Question
Could you please explain to me what rooh al-Qudus means?
Answer
The word rooh al-qudus appears in the following verse of the Qur’an:
وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ وَقَفَّيْنَا مِن بَعْدِهِ بِالرُّسُلِ وَآتَيْنَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَيَّدْنَاهُ بِرُوحِ الْقُدُسِ أَفَكُلَّمَا جَاءكُمْ رَسُولٌ بِمَا لاَ تَهْوَى أَنفُسُكُمُ اسْتَكْبَرْتُمْ فَفَرِيقاً كَذَّبْتُمْ وَفَرِيقاً تَقْتُلُونَ
We gave Moses the Book and after him We sent messengers one after the other. And we gave Jesus, the son of Mary, clear signs and endowed him with the rooh al-qudus. Will it always be that, whenever a messenger comes to you whose message does not suit your wishful desires, you will behave arrogantly? Thus you rejected a group [of them] and relentlessly slew the other. (2:87)
تِلْكَ الرُّسُلُ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ مِّنْهُم مَّن كَلَّمَ اللّهُ وَرَفَعَ بَعْضَهُمْ دَرَجَاتٍ وَآتَيْنَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَيَّدْنَاهُ بِرُوحِ الْقُدُسِ وَلَوْ شَاء اللّهُ مَا اقْتَتَلَ الَّذِينَ مِن بَعْدِهِم مِّن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءتْهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ وَلَـكِنِ اخْتَلَفُواْ فَمِنْهُم مَّنْ آمَنَ وَمِنْهُم مَّن كَفَرَ وَلَوْ شَاء اللّهُ مَا اقْتَتَلُواْ وَلَـكِنَّ اللّهَ يَفْعَلُ مَا يُرِيدُ
These messengers, We exalted one of them over another. God spoke with some of them and some others He raised high in ranks. And We granted clear signs to Jesus son of Mary and strengthened him with the rooh al-qudus. Had God desired, those who came after them would not have fought [each other] after clear signs had come to them. But they differed. Thus, some of them believed and some rejected. And had God desired they could not fight [each other]. But God does that which He wills. (253)
إِذْ قَالَ اللّهُ يَا عِيسى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ اذْكُرْ نِعْمَتِي عَلَيْكَ وَعَلَى وَالِدَتِكَ إِذْ أَيَّدتُّكَ بِرُوحِ الْقُدُسِ تُكَلِّمُ النَّاسَ فِي الْمَهْدِ وَكَهْلاً
(Keep in mind the Day) when God will say: Jesus, son of Mary, remember the favour I bestowed on you and on your mother while I strengthened you with the rooh al-qudus. (5:110)
قل نَزَّلَهُ رُوحُ الْقُدُسِ مِن رَّبِّكَ بِالْحَقِّ لِيُثَبِّتَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَهُدًى وَبُشْرَى لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ
Say: the rooh al-quus brought it down from you Lord in truth to reassure the faithful, and to give guidance and good news to those that submit. (16:102)
The first three verses refer to Jesus being strengthened by the rooh al-qudus and the fourth one refers to the fact that it was the rooh al-qudus who brought revelation to the Prophet Muhammad.
Rooh al-qudus in the words of Amin Ahsan Islahi (as he mentions in the Tadabbar-e Quran) is the pure spirit sent by God to the Messengers of God. In Hebrew language it stands for Gabriel. (Tadabbar Al Quran Vol. 1, Page 269)
He has also explained the reason why the Qur’an mentions rooh al-qudus alongside Jesus. He points out that Jews did not consider the most obvious miracles of Jesus (pbuh) as a manifestation of Divine intervention and that he could perform them with the help of rooh al-qudus. They ascribed these miracles to Satan (Beelzebub) (See Matthew’s Gospel 12) Here the Holy Qur’an negates this accusation. The rooh al-qudus is the pure spirit that God sends to his prophets- Gabriel.
This meaning of the rooh al-qudus are clear when we consider the parallel Qur’anic verses regarding the revelation of the Qur’an to the Prophet Muhammad. Consider the following verse:
قُلْ مَن كَانَ عَدُوًّا لِّجِبْرِيلَ فَإِنَّهُ نَزَّلَهُ عَلَى قَلْبِكَ بِإِذْنِ اللّهِ
Say, “Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel-[must know] that he [Gabriel] has revealed it to your heart according to God’s directive. (2:297)
This shows that Gabriel and rooh al-qudus are the same thing.
Answered by: Tariq Mahmood Hashmi
Date: 2015-03-05
