The Quranic Ruh — Deliberate Mystery
Allah’s deliberate reticence: “They ask you about the ruh. Say: The ruh is of the command of my Lord, and of knowledge you have been given only a little.” (17:85) — Unlike almost any other theological question the Quran answers or at least addresses, for ruh the Quran explicitly defers: the ruh is of the ‘amr (command) of Allah; beyond that, human knowledge has been given little. This becomes the license for enormous speculation in the tradition.
The Adamic spirit: “And I breathed into him [Adam] from My spirit (min ruhi).” (15:29, 38:72) — The creation of the human as the recipient of divine spirit is foundational to Islamic anthropology. The human being is qualitatively distinct from other creatures because divine spirit is breathed into them.
See also: Nafs The Soul, Al Khalq, Aqida Islamic Creed
Ruh vs. Nafs — Classical Distinction
The three souls (or two): Classical Islamic philosophy (especially under Neoplatonic influence) distinguished: the nafs (soul) as the principle of individual life and consciousness; the ruh (spirit) as a more subtle pneumatic substance (breath) that mediates between the nafs and the body. Ibn Sina’s psychology elaborated these distinctions in detail. The Sufi tradition tended to use ruh and nafs more interchangeably, emphasizing the ruh as the soul’s higher divine aspect.
See also: Nafs The Soul, Ibn Sina, Ismaili Philosophy
Ismaili Ta’wil of Ruh
Ruh as Nafs al-Kulliyya: In the Ismaili philosophical tradition, the ruh blown into Adam corresponds to the Universal Soul (al-Nafs al-Kulliyya) — the second cosmic principle after the Universal Intellect. The human being is the recipient of both the Intellect’s imprint and the Soul’s breath; human spiritual aspiration is to ascend from the Soul-level to the Intellect-level through ma’rifa and walayah.
Ruh al-Quds and the Imam: The Quranic Ruh al-Quds (Holy Spirit) — identified in the tradition with Jibril — is, in Ismaili ta’wil, associated with the function of divine guidance flowing into the world through the Imam. The Imam is the living channel of ruh al-quds in each era — the one through whom divine breath continues to reach the community.
See also: Al Nafs Al Kulliyya, Al Aql, Ismaili Philosophy, Tawil Esoteric Interpretation, Imamah, Wali Al Asr, Nubuwwa
See also: Nafs The Soul, Al Khalq, Aqida Islamic Creed, Ibn Sina, Al Nafs Al Kulliyya, Al Aql, Ismaili Philosophy, Tawil Esoteric Interpretation, Imamah, Wali Al Asr, Nubuwwa