Surah Al Isra ayat 85 Tafsir Quran 17:85

﴿وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الرُّوحِ ۖ قُلِ الرُّوحُ مِنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّي وَمَا أُوتِيتُم مِّنَ الْعِلْمِ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا﴾
[ الإسراء: 85]

17:85 And they ask you, [O Muhammad], about the soul. Say, "The soul is of the affair of my Lord. And mankind have not been given of knowledge except a little."

And they will question you that is the Jews concerning the Spirit from which the body receives life. Say to them ‘The Spirit is of the command of my Lord that is it belongs to His knowledge about which you know not. And of knowledge you have not been given except a little’ relative to His knowledge exalted be He.

And they ask you O Muhammad about the spirit

The Ruh ( spirit ) Al-Bukhari recorded in his Tafsir of this Ayah that `Abdullah bin Mas`ud said, "While I was walking with the Prophet on a farm, and he was resting on a palm-leaf stalk, some Jews passed by.
Some of them said to the others, `Ask him about the Ruh.' Some of them said, `What urges you to ask him about that' Others said, `Do not ask him, lest he gives you a reply which you do not like.' But they said, `Ask him.' So they asked him about the Ruh.
The Prophet kept quiet and did not give them an answer, and I knew that he was receiving revelation, so I stayed where I was.
When the revelation was complete, the Prophet said: وَيَسْـَلُونَكَ عَنِ الرُّوحِ قُلِ الرُّوحُ مِنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّى ( And they ask you concerning the Ruh (the spirit ).
Say: "The Ruh ( the spirit ) is one of the things, the knowledge of which is only with my Lord...") This context would seem to imply that this Ayah was revealed in Al-Madinah, and that it was revealed when the Jews asked him this question in Al-Madinah, although the entire Surah was revealed in Makkah.
This may be answered with the suggestion that this Ayah may have been revealed to him in Al-Madinah a second time, after having previously been revealed in Makkah, or that he was divinely inspired to respond to their question with a previously-revealed Ayah, namely the Ayah in question.
Ibn Jarir recorded that `Ikrimah said, "The People of the Book asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about the Ruh, and Allah revealed: وَيَسْـَلُونَكَ عَنِ الرُّوحِ ( And they ask you concerning the Ruh... ) They said, `You claim that we have only a little knowledge, but we have been given the Tawrah, which is the Hikmah, وَمَن يُؤْتَ الْحِكْمَةَ فَقَدْ أُوتِىَ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا ( and he, to whom Hikmah is granted, is indeed granted abundant good. )' 2:269 Then the Ayah وَلَوْ أَنَّمَا فِى الاٌّرْضِ مِن شَجَرَةٍ أَقْلاَمٌ وَالْبَحْرُ يَمُدُّهُ مِن بَعْدِهِ سَبْعَةُ أَبْحُرٍ ( And if all the trees on the earth were pens and the sea (were ink wherewith to write ), with seven seas behind it to add to its ( supply ),) 31:27 was revealed.
He said, "Whatever knowledge you have been given, if Allah saves you from the Fire thereby, then it is great and good, but in comparison to the knowledge of Allah, it is very little." وَيَسْـَلُونَكَ عَنِ الرُّوحِ ( And they ask you concerning the Ruh. ) Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "This was when the Jews said to the Prophet , `Tell us about the Ruh and how the Ruh will be punished that is in the body - for the Ruh is something about which only Allah knows, and there was no revelation concerning it.' He did not answer them at all, then Jibril came to him and said: قُلِ الرُّوحُ مِنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّى وَمَآ أُوتِيتُم مِّن الْعِلْمِ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً ( Say: "The Ruh (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.") So the Prophet told them about that, and they said, `Who told you this' He said,
«جَاءَنِي بِهِ جِبْرِيلُ مِنْ عِنْدِ الله»
( Jibril brought it to me from Allah. ) They said, `By Allah, no one has told you that except our enemy i.e., Jibril.' Then Allah revealed: قُلْ مَن كَانَ عَدُوًّا لِّجِبْرِيلَ فَإِنَّهُ نَزَّلَهُ عَلَى قَلْبِكَ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ ( Say: "Whoever is an enemy to Jibril (let him die in his fury ), for indeed he has brought it ( this Qur'an ) down to your heart by Allah's permission, confirming what came before it.)" 2:97 The Ruh and the Nafs As-Suhayili mentioned the dispute among the scholars over whether the Ruh is the same as the Nafs, or something different.
He stated that it is light and soft, like air, flowing through the body like water through the veins of a tree.
He states that the Ruh which the angel breathes into the fetus is the Nafs, provided that it joins the body and acquires certain qualities because of it, whether good or bad.
So then it is either a soul in ( complete ) rest and satisfaction ( 89:27 ) or inclined to evil ( 12:53 ), just as water is the life of the tree, then by mixing with it, it produces something else, so that if it mixes with grapes and the grapes are then squeezed, it becomes juice or wine.
Then it is no longer called water, except in a metaphorical sense.
Thus we should understand the connection between Nafs and Ruh; the Ruh is not called Nafs except when it joins the body and is affected by it.
So in conclusion we may say: the Ruh is the origin and essence, and the Nafs consists of the Ruh and its connection to the body.
So they are the same in one sense but not in another.
This is a good explanation, and Allah knows best.
I say: people speak about the essence of the Ruh and its rulings, and many books have been written on this topic.
One of the best of those who spoke of this was Al-Hafiz Ibn Mandah in a book which we have heard about the Ruh. وَلَئِن شِئْنَا لَنَذْهَبَنَّ بِالَّذِى أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ ثُمَّ لاَ تَجِدُ لَكَ بِهِ عَلَيْنَا وَكِيلاً

(17:85) They ask you about "The Spirit." *103 Say, "This Spirit comes by the ommand of my Lord, but you have been given only a little of the 'Knowledge' . "

And they ask you, [O Muhammad], about meaning

*103) It is generally understood that the Arabic word " Ruh "stands here for " soul "' as if the people asked the Holy Prophet about the soul of man in regard to its nature, and the answer was that it came by the Command of Allah.
But we have great hesitation in accepting this meaning for it could be taken only if the verse be isolated from its context; otherwise these words would become quite incoherent for there is no reason why the question about " soul " should have intervened between the preceding three verses and following verses which deal with the theme of the Qur'an.

If we read the verse in its context, it becomes quite obvious that here the word " Ruh " ( The Spirit ) stands for the angel who brings Revelation.
This was in answer to the question of the mushriks, " Where from do you bring the Qur'an? " as if to say, " O Muhammad, these people ask you about "The Spirit', that is, the source of the Qur'an or the means of acquiring it" , so tell them, "This Spirit comes to me by the Command of my Lord but your knowledge is so little that you cannot distinguish between the nature of human words and the Divinely revealed words.
That is why you suspect that this has been fabricated by some man.
"
The above interpretation is to be preferred, because it fits in excellently between the preceding and the succeeding verses.
This is also supported by the Qur'an itself: " ...He sends down by His Command ` The Spirit" to any of His servants He wills so that they should warn the people of the Day, when they shall be assembled together. " ( XL: 15 ) " And likewise We have sent down "The Spirit' to you by Our Command: you did not know what the Book was and what the Faith ..." ( XLII: 52 ).

Besides this, Ibn `Abbas, Qatadah and Hasan Basri ( may Allah bestow His mercy upon them all ) have also adopted the same interpretation.
Ibn Jarir has attributed the same thing to Ibn `Abbas on the authority of Qatadah, but at the same time he tells a strange thing that Ibn `Abbas stated this thing only in secret.
Again the author of Ruh-ul-Ma'ani cites these words of Hasan and Qatadah: "By ruh is meant Jibril: the question was about the nature of his coming down and inspiring the heart of the Holy Prophet with Revelation."
 

The Ruh ( spirit ) Al-Bukhari recorded in his Tafsir of this Ayah that `Abdullah bin Mas`ud said, "While I was walking with the Prophet on a farm, and he was resting on a palm-leaf stalk, some Jews passed by.
Some of them said to the others, `Ask him about the Ruh.' Some of them said, `What urges you to ask him about that' Others said, `Do not ask him, lest he gives you a reply which you do not like.' But they said, `Ask him.' So they asked him about the Ruh.
The Prophet kept quiet and did not give them an answer, and I knew that he was receiving revelation, so I stayed where I was.
When the revelation was complete, the Prophet said: وَيَسْـَلُونَكَ عَنِ الرُّوحِ قُلِ الرُّوحُ مِنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّى ( And they ask you concerning the Ruh (the spirit ).
Say: "The Ruh ( the spirit ) is one of the things, the knowledge of which is only with my Lord...") This context would seem to imply that this Ayah was revealed in Al-Madinah, and that it was revealed when the Jews asked him this question in Al-Madinah, although the entire Surah was revealed in Makkah.
This may be answered with the suggestion that this Ayah may have been revealed to him in Al-Madinah a second time, after having previously been revealed in Makkah, or that he was divinely inspired to respond to their question with a previously-revealed Ayah, namely the Ayah in question.
Ibn Jarir recorded that `Ikrimah said, "The People of the Book asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about the Ruh, and Allah revealed: وَيَسْـَلُونَكَ عَنِ الرُّوحِ ( And they ask you concerning the Ruh... ) They said, `You claim that we have only a little knowledge, but we have been given the Tawrah, which is the Hikmah, وَمَن يُؤْتَ الْحِكْمَةَ فَقَدْ أُوتِىَ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا ( and he, to whom Hikmah is granted, is indeed granted abundant good. )' 2:269 Then the Ayah وَلَوْ أَنَّمَا فِى الاٌّرْضِ مِن شَجَرَةٍ أَقْلاَمٌ وَالْبَحْرُ يَمُدُّهُ مِن بَعْدِهِ سَبْعَةُ أَبْحُرٍ ( And if all the trees on the earth were pens and the sea (were ink wherewith to write ), with seven seas behind it to add to its ( supply ),) 31:27 was revealed.
He said, "Whatever knowledge you have been given, if Allah saves you from the Fire thereby, then it is great and good, but in comparison to the knowledge of Allah, it is very little." وَيَسْـَلُونَكَ عَنِ الرُّوحِ ( And they ask you concerning the Ruh. ) Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "This was when the Jews said to the Prophet , `Tell us about the Ruh and how the Ruh will be punished that is in the body - for the Ruh is something about which only Allah knows, and there was no revelation concerning it.' He did not answer them at all, then Jibril came to him and said: قُلِ الرُّوحُ مِنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّى وَمَآ أُوتِيتُم مِّن الْعِلْمِ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً ( Say: "The Ruh (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.") So the Prophet told them about that, and they said, `Who told you this' He said, «جَاءَنِي بِهِ جِبْرِيلُ مِنْ عِنْدِ الله» ( Jibril brought it to me from Allah. ) They said, `By Allah, no one has told you that except our enemy i.e., Jibril.' Then Allah revealed: قُلْ مَن كَانَ عَدُوًّا لِّجِبْرِيلَ فَإِنَّهُ نَزَّلَهُ عَلَى قَلْبِكَ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ ( Say: "Whoever is an enemy to Jibril (let him die in his fury ), for indeed he has brought it ( this Qur'an ) down to your heart by Allah's permission, confirming what came before it.)" 2:97 The Ruh and the Nafs As-Suhayili mentioned the dispute among the scholars over whether the Ruh is the same as the Nafs, or something different.
He stated that it is light and soft, like air, flowing through the body like water through the veins of a tree.
He states that the Ruh which the angel breathes into the fetus is the Nafs, provided that it joins the body and acquires certain qualities because of it, whether good or bad.
So then it is either a soul in ( complete ) rest and satisfaction ( 89:27 ) or inclined to evil ( 12:53 ), just as water is the life of the tree, then by mixing with it, it produces something else, so that if it mixes with grapes and the grapes are then squeezed, it becomes juice or wine.
Then it is no longer called water, except in a metaphorical sense.
Thus we should understand the connection between Nafs and Ruh; the Ruh is not called Nafs except when it joins the body and is affected by it.
So in conclusion we may say: the Ruh is the origin and essence, and the Nafs consists of the Ruh and its connection to the body.
So they are the same in one sense but not in another.
This is a good explanation, and Allah knows best.
I say: people speak about the essence of the Ruh and its rulings, and many books have been written on this topic.
One of the best of those who spoke of this was Al-Hafiz Ibn Mandah in a book which we have heard about the Ruh. وَلَئِن شِئْنَا لَنَذْهَبَنَّ بِالَّذِى أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ ثُمَّ لاَ تَجِدُ لَكَ بِهِ عَلَيْنَا وَكِيلاً

( They will ask thee ) O Muhammad ( concerning the Spirit ) it was the people of Mecca-Abu Jahl and his host-who asked. ( Say: The Spirit is by command of my Lord ) the Spirit is of the marvels of my Lord; it is also said that this means: it is the restricted knowledge of my Lord, ( and of knowledge ) which is with Allah ( ye have been vouchsafed ) you have been given ( but little ).

And they ask you (O Muhammad SAW) concerning the Ruh (the Spirit); Say: "The Ruh (the Spirit): it 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."

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