Ruh

Ruh is the "Spirit" or "Soul." The Quran says that the Ruh is from the "Command of my Lord" and that humans have been given only a little knowledge about it. It is the Divine breath that Allah breathed into Adam, giving him life and intellect. Unlike the "Nafs" (the earthly self), the Ruh is the pure, heavenly part of a person that yearns for its Creator. Death in Islam is the separation of the Ruh from the body, as the soul continues its journey into the Barzakh. The Quran says about the soul: "And they ask you about the soul (ruh). Say, 'The soul is of the affair of my Lord. And you have not been given of knowledge except a little'" (17:85). This verse establishes that the nature of the soul is beyond human comprehension. We know that it is created by Allah, that it is breathed into the body, and that it continues after death, but its exact nature is known only to Allah. The soul is the essence of a person. It is what thinks, feels, and knows. It is accountable for its actions and will be rewarded or punished in the Hereafter. The Quran says: "By the soul (nafs) and He who proportioned it and inspired it with its wickedness and its righteousness" (91:7-8). This refers to the soul's capacity for both good and evil. The soul is breathed into the fetus at a certain stage of development. The Prophet said: "Each of you is gathered in his mother's womb for forty days as a drop, then for a similar period as a clot, then for a similar period as a lump of flesh. Then an angel is sent who breathes the soul into him" (Bukhari, Muslim). This establishes the sanctity of life from the moment of ensoulment. At death, the soul is extracted from the body. For the righteous, it is taken gently; for the wicked, it is ripped out painfully. The soul then enters the Barzakh (the intermediate realm) until the Day of Resurrection. In the Barzakh, the soul experiences a preview of its final destination,peace for the righteous, torment for the wicked. For believers, the soul is a trust from Allah. They care for it by nourishing it with faith, knowledge, and righteous deeds. They purify it from the diseases of arrogance, envy, and greed. They prepare it for its journey after death, knowing that it will meet its Creator. The ultimate goal is for the soul to return to Allah in a state of peace, as the Quran says: "O soul at peace, return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him], and enter among My servants, and enter My Paradise" (89:27-30). The believer strives for that state, living a life of faith and righteousness, so that when the soul is separated from the body, it returns to its Lord in peace.