The Spirit and the Angels - how Muslims corrupted the truth about His Ruh (Spirit/Shakti)

[Guest guest]

The Spirit and the Angels

Sam Shamoun

 

Jalal Abualrub has taken up our challenge to show where the Quran

identifies the Holy Spirit as the angel Gabriel.

 

Here is what he writes near the end of his response:

 

" Here is another absurdity that Shamoun brings forth. In his

article mentioned here, Shamoun contradicts the Quran with his

personal interpretation on Prophetic Hadeeths. This is because to

these lying devils, the Quran is Muhammad's creation, so they would

try to contradict the Quran with Hadeeth, whenever it suits them

that is. Yet, he challenges me to, " …provide any Quranic references

which clearly, unambiguously identify the Spirit, the Faithful

Spirit, and/or the Holy Spirit as the angel Gabriel. " Note that

Shamoun used these words, " Quranic references; Spirit; angel

Gabriel. " Well, here are Quranic references proving that the Ru`h

(Spirit) is indeed Angel Jibreel (Gabriel).

 

I hereby answer Shamoun's challenge, so will he do the same with

regards to my challenge to him? Allah said these words in the

Quran, {And truly, this (the Qur'ân) is a revelation from the Lord

of the `Âlamîn (mankind, jinn and all that exists). Which the

trustworthy Rûh has brought down. Upon your heart (O Muhammad) that

you may be (one) of the warners}; [26:192-194]; {Say (O, Muhammad)

Ruh-ul-Qudus has brought it (the Qur'ân) down from your Lord with

truth, that it may make firm and strengthen (the Faith of) those who

believe, and as a guidance and glad tidings to those who have

submitted (to Allâh as Muslims)}; [16:102]; {The angels and the Rûh

ascend to Him in a Day the measure whereof is fifty thousand years};

[70:4]; {Say (O Muhammad): " Whoever is an enemy to Jibrâîl (Gabriel)

(let him die in his fury), for indeed he has brought it (this

Qur'ân) down to your heart by Allâh's Permission, confirming what

came before it [i.e. the original Taurât (Torah) and the original

Injeel (Gospel)] and guidance and glad tidings for the believers};

[2:97].

 

Quranic Summary: This Qur'ân is a revelation from the Lord of

the `Âlamîn, which the trustworthy Rûh has brought down upon your

heart, O, Muhammad; Jibrâîl (Gabriel) indeed has brought this Qur'ân

down to your heart by Allâh's Permission.

 

Conclusion: 1) The Ru`h is Jibreel 2) Sam Shamoun is a liar. "

 

RESPONSE:

 

Talking about begging the question! Abualrub has provided a classic

textbook example of circular reasoning, assuming what he has yet to

prove. Not one of these texts says that the Spirit of faith or Holy

Spirit is Gabriel. Let me quote the references so that the readers

can see this for themselves:

 

Say, the Holy Spirit has brought the revelation from thy Lord in

Truth, in order to strengthen those who believe, and as a Guide and

Glad Tidings to Muslims. S. 16:102

 

Verily this is a Revelation from the Lord of the Worlds: With it

came down the spirit of Faith and Truth- To thy heart and mind, that

thou mayest admonish. S. 26:192-194 Y. Ali

 

These citations simply say that the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of

faith is an agent used to convey the revelation. This next reference

cited by Abualrub actually works against him:

 

The angels AND the spirit (almala-ikatu WA al-roohu) ascend unto him

in a Day the measure whereof is (as) fifty thousand years: S. 70:4

Y. Ali

 

The Spirit here is distinguished from the angels which serves to

affirm that he is not the angel Gabriel. After all, Gabriel would be

naturally included within this group of angels and yet the text

separates the Spirit from them. In order to show how this actually

proves that the Spirit and Gabriel are not the same entity note the

following texts:

 

Verily, those who disbelieve, and die while they are disbelievers,

it is they on whom is the Curse of Allah AND of the angels (Allahi

WA almala-ikati) and of mankind, combined. S. 2:161 Hilali-Khan

 

Or you cause the heaven to fall upon us in pieces, as you have

pretended, or you bring Allah AND the angels (biAllahi WA almala-

ikati) before (us) face to face; S. 17:92 Hilali-Khan

 

Nay! When the earth is pounded to powder, And thy Lord cometh, AND

His angels (rabbuka WA almalaku), rank upon rank, S. 89:21-22 Y. Ali

 

The reader can easily see that these verses are clearly

differentiating Allah from the angels, and yet a similar

construction is used in Sura 70:4. The real reason why a person

would assume that the Spirit is not being differentiated from the

angels is due to a prior assumption that the Spirit is actually

angel Gabriel.

 

In fact, it is primarily due to this presupposition that Abualrub

thinks that this next text proves that Gabriel is the Spirit:

 

Say: Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel-for he brings down the

(revelation) to thy heart by God's will, a confirmation of what went

before, and guidance and glad tidings for those who believe,- S.

2:97 Y. Ali

 

It seems that Abualrub is erroneously assuming that since the Quran

mentions that both the Spirit and Gabriel supposedly brought down

the Quran (we say supposedly since neither entity was responsible

for the composition of the Quran) this therefore implies that they

must be one and the same. His logic goes something like this:

 

Allah used the Holy Spirit to bring down the inspiration.

Allah used Gabriel to bring down the inspiration.

Therefore, the Holy Spirit is Gabriel.

The problem with this view is that Abualrub is operating under the

erroneous assumption that only one entity brought down the

revelation. For Abualrub's logic to be valid he must prove that the

Quran expressly states that Allah used only one being to convey the

revelations. Yet as anyone having read the Quran can verify, and as

Abualrub who has read the Quran and has translated works by Muslim

scholars should know, the Quran does not say that Allah used only

one entity to inspire Muhammad with the message. Rather, the Quran

expressly says that Allah used more than one messenger to bring down

his words:

 

By those who bring down the Reminder, S. 77:5 Pickthall

 

The Reminder, according to the Quran, refers to the revelation given

to the prophets, specifically Muhammad:

 

And they say: O thou unto whom the Reminder is revealed, lo! thou

art indeed a madman!… Lo! We, even We, reveal the Reminder, and lo!

We verily are its Guardian. S. 15:6, 9 Pickthall

 

Here is how one commentary attributed to Ibn Abbas interprets Sura

77:5:

 

(By those who bring down the Reminder) and He swore by THOSE who

bring down the revelations, (Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn `Abbâs;

source; bold, capital and underline emphasis ours)

 

Since this citation is speaking about the giving of revelation this

therefore implies that those who brought it down is a reference to

the angels, an understanding shared by some Muslim translators and

commentators:

 

And by the angels that bring the revelations to the Messengers,

Hilali-Khan

 

by the casters of the remembrance, that is, [by] angels that descend

with the revelation upon the prophets and messengers, casting the

revelation onto the [various] communities [of mankind], (Tafsir al-

Jalalayn; source; bold and underline emphasis ours)

 

There is another text which shows that more than one entity was

involved in giving the inspiration:

 

(The angels say:) " WE descend not but by command of thy Lord: to Him

belongeth what is before US and what is behind US, and what is

between: and thy Lord never doth forget, - " S. 19:64 Y. Ali

 

And we (angels) descend not except by the Command of your Lord (O

Muhammad SAW). To Him belongs what is before US and what is behind

US, and what is between those two, and your Lord is never forgetful,

Hilali-Khan

 

It becomes quite clear when we take all these passages into

consideration that, according to the Quran, Allah used the Holy

Spirit and the angels such as Gabriel to bring down the messages.

Since the Quran expressly states that there were several entities

involved in inspiring Muhammad on what grounds does Abualrub

therefore assume that Gabriel must be the Holy Spirit?

 

As if the foregoing wasn't sufficient to refute the assertion that

the Holy Spirit is Gabriel according to the Quran, note what the

following citation says:

 

And they ask you (O Muhammad SAW) concerning the Ruh (the Spirit);

Say: " The Ruh (the Spirit): it is one of the things, the knowledge

of which is only with my Lord. And of knowledge, you (mankind) have

been given only a little. " S. 17:85 Hilali-Khan

 

Here was a golden opportunity for Muhammad to have come out and said

that the Spirit is Gabriel, the angel of revelation. Instead, he

emphatically denies knowing the identity and nature of the Spirit!

It seems that Abualrub knows more than his own prophet since he

seems to definitely know who the Spirit is whereas Muhammad and his

source clearly didn't.

 

The Spirit and the Angels

Sam Shamoun

 

 

Further reading:

 

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

http://al-qiyamah.org/angels_sent_forth_(al_mursalat).htm

http://www.al-qiyamah.org/text_files/ruh_of_allah.htm

http://www.al-qiyamah.org/_/islam_and_the_divine_feminine.htm

http://www.al-qiyamah.org/forum/laa_uqsim_12-31-2004.htm