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 Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
85. They ask you about the soul. Say, "The soul is of the command of my Lord [106], and you have been given only a little knowledge."
[106]
By "Ruh" is Meant Divine Revelation:
Regarding the context of revelation of this verse, consider the following hadiths: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud ؓ says that once I was walking with the Prophet ﷺ in a field. He ﷺ was leaning on a date-palm stick. Meanwhile, some Jews passed by and said among themselves, "Ask this Prophet what the Ruh (spirit) is." Someone said, "Why is there such a need?" And someone said, "Perhaps he will say something to you that you will dislike." In the end, it was decided to ask. So they asked the Prophet ﷺ, "What is the Ruh?" The Prophet ﷺ remained silent for a while and did not answer them. I understood that revelation was coming to him ﷺ and I stood in my place. When the revelation ended, the Prophet ﷺ recited this verse: ﴿وَيَسْئَلُوْنَكَ...... قليلا﴾ [بخاري، كتاب التفسير۔ نيز كتاب العلم۔ باب وما اوتيتم من العلم الاقليلا]
And in the narration of Tirmidhi, these words are added: "The Jews used to say that we have been given much knowledge. We have been given the Torah, and whoever is given the Torah has been given much good." Then Allah Almighty revealed this verse: ﴿قُلْ لَوْ كَانَ الْبَحْرُ﴾ to the end [سوره كهف كي آيت نمبر 109 ترمذي۔ ابواب التفسير]
Here, the question arises that this Surah is Makki, and the Jews lived in Madinah? The answer is that in some Makki Surahs, there are also several Madinan verses, which have been placed in the Makki Surahs at appropriate places according to the relevance of the subject, and the arrangement of verses within each Surah is also by divine instruction, i.e., this arrangement is also according to divine revelation. Furthermore, from the narrations of some books of Seerah, it is known that this question was actually asked by the Quraysh of Makkah at the suggestion of the Jews, but the clear words of the narration in Bukhari do not support this. The correct explanation is the one mentioned above.
The Difference Between Ruh and Nafs:
The second question is: what is meant by Ruh? The Noble Quran has used the word Ruh in the meaning of "divine revelation" at several places. Especially in the case where the word "Amr" (command) is also present with Ruh, as it is here. Or, for example, it is said: ﴿يُنَزِّلُ الْمَلٰئِكَةَ بالرُوْحِ مِنْ اَمْرِهِ عَليٰ مَنْ يَّشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهٖ﴾ [16: 2] Also, it is said: ﴿يُلْقِيْ الرُّوْحَ مِنْ اَمْرِهٖ عَليٰ مَنْ يَّشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ﴾ [40: 15] Also, it is said: ﴿وَكَذٰلِكَ اَوْحَيْنَا اِلَيْكَ رُوْحًا مِنْ اَمْرِنَا﴾ [42: 52] Therefore, here too, by Ruh is meant divine revelation, or the angel who brings revelation, and this angel, i.e., Jibreel, is also called "Ruh al-Amin." And the context also supports this meaning; in the verse before this, divine revelation is mentioned, and in the following verse as well. In other words, the real question of the Jews was: what is the nature of divine revelation, what is the real source of the Quran, and what is the reality of the one who brings revelation? The answer given to them was that the knowledge you have been given is so little that you are incapable of understanding these realities. Some scholars have taken Ruh here to mean "life" (soul), which is present in the body of every living being, and as long as it remains in the body, the living being is alive, and when it departs, the being dies. It is difficult to deny this meaning as well, because no matter how many philosophies man may devise, he has remained incapable of knowing the reality of this Ruh. Moreover, just as man's moral and spiritual life depends on divine revelation, similarly, physical life depends on the Ruh. However, in terms of the context, the first explanation is better, because it is supported by many other verses. Furthermore, at the time of death, when the angels come to take out the Ruh, the Quran uses the word "Nafs" instead of Ruh, as it is said: ﴿اخرجوا انفسكم﴾ [6: 93] And some say that the word "Nafs" is applied to the Ruh when it is present in the body, and when it departs, it is called Ruh.
[106]
By "Ruh" is Meant Divine Revelation:
Regarding the context of revelation of this verse, consider the following hadiths: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud ؓ says that once I was walking with the Prophet ﷺ in a field. He ﷺ was leaning on a date-palm stick. Meanwhile, some Jews passed by and said among themselves, "Ask this Prophet what the Ruh (spirit) is." Someone said, "Why is there such a need?" And someone said, "Perhaps he will say something to you that you will dislike." In the end, it was decided to ask. So they asked the Prophet ﷺ, "What is the Ruh?" The Prophet ﷺ remained silent for a while and did not answer them. I understood that revelation was coming to him ﷺ and I stood in my place. When the revelation ended, the Prophet ﷺ recited this verse: ﴿وَيَسْئَلُوْنَكَ...... قليلا﴾ [بخاري، كتاب التفسير۔ نيز كتاب العلم۔ باب وما اوتيتم من العلم الاقليلا]
And in the narration of Tirmidhi, these words are added: "The Jews used to say that we have been given much knowledge. We have been given the Torah, and whoever is given the Torah has been given much good." Then Allah Almighty revealed this verse: ﴿قُلْ لَوْ كَانَ الْبَحْرُ﴾ to the end [سوره كهف كي آيت نمبر 109 ترمذي۔ ابواب التفسير]
Here, the question arises that this Surah is Makki, and the Jews lived in Madinah? The answer is that in some Makki Surahs, there are also several Madinan verses, which have been placed in the Makki Surahs at appropriate places according to the relevance of the subject, and the arrangement of verses within each Surah is also by divine instruction, i.e., this arrangement is also according to divine revelation. Furthermore, from the narrations of some books of Seerah, it is known that this question was actually asked by the Quraysh of Makkah at the suggestion of the Jews, but the clear words of the narration in Bukhari do not support this. The correct explanation is the one mentioned above.
The Difference Between Ruh and Nafs:
The second question is: what is meant by Ruh? The Noble Quran has used the word Ruh in the meaning of "divine revelation" at several places. Especially in the case where the word "Amr" (command) is also present with Ruh, as it is here. Or, for example, it is said: ﴿يُنَزِّلُ الْمَلٰئِكَةَ بالرُوْحِ مِنْ اَمْرِهِ عَليٰ مَنْ يَّشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهٖ﴾ [16: 2] Also, it is said: ﴿يُلْقِيْ الرُّوْحَ مِنْ اَمْرِهٖ عَليٰ مَنْ يَّشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ﴾ [40: 15] Also, it is said: ﴿وَكَذٰلِكَ اَوْحَيْنَا اِلَيْكَ رُوْحًا مِنْ اَمْرِنَا﴾ [42: 52] Therefore, here too, by Ruh is meant divine revelation, or the angel who brings revelation, and this angel, i.e., Jibreel, is also called "Ruh al-Amin." And the context also supports this meaning; in the verse before this, divine revelation is mentioned, and in the following verse as well. In other words, the real question of the Jews was: what is the nature of divine revelation, what is the real source of the Quran, and what is the reality of the one who brings revelation? The answer given to them was that the knowledge you have been given is so little that you are incapable of understanding these realities. Some scholars have taken Ruh here to mean "life" (soul), which is present in the body of every living being, and as long as it remains in the body, the living being is alive, and when it departs, the being dies. It is difficult to deny this meaning as well, because no matter how many philosophies man may devise, he has remained incapable of knowing the reality of this Ruh. Moreover, just as man's moral and spiritual life depends on divine revelation, similarly, physical life depends on the Ruh. However, in terms of the context, the first explanation is better, because it is supported by many other verses. Furthermore, at the time of death, when the angels come to take out the Ruh, the Quran uses the word "Nafs" instead of Ruh, as it is said: ﴿اخرجوا انفسكم﴾ [6: 93] And some say that the word "Nafs" is applied to the Ruh when it is present in the body, and when it departs, it is called Ruh.
