Dalael-us-Suluk

CHAPTER 5

RUH (THE SPIRIT)

I t should be understood at the very outset that the Ruh here will be de­fined by way of reasoning and not as a reality, because of the following Divine Command:

And of the knowledge (of the spirit) you have been granted but lit­tle. (17:85)

Although it has been defined in many ways, the one accepted by all Ahl-e Sunnah wal Jama‘at (Sunnis) is given below:

Definition

T he Book and the Hadith, the consensus of the Companions, as well as rational conclusions prove that the Ruh is also a body, opposite in nature to the physical body. It is luminous, radiant, incorporeal, subtle, living and dynamic, and permeates all the organs of the physical body. It is a delicate circulation and diffusion, as of water in a rose, oil in an olive branch, or fire in a pile of coal.

Ruh is a Subtle Body

T hat the Ruh is subtle and opposite to the physical body is proved from the Qur-an:

So when I have made him (reference is to Prophet Adam ) and have breathed into him of My Spirit... ( 15:29)

This brings out that the Nafakh (breathing of the spirit) takes place after shaping the physical body and also proves that the two are separate enti­ties. Nafakh, being necessarily of a body, proves that the Ruh is a subtle body. This has been explained further in another verse:

And then produced it as another creation... ( 23:14)

T his shows that the physical body came into existence first, of course, through the evolutionary stages of a drop (of semen), a clot, a little lump, bones and clothing of the bones with flesh. Then it was turned into another creation by breathing the spirit which permeated every part of it. This es­tablishes further that the Ruh is a separate entity with a subtle form saturat­ing the physical body.

Ruh is not Inseparable

I n the Hadith, the state of the Ruh at the time of death has been de­scribed as: “So it tries to hide itself in the body.” This falsifies any notion that the Ruh is inseparable. However, it is a subtle body but knowledge as to its nature has not been granted to man, even on request. On the other hand, ALLAH revealed the creation of Angels, Jinn, and human beings, without being asked. When specifically asked about the nature of the Ruh, the answer was:

Say, the spirit is by the Command of my Rabb. (17:85)

H ad its creation been from any element like water, air, fire, clay or light, it would have been so indicated. This leads us to conclude that the Ruh has been created from something more subtle than light itself:

Said Abu Qasim Sohaili (d. 581 A. H. / 1185 C. E.), the Ruh has been created by Nafakh (breath) which is the act of an Angel. The Angels are created from light as described in the Hadith narrated in al-Muslim. And the Ruh is a body belonging to the species Reeh. Derived therefrom, it is called the Ruh.

Note : This shows that the Ruh has been created from Angel’s Nafakh (breath), and Angels have been created from light; therefore the Ruh is more subtle than the Angels. Just as the human breath is more subtle than his elemental body, the breath of the Angels should be more subtle than themselves.

Ruh is Placeless

Mark that those who are convinced of the existence of the Ruh are di­vided into two groups. First are the men of deep understanding, the re­search scholars; some of them hold that the Ruh is neither included in, nor excluded from, the universe. It is also neither incorporated in the universe nor rests separated from it. But with the human body, its connection is one of prudence and command.

Tafsir-e Kabir vol: V, p: 445

O bviously, the Ruh is incorporeal, very subtle, placeless and has no abode. An abode is for material things, not for incorporeal beings. It ex­isted before the creation of the body and continues to exist even after it passes away. It sees, hears and speaks. The state of its existence has been described in the Hadith by the word ‘Ama’ (incomprehensible). When the Prophet was asked “Where is our Creator?” he replied, “In ‘Ama’,” adding that no abode can be ascribed to Him.

Question: The scholars argue that being incorporeal is the unique at­tribute of the Creator. If this is conceded for the Ruh, it will amount to apostasy.

Answer: Being incorporeal, with reference to the Creator, implies In­dispensable Existence and Absolute Eternity. It does not mean abstraction which was non-existent previously and which is contingent and created. The best answer to this question has been given by Imam Razi:

Mark that a group of the ignorant think that when the Ruh exists and neither circumscribes nor is circumscribed, then its resem­blance with the Creator will have to be conceded, this is sheer ig­norance and a blunt blunder. This equation is in the negative at­tributes and does not amount to resemblance.

Tafsir-e Kabir vol: V. p: 445

Notes:

A s for intuition and kashf, only the verdict of their experts can and should constitute an authority. And their verdict is: the Ruh is a body, refulgent and subtle, precisely resembling the physical body that bears it in shape, form and structure. The majority of the Muslim theologians cor­roborate this fact. Writes Hadhrat Anwar Shah Kashmiri in his ‘Urf-e Shuzi (a commentary of at-Tirmizi) p: 10:

As for the Ruh, the Muslim theologians agree that it is a subtle body exactly resembling the physical body that bears it. This ver­sion of the Ruh is supported by Hadith. Narrates Bara bin ‘Azib: The Angel pulls out the Ruh from the body as a skewer is pulled out from wet wool.... A number of Ahadith corroborate that the Ruh has a body.... So we follow the categorical injunction of the Book and the Hadith. Being incorporeal, according to the ‘Ulama of old, means absence of opaqueness as brought out by Imam Ibn-e Taimiyah in his tafsir of Surah al-Ikhlas.

Ruh-Wa-Ma Hait-o Ha

I mam Malik, a great research scholar, says that the Ruh is a refulgent body, fully resembling the body which bears it.

Know that the Muslims have differed in what constitutes a human being. It has been said that a human being is a perceptible figure in which elements flow like moisture in a flower, fire in amber, while the Ruh is subtle, refulgent body which in its reality and nature is different from other constituents of this perceptible figure. This (subtle body) Ruh is flowing into and fully resembles that figure. We cannot fathom its reality as implied in the Qur­anic verse: Say, the spirit is by the Command of my Rabb and this is accepted by the righteous of old. The Ruh and the physical body have an intimate connection.

And this body which is called the Ruh as explained by Imam Qurtabi in his Tazkirah, has a beginning but no end, i.e., it is im­mortal even when separated from the physical body. In this con­text it has been stated that anyone who considers the Ruh as mor­tal is an atheist.

Ruh al-Ma‘ani vol: XXIV p: 53.

This view is held by the research scholars, the righteous of old and erudite sufi masters.

N ow a glimpse of the other rejected view:

Hadhrat Anwar Shah Kashmiri has reproduced this view in his ‘Urf-e Shuzi p: 10-11. It is traceable to the philosophers and the theologians or sufis, who subscribed to this view were directly influenced by them. These narrow phi­losophers say that the Ruh is independent.

The assertion that the Ruh exists by itself has been made by Zada, ‘Allama Halimi, Imam Ghazali, Imam Ragheb, Abu Zaid Dabosi Hanafi and of M‘amer from the old M‘utazilah (non-conformists) and all the modern Shi‘ites, a number of sufis also hold this view. To them the Ruh is an abstract element, it is neither included, nor excluded, from the body, its connection with the body is like that of the Creator with the universe. They hold the Ruh is immortal, contingent in time. Ibn-e Qayyam has refuted this view so thoroughly with cogent rea­sons that no further rebuttal is required.

Ruh al-Ma‘ani p: 24. 53 and ‘Urf-e Shuzi p: 11.

T he above extract shows that the rejected view is shared by men from Shaf‘ai, Hanafi, M‘utazilah and Shi‘ites schools of thought, all brow-beaten by the philosophers. The former and the right view is held by a large group of sufis of deep enlightenment and a vast majority of the Muslim theologians, in particular, by the great righteous of old. In fine, the Ruh is a body, subtle, re­fulgent, looking exactly like the physical body, which bears it. After departing the physical body, it does not need any identical body. Life connotes percep­tion, motion, sight, hearing, speech and the presence of all corporeal potenti­alities both inward and outward. The Ruh gives life to the physical body and needs material appendages to deal with the materialist affairs. It does not owe its existence to the physical body, on the contrary, it animates it. While in Barzakh, it cannot make itself heard in the material world. That is why it cannot be heard or seen, though by itself it articulates and hears, though it lives and subsists by itself. It has been proved earlier that it has the same form as the physical body that bears it. The Ruh by itself is a subtle body like the Angels, hearts of the Prophets and the aulia. It does not need material means to see or hear or make itself heard by other subtle bodies. The question of its likeness in Barzakh therefore, does not arise. That would mean that another body pro­vides life to it, it cannot subsist by itself, has no adjunct and is like a stone (God forbid). In fine, to preconceive another body for the Ruh is against the Book, the Hadith and the creed of righteous precursors. Whosoever believes in an illusion has gone astray.

May ALLAH guide him!

The Ruh is from the Realm of Command

N ow the question arises: How is the Ruh created? Writes Imam Razi:

The origin of the Ruh is from the Rabb of the Tremendous Throne (the Command of my Rabb ), while the human body originates from clay. The Creator ordained love between the two to enable them to accept commands and the tribulations of the worldly life. So the Ruh is a foreigner and the body a native. Therefore, be mindful of your re­sponsibilities towards this stranger.

Tafsir-e Kabir

What is Realm of Command

I mam Ghazali, one of the greatest masters of sufi thought, discussing the Realm of Command and the created world concludes that between these two, the Tremendous Throne is the barrier.

The Realm of Command is among the things that exist but is beyond the reach of experience and imagination. Being boundless and devoid of all matter, it cannot be measured in terms of time and space.

Risala-e Ruh

What else is Identified with the Realm of Command

T he author of the famous Tafsir-e Mazhari (vol: XIV. p: 407) writes in the explanation of the verse “His truly is all Creation and Command.”

The learned sufis define the Realm of Creation and the Realm of Command thus: The former comprises the Tremendous Throne, things thereunder and whatever is in and in between the heavens and the earth. It comprises the four elements: fire, water, air and clay and things created therefrom, i.e., souls in living beings, and in plants and minerals. These souls are subtle bodies which are flowing in physical bodies, all belonging to the created world. The Realm of Command comprises incorporeal beings, i.e., Lataif, the Qalb, Ruh, Sirri, Khaffi and the Akhfa all above the Tremendous Throne. These souls flow in human beings, Angels and devils just as the rays of the sun flow onto a mirror. These Lataif are attrib­uted to the Realm of Command because they have not been created from any matter instead through His direct Command. Writes Baghavi, quoting Sufyan bin ‘Ayaina, that the created world and the Realm of Command are two separate entities, whosoever con­siders them as one is an infidel.

Note: This discussion shows that the Ruh and other Lataif named above are from the Realm of Command, not created from any matter. The Realm of Command is also known as the Realm of Wonder and the Realm of In­finity.

The Form of Ruh

T he human body is a material entity; its shape, physique and the organs can be seen by our physical eyes. But the question arises as to how the human Ruh looks like, or is it just an abstract element? This has been dis­cussed in al-Bukhari in the following words:

In conformity to the physical appearance of a human body, the Ruh too has a subtle appearance. It also has eyes, ears and limbs. Infact a similitude for all organs of the Ruh can be found in the physical body. And the reality of the Ruh has been left vague by Divine Will. No details have been given.

Tuhfa tul-Qari Sharah al-Bukhari, v: 44 p: 2

This indicates that the outward appearance of the Ruh coincides exactly with the appearance of its host body.

B arzakh is also termed as the minor Doomsday where the Ruh remains alive, and the Hereafter is the major Doomsday, about which the Qur-an says:

Verily, the Home of the Hereafter, that is the life indeed. (21:64)

 

O bviously, in comparison to this terrestrial life, the Hereafter is the most complete and comprehensive life. Death and extinction is the lot of this globe and all that lies within, but the life in the Hereafter is eternal. There­fore, all that lies in the eternal abode, whether in part or as a whole, will not experience death. When there is requital for the Ruh, then it is evident that it is alive, because there is not requital for the extinct. That is why the Ruh sees, hears and speaks, in fact all its faculties attain the level of excel­lence in the Hereafter. When the Ruh enters a body, the characteristics of the body, viz. childhood, youth and old age become evident. Similarly, the limitation of human intellect and understanding during childhood, and its gradual improvement with age also become visible. All these are charac­teristics of the physical body, whereas the Ruh is blessed with intellect, maturity and wisdom right from the moment of its creation. Had this not been true, then it could not have said “Yes” to the Divine question. “Am I not your Rabb ?” To hear, understand and reply a question is a proof of Ruh’s wisdom and maturity.

W hen a Ruh is associated to a body, its connection with that body is permanent in nature. It is then blessed with the organs of the body. The body is entrusted with certain powers and faculties; some of which are sensory while others abstract. While in the body, the Ruh derives knowl­edge through the faculties of the body. The sensory perceptions of a body are elementary at birth, and since the Ruh is made subservient to it in worldly life, thus with the development of the body, corresponding increase in these physical capabilities can be observed. Had the Ruh not been made subservient to the body here, then every person would have become accountable right from birth, because of the Ruh having been created wise and mature. But because of its association with the body, a certain age has been transfixed for accountability. This is known as the age of puberty. When a person passes away from this world, the Ruh is separated from the body, and becomes independent. Here many people erred, and tried to prove the existence of Ruh possible only is a similar body in Barzakh. This amounts to the denial of Ruh’s independent existence. This belief is untenable. The Ahl-e Sunnah unanimously believe that the Ruh exists on its own in Barzakh, and the body is subservient to it. The body created out of clay is blessed with life only because of Ruh.

S hah ‘Abdul ‘Aziz writes:

Ruh gives movement to the body, while it gets its own life and movement from Divine lights. My dear fellow, it is not possible to comprehend this completely. Continuous zikr and contemplation, and spiritual voyage to the celestial worlds are impossible without the sincerity of the seeker and the tawajjuh of an accomplished Shaikh.

Fatawa-e Aziziah v: 2. p: 112