Educational Articles About Islam
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6
Mind, Self, Soul, Spirit, and Happiness from an Islamic Perspective
By Hassan Ali El-Najjar *
Al-Jazeerah, 13 Dhul Qaada, 1428,
The concepts of mind, self, soul, Spirit, and happiness are closely related in the Holy Quran. This article attempts to increase peoples understanding of these concepts, their interconnectedness, and their relevance to Islamic teachings in general.
Importance of the Topic
Scientists of our time have been able to clone animals. This has made it easier on people to believe that the Creator (Praise to Him), the All-Knowledgeable, is capable of resurrecting the human body in the Day of Judgment. [i]
The current information
revolution has demonstrated that information can be captured in diskettes
and disks and transferred through space (from Earth to satellites orbiting
our planet, then back to Earth). However, humans have neither been capable
of transferring information from the human brain nor to it.
This is Gods sphere so far. He is the Creator of scientists and internet innovators. He is capable of transferring information from our brains at the moment of death to a super disk somewhere in His universe until the Day of Judgment. He has not told us how He does that but assured us that we will know a little about it.[ii]
These facts also mean that
God is capable of cloning the same individual and of transferring the
information back to his/her brain, thus resurrecting humans in body and
soul, at the Day of
Judgment.
Happiness, Good, and
Evil
Ultimately, believers in God's ability of resurrection would behave in a good way during their life time on Planet Earth. As a result, they will be rewarded in the this life by living in happiness, and in the hereafter by entering God's Paradise and enjoying life there forever.
Conversely, those who
don't want to believe in the Day of Reckoning, don't also believe in
accountability. So, they may act in an evil or a bad way during their
life time on Planet Earth. As a result, they will be punished by not living
in peace and happiness in this life and by entering Hell in the hereafter.
An important point in the discussion about the Day of Judgment is that
capturing human voice and picture, recording them, and broadcasting them
through radio and TV waves have demonstrated that it is possible to record
every movement, action, or word a human being does or says while living on
Earth.
If humans could do that, then it should be a given that their Creator is more capable of doing it than they are. This constitutes further evidence about the accountability humans are held to by God, who will judge them according to what has been recorded about them.
The two concepts of good and evil are not left to people to define. Otherwise, they may never agree on what constitutes each one of them.
God's teachings revealed in His messages to guide humanity, as summarized in the Holy Qur'an, include specific definitions and examples of what constitutes good and evil.
These messages were delivered by Gods messengers throughout human history. Some of these messengers were mentioned in the Holy Books, others were not mentioned.
Among the mentioned prominent messengers of God, we are told about Adam, Nooh (Noah), Ibrahim (Abraham), Loot (Lot), Is'haq (Isaac), Ya'aqoub (Jacob), Yousuf (Joseph), Moussa (Moses), Hood, Saleh, Elias (Elijah), Elyasa'a, Younus (Jonah), Ayoub (Jobe), Dawood (David), Sulaiman (Solomon), Zakariyah, Yahya (John), Al-Messieh Issa Bin Mariam (the Messiah Jesus, son of Mary), and Muhammed (Peace and blessings of God be upon all of them).
The message of God to humanity, taught by his messengers, includes commands and recommendations.
While good is what God has wanted humans to do, evil is what He warned them against, telling them to avoid or not to do.
It follows that obedience
to God, through doing what He wants people to do, constitutes what's good,
and leads to happiness. However, disobedience to Him leads to committing
evil acts, which causes suffering to offenders and to their victims.
[iii]
More direct association
between obedience to God and happiness as well as disobedience to Him and
unhappiness or wretchedness can be found in verses throughout the Holy
Quran.
[iv]
The Mind
The mind
is the body of knowledge housed in the brain. It includes two main parts.
The first is a software which develops inherently with the brain in the
womb. It is responsible for the functionality of the body, readiness for
learning, and disposition for knowing good and evil, as explained in the
self below.
[v]
The second part of the mind is
accumulated from birth until death, as a result of the interaction with the
world. So, the mind actually houses everything a person learns throughout
his/her life. However, not all the information accumulated in the mind may
be used by a person.
The word mind (aql,
)
does not appear in the Holy Quran as a noun in the singular form. Rather, a
derivative of which is used as a verb (aqala
), meaning to tie,
tighten, control, or restrict.
[vi]
Thus, minding or reasoning means
subjecting ones thinking to known restrictions, rules, laws, and controls
in order for ones behavior to become as educated, safe, wise, and
intelligent as possible, as mentioned in many verses of the Holy Quran.
[vii]
The word al-albab
)
),
however, is used in the Holy Quran to refer to the mind but in the plural
form.
It has been used in 15 verses, all
addressing believers who are intelligent enough to use their minds.
[viii]
Self and Soul
In Surat Al-Anaam
(Chapter 6), Verse 60 of the Holy Quran, we are told that Allah (God,
praise to Him) knows what we do in the daytime, then we go back to Him in
the Day of Judgment, so He tells us what we have done in this life.[ix]
In Chapter 6, also, Verse
61, God tells us that when the moment of death comes, God sends angels who
are curators or record keepers to end a persons life on Earth. Nothing will
be left out of his/her record. The record will be completed. Thus, death
means wafah or completion of a persons record during his/her time life
on Earth.
[x]
Verse 67 of Chapter 6
assures us that every bit of news has a destination where it can be saved or
recorded, and prophetically tells us that we will know that this can and
will happen.
[xi]
Part of this prophecy has
been fulfilled in our time, as we have been capable of capturing the sound
and pictures of humans and their environment and of broadcasting them
through radio and TV waves throughout terrestrial and extraterrestrial
space.
The main idea here is that
if humans have been capable of accomplishing that, then it should be a given
that Allah Almighty is
more capable of doing it and more.
But what exactly are we
going to be held accountable for?
The Holy Quran tells us
that we will be held accountable for all what we say or do with our own free
will and choice. This is because God has given humans the freedom to choose
[xii]
The Holy Quran is very
specific about the contrast between the two choices. In Verses 7 and 8 of
Chapter 91, God Almighty says that when He has perfected the creation of
humans (by blowing His spirit in them), he has also equipped the human self
with the ability to choose to be pious or deviant, following the straight
path or going astray from it.
[xiii]
Translators of the Holy Quran,
including Yusuf Ali, generally use the word soul as a translation
for the Arabic word nafs (ۡ۬).
Sociologists use another term, self, to refer to the body of
knowledge, which is selected from the mind in a developmental process to
form a unique identity for a living person.
The word soul is more used by
religious scholars to refer to a persons unique identity after death, than
during his/her life on earth. Thus, the soul is the self after death,
which will be held accountable for its performance during life on Earth. It
will be resurrected through being transferred back to its cloned body in the
Day of Judgment, in order to be able to communicate with its Creator, then
to be rewarded or punished on the basis of its Earthen performance.
There are hundreds of verses in the Holy
Quran, which mention the self (nafs in Arabic). Some of them refer to the
self during its life on Earth and others refer to it in the hereafter.[xiv]
Spirit
While psychologists, sociologists, and
other scientists have been studying the mind and the self (which becomes
soul after death), we know very little about the spirit, as the Holy Qur'an
tells us.
The word spirit is a
translation of the Arabic word rooh (
), which is mentioned in about 20 verses in the Holy Quran.
Humans receive part of Gods spirit when
they are still in the womb. An angel comes and blows it in the fetus brain.
It is responsible for the functionality of the body organs, readiness for
learning, and disposition for knowing good and evil, as mentioned in
footnote # 5.
From these 20 verses of the Holy Quran, we know that
the spirit is a quality of God that He sends to the humans He has created in
order to support, strengthen, and give life to them. Thus, humans have some
of Gods spirit. The verses also refer to the angel Jibril (Gabriel) as
Gods spirit.
[xv]
Summary and Conclusion
The concepts
of mind, self, soul, Spirit, and happiness
are closely related in the Holy Quran. They are interconnected, in the
sense that understanding them individually cannot be complete without
understanding how they are related to each other.
As human beings, we are elated over a
lot of Gods creations because of our ability to collect, process, and use
data in a good way, by choice.
The human body is just an instrument that incubates and sustains the brain, which houses the human mind, from which the self develops and evolves throughout a person's lifetime on Earth.
God Almighty starts the process by
installing an essential software from His spirit in the human brain. This
allows and enables the human self to start a life-long process of data
collection, processing, and decision making while having the ability to
differentiate between good and evil.
When the body is no longer capable of
sustaining the self, whether by old age, sickness, or accidental injury, then
records of the human self are completed by angels.
In the hereafter, the self is going to
be judged on the basis of its performance on Earth. If it is obedient to God
in its behavior, it will be living in happiness in this life and in the
hereafter. But, if the human self is disobedient to God, it suffers in its
Earthen life and in the hereafter.
To sum up, goodness is obedience to God
and evil is disobedience to Him.
It follows that bad things never happen
to good people.
Whatever happens to human beings in
their life is good, as long as they are obedient to God, even if they become
poor, get sick, or killed
unjustly. Its good because their ultimate destination is an eternal happy
life in Paradise. They have to work as hard as they can in their pursuit of
happiness but they have to observe God in everything they say or do.
You may get the results you want to
achieve here in this life (wealth, offspring, power, prestige, reproductive activities,
etc.) but there's a possibility that you may not get what you are pursuing
because of circumstances beyond
your control.
Success or failure, in the Islamic
sense, is in how you conduct yourself during the process.
************************************************
Notes,
further explanation, and documentation of verses:
* Dr. Hassan Ali El-Najjar has a Ph.D.
in Sociology and a Masters degree in Cultural Anthropology from the
University of Georgia, USA.
This article is based on three Friday
speeches the author gave at the Dalton Islamic Center Mosque on 3 Sha'aban,
1425 (September 17, 2004), 6 Safar, 1426 (March 18, 2005), and 29
Safar, 1426 (April 8, 2005).
The author is using the Holy Quran translation of Yusuf Ali (may Allah be pleased with him for his great work in the service of Islam and Muslims). However, the author is solely responsible for the translation as he may use modern English terms or provide his own terms whenever Yusuf Ali's translation is far away from the meaning of the Arabic word.
Endnotes:
[i] The Scientific Evidence That God Exists and the Holy Qur'an Is His Message to Humanity can be found in this link for those want to be sure about this fact
[ii]
They ask you about the Spirit. Say: "The
Spirit is an issue of my Lord, and the knowledge you obtained
(about it) is only a little
(The Holy Quran, Chapter
17, Verse 85).
ۡٔ ٱۖ ٱ ۡ ۡ ٓ ٱۡۡ ۬ (٨٥)
[iii]
Here are some
examples about how is good, leading to happiness, and how is bad or
evil, leading to suffering, as mentioned in verses 105-108 of Chapter 11
of the Holy Quran.
The day it arrives,
no soul shall speak except by His leave: of those (gathered) some will
be wretched and some will be blessed. (105) Those who are
wretched shall be in the Fire: there will be for them therein (nothing
but) the heaving of sighs and sobs: (106) They will dwell therein for
all the time that the heavens and the earth endure, except as your Lord wills:
For your Lord is the (sure) Accomplisher of what He plans.
(107) And those who are blessed shall be in the Garden: They will dwell
therein for all the time that the heavens and the earth endure, except
as your Lord wills: A gift without break. (108)
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 11, Verses 105-108, Yusuf Alis translation).
ۡ ۡ ڪ ۡ ۡۦۚ ۡۡ
۬ ۬ (١٠٥)
ٱ ٱ ۡ ۬ (١٠٦)
ٰ ٱٰٲ ٱۡۡ ٓ
ۚ ۬ (١٠٧)
۞ ٱ ٱۡ ٰ
ٱٰٲ ٱۡۡ ٓ ۖ ٓ
ۡ ۡ۬
(١٠٨).
[iv] Disobedience
to God associated with punishment and suffering of offenders is
mentioned about 32 times in the Holy Quran, pages 463-464 of the Holy
Quran Index in Arabic by Muhammed Fuad Abdul Baqi. Cairo: Dar Al-Fikr.
1406 (1986). The Arabic Title is: Al-Muajam Al-Mufahras Li Alfadh
Al-Quran Al-Kareem.
Obedience to God associated with winning (
) has been mentioned about 29
times in the Holy Quran, page 527 of the index mentioned above.
More
direct association between obedience to God and happiness as well as
disobedience to Him and unhappiness or wretchedness can be found in
verses throughout the Holy Quran.
It is not fitting for
a Believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah and
His Messenger, to have any option about their decision: if anyone
disobeys Allah and His Messenger he is indeed clearly lost."
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 33, Verse 36, Yusuf Alis translation).
ۡ۬ ۡ ٱ
ۥۤ ۡ ٱۡ ۡ ۡۡۗ
ۡ ٱ ۥ ۡ ٰ۬ ۬
And whoever
disobeys Allah and His Messenger and transgress His limits will be
admitted to a Fire to abide therein: and he/she will have a humiliating
punishment.
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 4, Verse 14, Yusuf Alis translation).
ۡ ٱ ۥ ۥ
ۡۡ ٰ۬ ۥ ۬ ۬
... and whoever
obeys Allah and His Messenger, he/she has already won the
greatest winning.
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 33, Verse 71, Yusuf Alis translation).
ٱ ۥ ۡ ۡ
"And
whoever
obeys Allah and His Messenger and fear Allah and avoids His
wrath,
these are the winners (in the end)."
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 24, Verse 52, Yusuf Alis translation).
ٱ ۥ ۡ ٱ ۡ
ٰٓٮٕ ٱۡٓٮٕ
[v] Prophet Muhammed (Peace and blessings of God be upon him) told us in a famous Hadith that this part of the mind (which enables humans to differentiate between good and evil) is installed in the childs brain around the end of the fourth month of pregnancy, when an angel comes and blows some of the God's Spirit in the child ( ).
(Source: The Forty
Qudsi Hadiths by Imam Al-Nawawi (who died in 676 H), Hadith # 4,
translated by Ezzeddin Ibrahim and Denys Johnson-Davies (Abdul
Wadood), 1989. Cairo: Al-Amal Publishing).
[vi] The verb appears about 49 times in the Holy Quran, and the vast majority of it is in the questioning present plural form, wondering about non-believers: Dont they reason? ( ).
vii]
1.
Do you enjoin right conduct on the people and forget (to practice
it) yourselves and (yet) you study the Scripture? Do you not reason?
(The Holy Quran, Chapter 2, Verse 44, Yusuf Alis translation).
ۡ ٱ ٱۡ ۡ ۡ ۡ
ۡ ٱٰۡۚ ۡ
2.
Did they take other intercessors than Allah? Say: "Even if they
have nothing (no power besides that of God) and have no reasoning?"
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 39, Verse 43, Yusuf Alis translation).
ٱ ٱ ٓۚ ۡ ۡ ڪ
ۡ ۡٔ۬ ۡ
3.
Do you (people of Faith) hope that they will
believe in you, while a party of them used to hear the words of Allah
then they distorted them knowingly, after they reasoned (and understood) them.
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 2, Verse 75, Yusuf Alis translation).
ۡ ۡ ۡ ۡ ۬ ۡۡ
ۡ ڪٰ ٱ ۥ ۢ ۡ
ۡ ۡ
4. They will further
say: "Had we listened or reasoned, we should not have
been among the companions of the Blazing Fire!"
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 67, Verse 10, Yusuf Alis translation).
ۡ ۡ ۡ ۡ ٓ
ٰۡ ٱ
[viii]
Page 644 of
the Holy Quran Index in Arabic by Muhammed Fuad Abdul Baqi. Cairo:
Dar Al-Fikr. 1406 (1986). The Arabic Title is: Al-Muajam Al-Mufahras
Li Alfadh Al-Quran Al-Kareem.
Here are some examples.
1. Only those with
(reasoning) minds will remember (and understand God's message).
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 2, Verse 269, Yusuf Alis translation).
ڪ ٓ ٱٰۡۡ
2. And fear Me, O
you have (reasoning) minds
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 2, Verse 197, Yusuf Alis translation).
ٱ ٰٓ ٱٰۡۡ
3. In the
creation of the heavens and the Earth, and the difference (alternation) of
night
and day, there are signs for those with (reasoning) minds
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 3, Verse 190, Yusuf Alis translation).
ۡ ٱٰٲ ٱۡۡ ٱٰۡ ٱۡ
ٱ ٰ۬ ٱٰۡۡ
The exact translation of the singular form of the noun (al-albab,
) is the mind, according to the Arabic
dictionary Mukhtar Al-Sahah by Al-Razmind. Ibn Kathir also mentioned
that it is the mind. For educated Arabs, the singular form of the
noun Lob (
) is a
reference to the core
or essence of things.
[ix]
And He
is Who takes over your souls by night and knowls of what you do by
day, then He raise you up again to spend a determined
term (of time), then unto Him will be your return,
then He will tell you of what you did.
(The Holy Quran, Chapter 6, Verse 60, Yusuf Alis translation).
ٱ ٮٰڪ ٱۡ ۡ ۡ
ٱ ۡڪۡ ٰۡٓ ۬
۬ۖ ۡ ۡۡ
ۡ ۡ (٦٠)
[x]
He
is the Subjugator (watching) from above over his worshippers (who
submit to Him), and
He sends record keepers (angels) over you, until when death approaches one of
you, Our messengers (angels) take his soul (thus ending his record
on Earth), and they never fail in their duty.
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 6, Verse 61, Yusuf Alis translation).
ٱۡ ۡ ۦۖ ۡ ۡۡ
ٰٓ ٓ ٱۡۡ
ۡ ۡ (٦١)
IThe
closest translation of the Arabic verb (ۡ
) is "took his soul,"
like Yusuf Ali did, but the verb needs to be explained more. It
means that God sends angels who are curators or record keepers to
end a persons life on Earth. Nothing will be left out of his/her
record. The record will be completed. Thus, death means wafah
or completion of a persons record during his/her time life
on Earth.
[xi]
"For
every every bit of news (information), there is a destination (to be
saved in), and you will know it"
(The Holy
Quran, Chapter 6, Verse 67, Yusuf Alis translation).
۬ ۡ۬ۚ ۡ ۡ (٦٧)
Thus, Verse 67 of Chapter 6 of the Holy Quran assures us that
every bit of news has a destination where it can be saved or
recorded, and prophetically tells us that we will know that this can
and will happen, and you'll discover that in the Day of Judgement.
[xii]
And We guided him (the human being) to the two
paths
(of
good and evil).
ٰۡ ٱۡۡ (١٠)
This
means that humans are created with an inherent ability to
differentiate between good and evil deeds. And whatever they do or
say after that is a matter of choice. As a result, they will be held
accountable for the decisions they make.
[xiii]
By the
soul,
and how He has fashioned it; (7) And how He inspired it with its
deviance and its piety (8).
(The Holy Quran,
Chapter 91, Verses 7-8, Yusuf Alis translation).
ۡ۬ ٮٰ (٧)
ۡ ۡٮٰ (٨)
[xiv]
Pages 710-714 of the Holy
Quran Index in Arabic by Muhammed Fuad Abdul Baqi. Cairo: Dar Al-Fikr.
1406 (1986). The Arabic Title is: Al-Muajam Al-Mufahras Li Alfadh
Al-Quran Al-Kareem.
Here are ten of them selected as examples. The first five
examples represent a reference to the nafs (self) during its life on
Earth, and the other five representing its life in the hereafter.
1.
There is no self but has a record keeper over it.
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 86, Verse 4, Yusuf Alis translation).
ۡ۬ ۡ ۬
The exact
translation of hafedh (۬)
is memorizer or record keeper, as explained above.
2.
When you murdered a self (a man) and fell into a dispute
among yourselves as to the crime but Allah was to bring forth what
you did hide.
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 2, Verse 72, Yusuf Alis translation).
ۡ ۡۡ ۡ۬ ٱٲٲٔۡۡ ǝۖ ٱ
ۡ۬ ۡ ۡ
3.
On no self does Allah place a burden greater than it can
bear.
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 2, Verse 286, Yusuf Alis translation).
ٱ ۡ ۡǝۚ
4.
Allah will not delay (the life) of a
self when the time
appointed (for it) has come: and Allah is well-acquainted with what you do.
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 63, Verse 11, Yusuf Alis translation).
ٱ ۡ ٓ ǝۚ ٱ ۢ ۡ
5. And I do call to
witness the self-reproaching self.
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 75, Verse 2, Yusuf Alis translation).
ٓ ۡ ٱۡ ٱ
6.
"Lest the self should (then) say: Ah! woe is me!― In that
I neglected (my Duty) towards Allah, and was among those who
mocked!
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 39, Verse 56, Yusuf Alis translation).
ۡ۬ ٰٰۡ ٰ ۢ
ٱ ٱٰ
7.
Allah has created the heavens and the earth for just ends, and in
order that each self may find the recompense of what it has
earned, and none of them will be wronged.
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 45, Verse 22, Yusuf Alis translation).
ٱ ٱٰٲ ٱۡۡ ٱۡ ٰۡ
ۭۡ ڪۡ ۡ ۡ
8.
Every self will be hostage to its deeds.
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 74, Verse 38, Yusuf Alis translation).
ۭۡ ۡ
9.
(Then) shall each self know what it has put forward.
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 81, Verse 14, Yusuf Alis translation).
ۡ ۡ۬ ٓ ۡۡ
10.
(Then) shall each self
know what it has sent forward and (what it has) kept back.
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 82, Verse 5, Yusuf Alis translation).
ۡ ۡ۬ ۡ ۡ
[xv]
Here are the 20 verses, which mention the word rooh (
), or Spirit of God, in the Holy Quran.
1.
They ask you about the Spirit. Say: "The
Spirit is an issue of my Lord, and the knowledge you obtained
(about it) is only a little
(The Holy Quran, Chapter
17, Verse 85).
ۡٔ ٱۖ ٱ ۡ ۡ ٓ ٱۡۡ ۬
2. We gave Jesus
the son of Mary clear signs and supported him with a spirit
of the Holy
(The Holy Quran, Chapter 2, Verse 87).
ۡ ٱۡ ۡ ٱٰۡ ٰۡ
ٱۡ
3. We gave to
Jesus the son of Mary clear signs and supported him with a spirit
of the Holy
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 2, Verse 253).
ۡ ٱۡ ۡ ٱٰۡ ٰۡ
ٱۡۗ
4. Christ Jesus
the son of Mary was a Messenger of Allah and His
Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a Spirit
from Him
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 4, Verse 172).
ٱۡ ٱۡ ۡ ٱ
ڪ ۥۤ ۡٮٰٓ ٰ ۡ ۬
ۡۖ
5. He sends
down the angels with a spirit from Him, to whoever He
wishes of His worshippers
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 16, Verse 2).
ٱٰۡٓٮٕ ٱ ۡ ۡۦ ٰ
ٓ ۡ ۦۤ
Here, Yusuf Ali
translated the same word (rooh,
)
as
inspiration, which was translated in Verse 87, Chapter 12 and
other verses as spirit. I would keep the same word (spirit)
consistently.
Another
translator, Adnan Zarzour, also explained the Arabic word rooh
(spirit) as wahi (inspiration). (Adnan Zarzour, A Brief Interpretation of the Holy Quran,
Al-Mukhtassar fi Tafseer Al-Quran).
6. The trusted Spirit
came down with it
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 26, Verse 193).
ٱ ٱۡ
Interpreters agree
that
the trusted Spirit is the angel Jibril (Gabriel), who communicates
Gods messages to His human messengers through inspiration.
7. For those, He
has written Faith in their hearts, and supported them with a
spirit from Him. And He will admit them to Gardens beneath
which Rivers flow, to dwell therein for ever
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 58, Verse 22).
ٰٓٮٕ ڪ ٱٰۡ
۬ ۡۖ ۡۡ ٰ۬ ۡ
ۡ ٱٰۡۡ ٰ ǝۚ
8. The angels and
the Spirit ascend unto Him in a Day the measure of which is
fifty thousand years
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 70, Verse 4).
ۡ ٱٰۡٓٮٕڪ ٱ ۡ ۡ۬
ۡ ۥ ۡ ۡ ۬
As mentioned in footnote # 6, the Spirit is the senior angel, Jibril (Gabriel).
9. The Day in
which
the Spirit and the angels will stand forth lining up, none
shall speak except that who is permitted by the Most Compassionate,
and he will say what is right.
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 78, Verse 38).
ۡ ٱ ٱٰۡٓٮٕ ۬ǝۖ
ۡ ٱٰۡ
۬
Here, it is clear
that the Spirit is the angel Jibril (Peace to him).
10. And thus We
have inspired to you a spirit of Us
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 42, Verse 52, Yusuf Alis translation).
ٲ ۡۡٓ ۡ ۬ ۡ ۡǝۚ
The word "spirit" (rooh) here means the information or the message received by messengers of God through inspiration.
11. then We
sent to her Our Spirit, who appeared to her as a man in all
respects.
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 19, Verse 17).
ۡۡٓ ۡ ۬
۬
Here, it is clear
that the Spirit is the angel Jibril (Peace to him).
12. and We
blew into her (body) of Our spirit.
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 66, Verse 12).
ۡ
13. He throws the spirit (of inspiration) to
whoever He wishes of His worshipper, to warn of the Day of
Meeting
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 40, Verse 15).
ۡ ٱ ۡ ۡۦ ٰ ٓ ۡ
ۦ ۡ ٱ
14. Then He
fashioned him in due proportions, and blew into him of
His spirit
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 32, Verse 9).
ٮٰ ۦۖ
15. "When I have
fashioned him (in due proportions) and blew into him of My
spirit, fall you down to him prostrating."
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 15, Verse 29).
ۡ ۥ ۡ
ۥ ٰ
16.
"When I have fashioned him (in due proportions) and blew into him of My
spirit, fall you down to him prostrating."
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 15, Verse 29).
ۡ ۥ ۡ ۥ
ٰ
17. Then will
Allah say: "O Jesus, son of Mary! recount my blessing to you and
to your mother. I supported you with a spirit of the Holy
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 5, Verse 110).
ۡ ٱ ٰ ٱۡ ۡ ٱۡڪۡ ۡ
ۡ ٰ ٲ ۡ ٱۡ
18. Say the
Spirit of the Holy
has brought it (the revelation) down from your Lord in truth
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter16, Verse 102).
ۡ ۥ ٱۡ ٱۡ
The Spirit of the Holy is the angel Jibril (Gabriel), peace to him.
19. Therein come
down the angels and the Spirit by their Lord's permission, on
every errand
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 97, Verse 4).
ٱٰۡٓٮٕ ٱ ۡ
ۡ۬
20. We blew
into her of Our Spirit.
(The
Holy Quran, Chapter 21, Verse 91).
ۡ
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| The Grand Mosque in Makkah during Haj and the holy month of Ramadan (Arab News, 11/6/02) |
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| The Prophet's Mosque in Madinah, which is visited by Haj and Umrah pilgrims out of love and respect for Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). (AN Archives, 2/4/03). | ||
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| A view of Alquds (Jerusalem) with Al-Aqsa Mosque in front, prominent is the golden Dome of the Rock. Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest Islamic shrine, after the Makkah and Medina shrines. It includes all the area between the walls, both buildings and courts, all are sacred and Islamic waqf. |