 AH, vol. 3, p. 214; Ḥuwayzī, Tafsīr nūr al-thaqalayn, 1415 AH, vol. 3, pp. 215-216; Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, 1407 AH, vol. 1, p. 273.
  34. ↑ al-Suyūṭī, al-Durr al-manthūr, 1404 AH, vol. 4, p. 199; Ṣanʿānī, Tafsīr ʿAbd al-Razzāq, 1411 AH, vol. 1, p. 329.
  35. ↑ Ṭabarānī, al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, 2008, vol. 4, p. 132; Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, Beirut, vol. 6, p. 515; Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān, 1364 Sh, vol. 10, p. 323; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿaẓīm, 1419 AH, vol. 5, p. 105; Maybudī, Kashf al-asrār, 1371 Sh, vol. 5, p. 613; Māturīdī, Taʾwīlāt ahl al-Sunna, 1426 AH, vol. 7, p. 105.
  36. ↑ Māwardī, al-Nukat wa l-ʿuyūn, Beirut, vol. 3, p. 269.
  37. ↑ Ibn al-Jawzī, Zād al-masīr, 1422 AH, vol. 3, p. 50.
  38. ↑ Samarqandī, Baḥr al-ʿulūm, 1416 AH, vol. 2, p. 327; Ṭabarsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1372 Sh, vol. 6, p. 675; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, 1390 Sh, vol. 13, p. 195.
  39. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, 1392 AH, vol. 13, pp. 197-199.
  40. ↑ Mughniyya, al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, 1424 AH, vol. 5, p. 79.
  41. ↑ Ibn Sulaymān, Tafsīr Muqātil b. Sulaymān, 1423 AH, vol. 2, p. 547.
  42. ↑ Ṭabarānī, al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, 2008, vol. 4, p. 134.
  43. ↑ Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, 1407 AH, vol. 2, p. 690; Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, Beirut, vol. 6, p. 515; Ṭabarsī, Jawāmiʿ al-jāmiʿ, 1412 AH, vol. 2, p. 343.
  44. ↑ Bayḍāwī, Anwār al-tanzīl, 1416 AH, vol. 3, p. 265; Wāḥidī, al-Wajīz, 1415 AH, vol. 2, p. 646.
  45. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 12, p. 254.
  46. ↑ Shakūrī, Tafsīr-i Sharīf-i Lāhījī, 1373 Sh, vol. 2, p. 845.

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