[shriadishakti] Koran 17:85: They ask thee concerning the Spirit.

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On Tue, 18 Nov 2003 jagbir singh wrote :

>They ask thee concerning the Spirit.

>Say: " The Spirit (cometh) by command of my Lord:

>Of knowledge it is only a little that is communicated to you. "

>If it were Our Will, We could take away that which We have sent thee

>by inspiration:

>Then wouldst thou find none to plead thy affair in that matter

>against Us.

>surah 17: 85-86 Al Isra' (The Night Journey)

>Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, 1989.)

>http://www.adishakti.org/text_files/ruh_of_allah.htm

> " Islam for Modern Students

>(Spirit by Hamid S. Aziz)

>Some people have asked about the concept of Spirit in Islam, and

>there appear to be several views about this. Here, this concept will

>be examined using all references to it in the Quran.

>The word spirit is connected with breath and, therefore, with air.

>The breath is what keeps us alive and yet air was a mystery in that

>it was invisible. Spirit, therefore, stands for something very

>subtle. It refers to inner experiences — consciousness, conscience

>and will. It is responsible for revelation, inspiration, intuition

>and insight as opposed to knowledge which comes through the outer

>senses. The Spirit is by the Command of Allah:-

> " They ask thee concerning the Spirit. Say: The Spirit is by command

>of my Lord, and of knowledge ye have been vouchsafed but little. "

>17:85

> " It is naught save mercy from thy Lord. " 17:87

>We may suppose that it refers to something very fundamental which

>cannot be explained in terms of anything else. It is by or comes by

>the command of Allah. It may refer to a fundamental force in the

>Universe which carries information or Truth, for Allah has created

>everything with his Word and with Truth. It is likely that the stage

>by stage condensation of the Spirit is responsible for all levels of

>the heavens and earths.

> " Allah it is who created seven heavens and of the earth the like

>thereof. The Commandment cometh down among them slowly, that ye may

>know that Allah is Able to do all things, and that Allah surroundeth

>all things in knowledge. " 65:12

> " But His command when he intendeth a thing, is only that he says

>unto it: Be! And it is " 36:82

> " He created the heavens and the earth with truth, and He shaped you

>and made good your shapes and unto Him is the journeying. " 64:3 and

>6:73

> " His Word is Truth, and His will be the Sovereignty on the day when

>the trumpet is blown. " 6:74

>The Spirit ascends into Heaven and descends into the earth.

> " From Allah, Lord of the Ascending Stairways whereby the angels and

>the spirit ascend unto Him in a Day whereof the span is fifty

>thousand years. " 70:3-4

> " The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. The angels and

>the Spirit descend therein by the permission of their Lord, with all

>decrees. Peace until the rising of the Dawn. " 97:3-5

>These two verses speak about two different cycles of events — there

>appears to be a spiritual circulation.

> " Lord of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them,

>the Beneficent; with Whom none can argue. On the Day when the angels

>and the Spirit stand arrayed, they speak not, saving him whom the

>Beneficent allows and who speaks right. That is the True Day. So

>whoso will should seek recourse unto his Lord. " 78:38

>This refers to the Final Day of Judgement. The Universe itself is a

>cycle and will be wound up (28:88). Things begin with the Spirit and

>end with it. The Divine Spirit has been breathed into man and this

>is what gives him consciousness:-

> " So when I have made him (man) and have breathed into him of My

>Spirit, do ye (angels) fall down, prostrating yourselves unto him. "

>15:29 also 38:72

> " He directed the ordinance from the heavens unto the earth; then it

>ascends unto Him in a Day, whereof the measure is a thousand years

>of that ye reckon. Such is the knower of the invisible and the

>visible, the Mighty, the Merciful, who made all things good which He

>created, and He began the creation of man from clay; then He made

>his seed from a draught of despised fluid; then He fashioned him and

>breathed into him of His spirit; and appointed for you hearing, and

>sight and hearts. Small thanks give ye! And they say: When we are

>lost in the earth, how can we then be re-created? Nay but they are

>disbelievers in the meeting with their Lord. " 32:7-10

>Note: —

>(1) the change of person from the third to the second — he has

>become aware of himself. He has received some of the qualities of

>the creator.

>(2) Three faculties are mentioned — hearing, seeing and feeling.

>These should be understood as referring not just to outer senses,

>but to inner ones, in particular to conscience, consciousness and

>will.

>(3) that " small thanks " refers to ungratefulness — people do not act

>according to the spirit in them. The spirit has become dormant.

>(4) The possibility of resurrection is connected with the spirit.

>However, we have to distinguish Nafs (soul) from Ruh (spirit).

>Whereas the Spirit is a Universal principle, each person has his own

>soul and it can degenerate or it can be made to grow.

> " Be careful of your duty to your Lord Who created you from a single

>soul and from it created its mate and from them twain has spread

>abroad a multitude of men and women. " 4:1 and 7:189

> " And the soul and Him who perfected it and inspired it with

>(conscience of) what is wrong for it and what is right for it. He

>indeed is successful who causes it to grow, and he indeed is a

>failure who stunts it. " 91:7-10

> " Surely We created man in the best stature, then We reduced him to

>the lowest of the low, save those who believe and do good works and

>theirs is a reward unfailing. So who henceforth will give the lie to

>thee about the judgement? Is not Allah the most conclusive of all

>judges? " 95:4-8

> " Whosoever does right, it is only for the good of his own soul that

>he does right, and whosoever errs, errs only to its hurt. No laden

>soul can bear another's load. We never punish until We have sent a

>messenger. " 17:15

>Also 2:223,231, 3:25,30, 5:105, 6:12,20,70,164, 7:53, 9:42, 10:108,

>11:21, 14:51, 20:15 and many more.

>The soul may be regarded as a local organisation of the spirit and

>contains the information relating to the individual (his inherited

>and acquired characteristics and those created by his own efforts at

>integration). That consciousness is connected with the soul can be

>seen from the fact that sleep and death are alike:-

> " Allah receives souls at the time of their death, and the soul which

>dies not in its sleep. He keeps that soul for which he has ordained

>death and dismisses the rest till an appointed term. Lo! Herein

>verily are signs for people who take thought. " 39:42

>The existence of the Spirit within man makes him a Vicegerent, a

>person who ought to be serving Allah, and exercising the faculties

>he has received on behalf of Allah. He was made as an instrument

>through which Allah can act more directly.

> " When thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am about to place a

>Vicegerent in the earth, they said: Wilt Thou place therein one who

>will do harm therein and will shed blood, while we, we hymn Thy

>praise and sanctify Thee? He said: Surely I know that which ye know

>not. And He taught Adam all the Names, then showed them to the

>angels, saying: Inform me of the Names of these if ye are truthful.

>They said: Be glorified! We have no knowledge saving that which Thou

>hast taught us. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Knower, Wise. " 2:30-32.

>Man, having been given some of the divine powers could act partly

>independently with his own initiative, creativity and sense of

>responsibility, though still dependent for these powers on Allah.

>This independence is not possible for the angels. In particular man

>was given the capacity to form concepts (the Names may also refer to

>the Attributes of Allah). It is this which gave him the power to do

>the evil and chaos which the angels feared, but Allah knew better.

>He could through experiences and trials lead them towards voluntary

>surrender.

>The spirit exists in man as a Trust:-

> " Lo! We offered the Trust unto the heavens and the earth and the

>hills, but they shrank from bearing it and were afraid of it. And

>man assumed it. Lo! He has proved a tyrant and a fool. " 33:72

>Here again we see that man is accused of not allowing it operate on

>behalf of God.

> " Nay verily man is rebellious that he thinks himself independent.

>lo! Unto thy Lord is the return. " 96:6-8

>This dormant spirit in man can be reactivated by the Messengers.

>These are persons who have already been chosen by Allah to be guided

>by the Spirit.

> " He sends down the angels with the Spirit of His Command unto whom

>He will of His bondmen saying: Warn mankind that there is no god

>save Me, so keep your duty unto Me. He hath created the heavens and

>the earth with truth. High be He exalted above all that they

>associate with Him. " 16:2-3

> " The Exalter of ranks, the lord of the Throne, He casts the Spirit

>of His command upon whom He will of His slaves, that He may warn of

>the Day of Meeting. " 40:15

> " O you who believe! Obey Allah and the Messenger when He calls you

>to that which quickens you (brings you alive), and know that Allah

>comes in between the man and his own heart, and that He it is unto

>Whom ye will be gathered. " 8:24

> " Even as We have sent unto you a messenger from among you, who

>recites unto you Our revelations and causes you to grow, and teaches

>you the Scripture and Wisdom, and teaches you that which ye knew

>not. " 2:151

>Muhammad was such a messenger:-

> " Say (O Muhammad): The Holy Spirit hath revealed it (the Quran) from

>thy Lord with Truth, that it may confirm the faith of those who

>believe and as a guidance and Good Tidings (gospels) for those who

>have Surrendered (to Allah). " 16:102

> " And thus have We inspired in thee (Muhammad) a Spirit of Our

>Command. Thou knowest not what the Scripture was nor what the Faith.

>But We have made it a light whereby We guide whom We will of Our

>bondmen. And lo! Thou verily dost guide unto a right path., the path

>of Allah, unto whom belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and

>whatsoever is in the earth. Do not all things reach Allah at last? "

>42:52-53

> " And lo! It (the Quran) is a revelation of the Lord of the Worlds

>which the True Spirit hath brought down upon thy heart, that thou

>mayest be one of the warners in plain Arabic speech. " 26:192-195

>Note that there is a connection between the notion of Spirit and

>Light. The spiritual regeneration or resurrection is brought about

>thus:-

> " Is he who was dead and We have raised him unto life, and set for

>him a light wherein he walks among men, as him whose similitude is

>in utter darkness whence he cannot emerge? Thus is their conduct

>made fair seeming for the disbelievers. " 6:123

>Other Prophets were also inspired:-

> " Lo! We inspire thee as We inspired Noah and the Prophets after him,

>as We inspired Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the

>tribes, and Jesus and Job and Jonah and Aaron and Solomon, and as We

>imparted unto David the Psalms. And messengers We have mentioned

>unto thee before and messengers We have not mentioned unto thee; and

>Allah spake directly unto Moses. " 5:163-164 and many other verses.

>Believers are also strengthened with the Spirit:-

> " Thou wilt not find folk who believe in Allah and the Last Day

>loving those who oppose Allah and His messenger, even though they be

>their fathers or their sons or their brethren or their clan. As for

>such, He hath written faith upon their hearts and had strengthened

>them with the Sprit from Him, and He will bring them into Gardens

>underneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide. Allah is well

>pleased with them and they are well pleased with Him. They are

>Allah's Party. Lo! Is it not Allah's Party who are the successful? "

>58:22 Compare this with 89:27-30

>Jesus was such a Messenger:-

> " And verily We gave unto Moses the scripture and we caused a train

>of messengers to follow after him, and We gave Jesus, son of Mary,

>clear proofs, and We supported him with the Holy Spirit. Is it ever

>so, that when there comes unto you a messenger from Allah with that

>which you yourselves desire not, you grow arrogant, and some

>disbelieve and some you slay. " 2:87

> " And those messengers, some of whom We have caused to excel others,

>and of whom there are some unto whom Allah spake, while some of them

>He exalted above others in degree; and We gave Jesus, son of Mary,

>clear proofs and We supported him with the Holy Spirit. And if Allah

>had so willed it, those who followed after them would not have

>fought one with another after the clear proof had come unto them.

>But they differed, some of them believing and so disbelieving. And

>if Allah had so willed they would not have fought one with another,

>but Allah does what He will. " 2:253

> " When Allah said: O Jesus son of Mary! Remember My favour unto thee

>and unto thy mother; how I strengthened thee with the Holy Spirit,

>so that thou spakest unto mankind in the cradle as in maturity; and

>how I taught thee the Scripture and Wisdom and the Torah and the

>Gospel and when I inspired the disciples saying: Believe in Me and

>My Messenger, they said: We believe. Bear witness that we have

>surrendered unto Thee (i.e become muslim) " 5:110-111

> " And when Jesus, son of Mary, said; O children of Israel! Lo! I am

>the messenger of Allah unto you, confirming that which was revealed

>before me in the Torah, and bringing good tidings of a messenger who

>comes after me, whose name is the Praised One. yet when he hath come

>unto them with clear proofs, they say; This is mere magic. " 61:6 See

>also 3:50

> " But when Jesus became conscious of their disbelief, he cried: Who

>will be my helpers in the cause of Allah? The disciples said: We

>will be Allah's helpers. We believe in Allah and bear thou witness

>that we have surrendered unto Him (i.e become muslim). " 3:52

>Since, the Spirit is in all human beings, the Quran does not regard

>Jesus as being more than human.

> " The Messiah, son of Mary, was no other than a messenger, messengers

>the like of whom had passed away before him. And his mother was a

>saintly woman. And they both used to eat food. See how We make the

>revelations clear for them and see how they turn away! " 5:75

> " O people of the Scripture! Do not exaggerate in your religion nor

>utter aught concerning Allah save the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son

>of Mary, was only a messenger of Allah and His word which He

>conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him. " 4:171

> " Lo! The likeness of Jesus with Allah is as the likeness of Adam. He

>created him of dust, then He said unto him: Be! And he is. " 3:59

>This is, of course, how Allah created all things.

> " When the angel said: O Mary! Lo! Allah gives thee glad tidings of a

>word from Him, whose name is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary,

>illustrious in the world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought

>near (unto Allah). " 3:45

> " Then We sent unto her (Mary) Our Spirit and it assumed for her the

>likeness of a perfect man. She said: Lo! I seek refuge in the

>Beneficent One from thee, if thou art God-fearing. He said: I am

>only a Messenger of thy Lord, that I may bestow on thee a faultless

>son. She said: How can I have a son when no mortal has touched me,

>neither have I been unchaste? He said: So it will be. Thy Lord

>saith: It is easy for Me. And it will be that We may make of him a

>revelation for mankind and a mercy from Us, and it is thing

>ordained. " 19:17-21

>Note that:-

>1. The Spirit is a Messenger from God, something which transmits

>truth.

>2. The Spirit appeared in the form of a man. This appearance has

>been called Gabriel. Gabriel is said to be an Archangel made of

>spirit as angels are made of light and jinn of fire.

>3. Jesus is the Messiah, and a Revelation for mankind which had

>been pre-ordained. He is a revelation in the same sense that the

>Quran is a revelation.

>The conception of Jesus is described as follows:-

> " And she who was chaste, therefore We breathed into her something of

>Our Spirit and made her and her son a token for all people. " 21:91

>and also 66:12

>This is, of course, how Allah introduced the Spirit into man. "

>H.S. Aziz, Wednesday, Nov. 25, 1998, 9:57 AM

>-----------

> " " Even though Jews and Muslims both find the Christian doctrines of

>the Trinity and Incarnation almost blasphemous, they have produced

>their own versions of these controversial theologies. Each

>expression of these universal themes is slightly different, however,

>showing the ingenuity and inventiveness of the human imagination as

>it struggles to express its sense of " God. "

>Because this is such a big subject, I have deliberately confined

>myself to the One God worshipped by Jews, Christians and Muslims,

>though I have occasionally considered pagan, Hindu and Buddhist

>conceptions of ultimate reality to make a monotheistic point

>clearer. It seems that the idea of God is remarkably close to the

>ideas in religions that developed quite independently. . . . Mystics

>have seen God incarnated in a woman, for example. Others reverently

>speak of God's sexuality and have introduced a female element into

>the divine. This brings me to a difficult point. Because this God

>began as a specifically male deity, monotheists have usually

>referred to it as " he. " In recent years, feminists have

>understandably objected to this. . . . Yet it is perhaps worth

>mentioning that the masculine tenor of God-talk is particularly

>problematic in English. In Hebrew, Arabic and French, however,

>grammatical gender gives theological discourse a sort of sexual

>counterpoint and dialectic, which provides a balance that is often

>lacking in English. Thus in Arabic al-Lah (the supreme name for God)

>is grammatically masculine, but the word for the divine and

>inscrutable essence of God — al-Dhat — is feminine. "

>Karen Armstrong, A History of God,

>Ballantine Books, 1993, p. xxi-xxiii.

>-----------------

> " The Primordial Mother (Ruh of Allah) was the Primordial Power of

>Divine Love. The Power of God (Ruh of Allah) separated from God

>(Allah) itself. God was the Witness — Witness of the Play of the

>Divine Power (Ruh of Allah). There is no difference between the Two.

>God Almighty (Allah) and His Power (Ruh of Allah) are just like the

>sun and his rays. For us, for human beings it is impossible to

>conceive the mystery. Moreover, in our ego, we think we can

>understand Him. "

>Shri Adi Shakti Devi

>The Mystery Of God, U.K. — June 8, 1981

> 

>-----------

> " Adi Shakti's Power is divine; is described in every religion; same

>in Islam called Ruh. In Bible is called the All- Pervading Power.

>It's called as Alak — that cannot be seen; Niranjana, the One that

>is beyond any attachment . . .

>All these words are used for this Divine Power. People have heard 

>about it; people have sung about it but unfortunately very few 

>people felt it. And when they felt it they didn't know how to give

>it to others; how to make others feel it.

>So whatever they talked became sort of story or some nonsensical

>thing. Nobody could believe that they have felt anything like that

>or could imagine that there is such a Power really existing.

>Now luckily it has become quite a universal fact for all of you —

>that you know there is this Power. You are sure about this Power

>because you can feel it within yourself. And when you feel it you

>feel very joyous . . . the Power of Adi Shakti (Ruh of Allah) — She

>tells you the Truth. "

>Shri Adi Shakti Devi

>Cabella, Italy — June 9, 1996

>-------------

> " Sadashiva is the God Almighty (Allah) and He is a Writer of the

>Play of the Primordial Mother (His Ruh). The combination between

>Sadashiva and the Primordial Mother is just like the moon and the

>moonlight or the sun and the sunlight. We cannot understand such

>relationships in human marriages or human relations. Whatever the

>Adi Shakti is creating, which is the desire of Sadashiva, is being

>witnessed by Him and when He is watching this Creation, He is

>witnessing all of it. He witnesses the whole Universe and He

>witnesses this Mother Earth. All the Creation, that is done by the

>Adi Shakti. His Power is of Witnessing. The Power of Adi Shakti is

>thus All-Pervading Power. "

>Sri Dvaita-varjita Devi

>Delhi, India — March 14, 1994

>