Chapter 1 — Ruh: The Most Important Affair

Allah says:

وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الرُّوحِ ۖ قُلِ الرُّوحُ مِنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّي وَمَا أُوتِيتُم مِّنَ الْعِلْمِ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا

“And they ask you about the Ruh. Say: The Ruh is from the affair of my Lord, and you have not been given knowledge except a little.”

— Al-Isrā’ 17:85

This verse forms the primary foundation for understanding the Ruh.

The Quran does not describe the Ruh as smoke, a shadow or a subtle object residing within the physical body.

Instead, it says:

مِنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّي

“from the affair of my Lord.”

The word AMR here indicates an affair that is active, ongoing and continuously taking place.

It is not a one-time process.

It does not occur briefly and then stop.

Within this model, the Lord’s affair is streaming that continuously runs.

As long as the physical body is alive, there continues to be:

receiving, transmission, manifestation and recording.

Therefore, the Ruh is not appropriately understood as something that enters once and then remains static within the body.

The Ruh is the flow of the affair that is constantly moving.

THE LORD’S AFFAIR = CONTINUOUS STREAMING

Imagine a device that is constantly connected to a primary source.

As long as the connection remains active, data continues to move.

Some is received.

Some is manifested.

Some is stored.

Some is updated.

This is the analogy of the Ruh.

The Lord’s affair continues every moment.

Human beings see.

Human beings hear.

Human beings feel.

Human beings understand.

Human beings remember.

Human beings choose.

Human beings act.

All of this takes place within a continuous flow throughout life.

Therefore:

RUH = STREAMING OF THE LORD’S AFFAIR

THE UNCEASING LOVE OF THE UMMĪ

Imagine the love of a mother nursing her child.

As long as the child needs it, the milk continues to flow.

The child does not need to understand the entire process taking place within the mother’s body.

The child simply receives the flow that sustains life.

This is the analogy of the Ummī as the source of the Ummah.

His love does not cease.

Knowledge continues to flow.

Attributes continue to be carried.

Rahmah continues to be conveyed.

The streaming continues at all times.

The Ummah receives, feels, lives, learns and moves through that flow.

Unfortunately, human beings enjoy the flow but do not acknowledge its original source.

They send salawat with their tongues, but do not understand who Muhammad ﷺ is as the Ummī, the source and the bearer of the Risalah.

They mention his name, but do not witness that it is through the path of the Risalah that knowledge, attributes and rahmah continue to reach the Ummah.

Therefore, salawat should bring human beings towards recognition of the original path that continues to convey rahmah to the Ummah.

The love of the Ummī is never cut off.

What becomes disconnected is human awareness of that flow.

RUH AND THE ANGELS

Allah says:

يُنَزِّلُ الْمَلَائِكَةَ بِالرُّوحِ مِنْ أَمْرِهِ

“He sends down the angels with the Ruh from His command.”

— An-Naḥl 16:2

Notice the sequence:

AMR → ANGELS → RUH → PHYSICAL BODY

If AMR is the affair that continuously takes place, then the angels are the network of executors that ensures the affair continues to move.

The Ruh is the flow that carries data, attributes and knowledge.

The physical body is the field where all of these become manifested.

RUH CARRIES KNOWLEDGE

Allah says:

وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ رُوحًا مِّنْ أَمْرِنَا

“And thus We revealed to you a Ruh from Our command.”

— Ash-Shūrā 42:52

Here, the Ruh is connected with the transmission of knowledge.

Something previously unknown becomes known.

Something unclear becomes clear.

Something previously not understood becomes understood.

Therefore, the Ruh has a connection with information, knowledge and understanding.

RUH AND THE QALB

Allah says:

نَزَلَ بِهِ الرُّوحُ الْأَمِينُ ۝ عَلَىٰ قَلْبِكَ

“The trustworthy Ruh brought it down upon your qalb.”

— Ash-Shu‘arā’ 26:193–194

Knowledge reaches the qalb.

The qalb receives.

The self understands.

Then attributes and actions become manifested.

Thus, a sequence is formed:

DATA → QALB → UNDERSTANDING → ATTRIBUTES → ACTIONS

NAFKH IS NOT THE BLOWING OF A BALLOON

Allah says:

وَنَفَخَ فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِهِ

“And He breathed into him from His Ruh.”

— As-Sajdah 32:9

Nafkh should not be imagined as blowing up a balloon.

Within this model, nafkh is the process of transmission or transfer.

The analogy used is:

COPY, TRANSMISSION, STREAMING.

Once the fetus has become complete as a receiver, the streaming process begins.

It does not happen only once.

It continues throughout life.

RUH AND THE MANIFESTATION OF ATTRIBUTES

The same verse continues:

وَجَعَلَ لَكُمُ السَّمْعَ وَالْأَبْصَارَ وَالْأَفْئِدَةَ

“And He made for you hearing, sight and af’idah.”

Following the transmission of the Ruh, the functions of the self become manifested:

hearing,

seeing,

feeling,

understanding,

remembering,

evaluating,

choosing,

acting.

Therefore, the physical body is where those attributes become manifested.

SUMMARY

The Lord’s affair is streaming that continuously takes place.

As long as human beings are alive:

data is received,

attributes are manifested,

experiences are formed,

actions are recorded.

Therefore, the basic formula of this chapter is:

AMR = THE AFFAIR THAT CONTINUOUSLY TAKES PLACE

RUH = STREAMING OF THE AFFAIR

ANGELS = NETWORK OF EXECUTORS

PHYSICAL BODY = FIELD OF MANIFESTATION

ATTRIBUTES = DATA THAT BECOMES MANIFESTED

UMMĪ = THE ORIGINAL SOURCE WHOSE FLOW NEVER CEASES

The Ruh is not an object residing within the body.

The Ruh is the flow of the affair that remains alive, moving and continuously taking place throughout human life.