According to Quran little knowledge of our true nature--Spirit--is given to Muslims

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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. "

 

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

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

 

 

 

Name of Questioner: Hina - India

Title: And They Ask You Concerning the Soul…

 

Date

15/Mar/2007

 

Question

Please tell me what is the concept of ruh (soul) in Islam. Is it

forever (we're told in the Qur'an that only Allah is immortal)? Is

ruh or soul going to enter in jannat/jahannum [Heaven/Hell] or is it

the body? Is it also present in animals and plants?

 

I will be really thankful to you. Was-salam.

Hina

 

Topic: Heart & Soul

Name of Counselor: Waleed Ahmed Najmeddine

 

Salam, Hina.

 

Thank you for your question. It is a topic that many of us wonder

about. When we research carefully the issue of life after death, we

find that no other religion has as much information to offer as Islam

does.

 

The combination of the Qur'an and the authentic traditions of Prophet

Muhammad (peace be upon him) together provide us with all of the

information and guidance we need to live a righteous life and

maintain a close personal relationship with Allah, the One and Only

Creator of mankind.

 

Knowledge of the nature of the soul, however, is only with Allah, as

we read in the Qur'an what means,

 

[And they ask you concerning the soul. Say: " The soul is one of the

things, of which the knowledge is only with my Lord. And of

knowledge, you have been given only a little. " ] (Al-Israa' 17:85)

 

www.readingislam.com/

 

 

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" Rouh = Soul?

 

This is the single biggest misconception that people have made which helped

distort the issue of 'who we are'.

 

In Arabia, when someone dies, the people say: 'let us pray on his Rouh!'

 

Also, when they speak about someone dying, the say: 'his Rouh has left him'.

 

In schools, they teach our kids that the 'Soul' is the 'Rouh' and that is what

will die and be judged and punished or rewarded...

 

However, the story changes when we look at what GOD has to say:

 

" GOD takes the 'Nafs' when death comes, and also at the time of sleep... "

(39:42)

 

" No 'Nafs' dies except by GOD's leave, at a predetermined time... " (3:145)

 

" Every 'Nafs' tastes death, then you receive your recompense on the Day of

Resurrection... " (3:185)

 

" ...You shall not kill the 'Nafs' that GOD has made sacred, except in the course

of justice... " (6:151)

 

" ...she said: my Lord, I have wronged my 'Nafs " ... " (27:16)

 

Well, you get the picture!

 

GOD tells us that our 'Soul' is called 'Nafs', and that this 'Nafs' is what is

taken at death and what is judged on j-day (then rewarded or punished). The

'Nafs' is YOU, it is your entire being, it is your slate, which is burdened or

lightened by your actions...

 

So, if the 'Soul' is the 'Nafs', then what is the Rouh?

 

Rouh = Spirit.

 

" While a barrier separated her from them, we sent to her Our 'Rouh'. He went to

her in the form of a human being. " (19:17)

 

" They ask you about the 'Rouh'. Say: 'The 'Rouh' comes from my Lord. And you

were not given knowledge, except little. " (Quran 17:85)

 

It becomes apparent to the reader that the 'Rouh' is from GOD and it is the

accumulation of 'knowledge' that will assist the human being in his life...It is

best described as 'Spirit'.

 

You see, animals also have 'Nafs' just like we do (it is their life-force), yet,

you do not see monkeys building spaceships nor turtles working on computers!

 

The 'Rouh' is the gift that GOD gave to our species to allow us the advantage of

'knowledge'.

 

" Once I perfect him (the human), and blow into him from My 'Rouh', you shall

fall prostrate before him. " (15:29)

 

All animals can communicate with one another (remember the birds speaking to

Solomon?). However, it is only man that has 'knowledge'.

 

The 'Rouh' is GOD's gift to us, and it is only GOOD. The information that the

'Rouh' provides each of us is to be used for our benefit, but we have the

'choice' to use it for evil (like nuclear fission being used to make a bomb).

 

Some unfortunate news about the 'Rouh': It will NEVER approach you and save the

day. for example, you are struggling to understand something. If you don't ask

GOD for help, it won't go; " hey, here is the answer! " no, you have to approach

it. Also, it will always be LITERAL. you will have to be specific of what you

are asking. Note, you don't have to say this out loud. You can just think of it

- because many times, humans have hard time expressing what exactly they want to

ask. With the spirit of god, you don't have to worry about this - as long as you

get the intention of asking, the spirit will know the question...as much as you

wanted to ask and that ALONE (though it knows all the questions you know - it is

not going to answer anything you did not ask).

 

Thus if we can summarize what we have upto this point.

 

The human being so far is made-up of:

 

1. The 'Soul' - Nafs (the is YOU, the real person, what makes choices and what

will be judged);

 

2. The 'Spirit' - Rouh (this is a gift from GOD, it is NOT yours, you do not own

it, all people have access to it - like the Quran. It's purpose is to help

provide answers and knowledge to help your Soul make the right decisions). . . .

 

The best Islam is within you - the spirit of GOD (Rouh'u Allah) is within you.

There is no such thing that truth lies outside of you. The ultimate truth lies

within you. Please, take advantage of that blessing. It will be your ultimate

weapon against falsehood. "

 

www.free-minds.org