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Who is the ‘Ruh ul Qudus’?
Question asked by Gelisa Aleyna Yoen.
Posted on: Monday, January 31, 2005 - Hits: 1697

Question:
Could you please explain what ‘Ruh ul Qudus’ means?

Answer:
The word ‘Ruh ul Qudus’ (the Holy Spirit) appears in the following verses of the Qur’an:

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 Holy Spirit. 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)

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 Holy Spirit. 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. (2:253)

(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 Holy Spirit. (5:110)

Say: the Holy Spirit brought it down from your 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 ‘Ruh ul Qudus’ and the fourth one refers to the fact that it was the ‘Ruh ul Qudus’ who brought revelation to the Prophet Muhammad.

‘Ruh ul Qudus’, in the words of Amin Ahsan Islahi, is the pure Spirit sent by God to His Messengers. In the Hebrew language it stands for Gabriel. (Tadabbar Al Qur’an, Vol. 1, Page 269)

Islahi has also explained the reason why the Qur’an mentions ‘Ruh ul Qudus’ along side Jesus. He points out that the Jews did not consider the most obvious miracles of Jesus as a manifestation of Divine intervention and that he could perform them with the help of the Holy Spirit. They ascribed these miracles to Satan (Beelzebub) (See Matthew’s Gospel 12). In the relevant verses, the Holy Qur’an negates this accusation. The Holy Spirit is the pure spirit that God sends to his Prophets - Gabriel.

This meaning of the ‘Ruh ul Qudus’ is clear when we consider the parallel Qur’anic verses regarding the revelation of the Qur’an to the Prophet Muhammad. For instance, consider the following verse:

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 ‘Ruh ul Qudus’ refers to the same entity.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

Tariq Mahmood Hashmi
Research Assistant, Studying Islam

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