Rūḥ

The Spirit (Arabic: الروح, ar-rūḥ) is mentioned twenty one times in the Quran, where it is described as issuing from command of God. The spirit acts as an agent of divine action or communication.

For other uses, see Ruh (disambiguation).

The Quran describes the rūḥ in various ways. It refers to ruh as rūḥ al-qudus, which means "the holy spirit" and ar-rūḥ al-amin, which means "the faithful" or "trustworthy spirit", terms that are commonly understood to be references to the archangel Gabriel. The Quran also refers to ruh as God's own spirit ("My/His Spirit"), which was blown into Adam, and which is considered the source of human life. Most commentators interpret the phrase "My/His (God's) Spirit" in 15:29, 32:9 and 38:72 figuratively as God's power and way of honoring Adam, with some taking a more literal view. This spirit leaves the human body at death, and continues to exist in the afterlife. Further, ruh appears to be a metaphysical being, such as an angel. In one instance, rūḥ refers to Jesus.

Early Quranic commentators generally interpreted "ruh" as meaning the soul, but this interpretation has been criticized as being flawed, extra-Quranic and influenced by anthropocentrism.

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