Soul in the Quran
- Arabic: Ruh and Nafs
- Sanskrit: Atman
- Latin: Spiritus
- Greek: Pneuma
- Hebrew: Nafs
- English: Ghost/Soul
And they ask you about the soul (Ruh). Say: The soul is one of the commands of my Lord, and you are not given aught of knowledge but a little. (17:85). His command (Irฤdah), when He intends anything, is only to say to it: Be, so it is. (36:82) (Innamaa amruhooo izaaa Iraada shaiโan ai-yaqoola lahoo kun fa-yakoon)
Comment: People have very little knowledge about Ruh. Even a prophet is incompetent to know it completely. Ruh is the Command (iradah) of Allah. So Ruh is made up of material of command. No earthly material is associated with Ruh. Nobody can know the iradah of Allah. Ruh never disassociated Allah. Due to sin ( I am body and not Ruh) a seven-layer black shadow has been placed between Allah and Human beings. Due to sin, inside the biological body, the Ruh takes the shape of Nafas (Ego/Self) and is mixed with world affairs.
Every soul must taste of death, then to Us you shall be brought back. (29:57)
He gives life and causes death, and to Him (God) you shall be brought back (10:56). And they say: What! When we have become lost in the earth, shall we then certainly be in a new creation? Nay! They are disbelievers in the meeting of their Lord. Say: The angel of death who is given charge of you shall cause you to die, then to your Lord (Rab) you shall be brought back. (32:10-11)
Comment: Ruh comes from Allah and takes the form of Nafs in the body and goes back to Allah after death. In this journey, Ruh is imperishable. Disbelievers are those who don’t believe in Ruh and think that their body and Ego (Nafs) are permanent and they will never die. But certainly, they shall meet with the Angel of Death.
Creation of Soul
(It is He) Who made everything good that He has created, and He began the creation of man from dust. Then He made his progeny of an extract of water held in light estimation. Then He made him complete and breathed into him of His spirit (Ruh-ุงูุฑูุญ), and made for you the ears and the eyes and the hearts; little is it that you give thanks. (32:7-9)
Comment: The above verses are a little poetic, it means that the physical body is made up of earthly elements. Perishable and destructible and never last forever. What lasts forever is His command (Ruh), which comes through the breath of Allah and is concealed inside the body. Ruh is covered by ignorance and sin, and mixed with worldly affairs in the form of Nafs.
And remember your Rabb inside your-self โโQuran 7:206
It is We Who ordained death upon you and We are not to be frustrated. (Nahnu qaddarnaa baina kumul mawta wa maa nahnu bimasbooqeen) (Surah Waqiโah 56:60). It is We Who created you. Will you not then believe in resurrection? (56:57) For sinners, the Seven Gate Jahannam (Hell) is the promised place [15: 43]
The word “ruh” appears 21 times in the Quran.
Non-Quranic observations
In Bahar-e-Shariโa, “Remember! Death means the separation of the soul from the body; it doesnโt mean that the soul perishes. He who holds the view that the soul perishes is a heretic”. (Bahar-e-Shariโat, vol. 1, pp. 104 ). Again, Imam Maalik stated: The souls of Mu`mineen are free; they go wherever they wish [to go]. (Al-Istizkar, vol. 2, pp. 617, Taht-al-Hadees: 292). The souls of animals remain suspended in the air or they remain wherever Allah will keep them. Moreover, there remains no relation between their souls and bodies [after death as humans]. (Ruh-ul-Maโani, part 15, Bani Israel, Taht-al-Ayah: 85, Juz: 15, vol. 8, pp. 208
