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The
dictionaries of classical Arabic give various
meanings of the word ‘Rooh’, including:
Breath of life; soul; spirit; the vital principle
(i.e. A hypothetical force to which the functions
and qualities peculiar to living things are
sometimes ascribed); inspiration; Revelation;
essence; the Quran; joy and happiness; Mercy;
Life-giving words of Allah; Prophet’s Divine Message
(because of its life giving qualities); Angel;
Arch-angel Gabriel.
In the Holy Quran,
the word Rooh has also been used in different
meanings. Please see the following references:
-
Rooh as
Allah’s Revelation [16:2, 17:85, 40:15, 42:52]
-
Allah sent His
Rooh (i.e. His Angel) to Mary who appeared to her
in the form of a person [19:17]
-
Allah breathed
in a chaste lady (Mary) of His Rooh [21:91,
66:12]
-
Alrroohu
al-ameen (who brought down the Revelation) [26:193]
-
Roohi
alqudus, (who brought down the Revelation and
strengthened Jesus) [2:87, 2:253, 5:110, 16:102]
-
Allah
strengthens the believers with Rooh from Him
[58:22]
-
The Universal
forces (Malaika) and the Divine Energy (Ar-Rooh)
ascend unto Him in a Day the measure of which is fifty
thousand years [70:4]
-
Ar-Rooh wa
al-Malaika [78:38]
-
Al-Malaika
wa ar-Rooh [97:4]
-
Jesus, as a Rooh from Allah [4:171]
Allah breathed into man of His Rooh.
Before the Rooh was breathed into man, he has been
addressed in third person (as ‘he’). After having breathed
in the Rooh, man has been addressed in second person
(as ‘you’) [32:9].
Allah said to Malaika to bow down
to Adam When He would breathe into him of His Rooh
[15:29, 38:72]. Now the question is what is this ‘Rooh’
that was breathed into man?
First of all, let us distinguish ‘Life’
from ‘Rooh’. ‘Life’ is the energy which makes various
parts of living beings work and function. As long as there
is ‘life’ (i.e. energy), various parts or a part of a living
being can work or function. As soon as a living being
exhausts or loses all of its energy (i.e. life) [like the power of
a battery], all of its parts cease to work or function and
that living being is dead. So death is the absence of
(manifestation of) energy in a being without which it cannot
work or function. As far as this ‘life’ or energy is
concerned, all living beings have got it as long as they are
‘alive’. All animals and plants have got life, as long as
there is any manifestation of life (i.e. energy) in them.
Rooh, as it is referred to in 15:29, 38:72 and 32:9, is
different from life. This (Rooh) is something because
of which Malaika bowed down to Adam. Except man,
there is only One Being, Allah, to whom Malaika bow
down [16:49]. This suggests that Rooh is the essence (of
Divine Attributes), which when breathed into man made him
worthy of obeisance by Malaika. This ‘Rooh’ is
like a ‘software’; you can see or experience its
manifestation but you cannot touch or feel it like the body
(i.e. the hardware).
09-07-2005
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