سُوْرَةُ الإِسۡرَاءِ
Surah Al-Israa (17) — Ayah 85
وَيَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلرُّوحِ ۖ قُلِ ٱلرُّوحُ مِنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّى وَمَآ أُوتِيتُم مِّنَ ٱلْعِلْمِ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا ﴿85﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And they ask you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم) concerning the Rûh (the Spirit); Say: "The Rûh (the Spirit) is one of the things, the knowledge of which is only with my Lord. And of knowledge, you (mankind) have been given only a little."
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَيَسْـَٔلُونَكَ
wayasalūnaka
And they ask you
عَنِ
ʿani
concerning
ٱلرُّوحِ ۖ
l-rūḥi
the soul
قُلِ
quli
Say
ٱلرُّوحُ
l-rūḥu
The soul
مِنْ
min
(is) of
أَمْرِ
amri
(the) affair
رَبِّى
rabbī
(of) my Lord
وَمَآ
wamā
And not
أُوتِيتُم
ūtītum
you have been given
مِّنَ
mina
of
ٱلْعِلْمِ
l-ʿil'mi
the knowledge
إِلَّا
illā
except
قَلِيلًۭا
qalīlan
a little
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan — Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan is a well-known Quran commentary by Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. This tafsir explains the meanings of the Quran in accordance with the methodology of the Salaf (early righteous generations), relying on authentic sources and straightforward language. Due to its reliability and adherence to sound Islamic scholarship, the Saudi government publishes and distributes this tafsir among the Hujjaj (pilgrims) visiting the Haramain. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
85. 1. The soul is that subtle entity which is not visible to anyone, but the strength and energy of every living being is contained within this soul. What is its reality and essence? No one knows. The Jews also once asked the Prophet ﷺ about it, so this verse was revealed (Sahih Bukhari). The meaning of this verse is that your knowledge, compared to Allah's knowledge, is little, and this soul, about which you are asking, Allah has not given its knowledge to anyone, including the prophets. Understand only this much, that it is the command (order) of my Lord. Or it is from the attributes of my Lord, the reality of which only He knows.
