• The Divine Challenge that even if the whole of Mankind and the Jinn joined together helping each other they can never bring the like of the Qur’an

• People demanding miracles

Al-Israa (Bani-Israel) Verses 85 – 93

وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الرُّوحِ قُلِ الرُّوحُ مِنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّي وَمَا أُوتِيتُمْ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا

And they ask thee (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) about the spirit, Say thou “The spirit is, from the command of my Lord, and ye are not given of the knowledge but a little.” (17:85)

وَلَئِنْ شِئْنَا لَنَذْهَبَنَّ بِالَّذِي أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ ثُمَّ لَا تَجِدُ لَكَ بِهِ عَلَيْنَا وَكِيلًا

And if We please, We would certainly take away that which We revealed unto thee, then thou wouldst find not for thee against Us any pleader, (17:86)1

إِلَّا رَحْمَةً مِنْ رَبِّكَ إِنَّ فَضْلَهُ كَانَ عَلَيْكَ كَبِيرًا

Save the mercy from thy Lord: Verily, His grace on thee is (ever) great. (17:87)2

قُلْ لَئِنِ اجْتَمَعَتِ الْإِنْسُ وَالْجِنُّ عَلَىٰ أَنْ يَأْتُوا بِمِثْلِ هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنِ لَا يَأْتُونَ بِمِثْلِهِ وَلَوْ كَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ ظَهِيرًا

Say thou “(Even) if men and the jinn get united (with the object) that they bring the like of this Qur’an, they would bring not the like of it, even though some of them to the others be helpers.” (17:88)34

وَلَقَدْ صَرَّفْنَا لِلنَّاسِ فِي هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنِ مِنْ كُلِّ مَثَلٍ فَأَبَىٰ أَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ إِلَّا كُفُورًا

And indeed have We displayed unto the people, in this Qur’an, every (kind of) example but incline not5most of the people save denying. (17:89)6

وَقَالُوا لَنْ نُؤْمِنَ لَكَ حَتَّىٰ تَفْجُرَ لَنَا مِنَ الْأَرْضِ يَنْبُوعًا

And said they: “Never will we believe in thee until thou causeth a spring for us from the earth to gush forth,” (17:90)

أَوْ تَكُونَ لَكَ جَنَّةٌ مِنْ نَخِيلٍ وَعِنَبٍ فَتُفَجِّرَ الْأَنْهَارَ خِلَالَهَا تَفْجِيرًا

“Or (cause it to) be for thee a garden of date-palms and grapes, and (cause) rivers in their midst, gushing forth,” (17:91)

أَوْ تُسْقِطَ السَّمَاءَ كَمَا زَعَمْتَ عَلَيْنَا كِسَفًا أَوْ تَأْتِيَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةِ قَبِيلًا

“Or cause the heavens to fall as thou didst assert upon us, in pieces, or bring thou God and the angels (to vouch for thee) face to face (with us),” (17:92)

أَوْ يَكُونَ لَكَ بَيْتٌ مِنْ زُخْرُفٍ أَوْ تَرْقَىٰ فِي السَّمَاءِ وَلَنْ نُؤْمِنَ لِرُقِيِّكَ حَتَّىٰ تُنَزِّلَ عَلَيْنَا كِتَابًا نَقْرَؤُهُ قُلْ سُبْحَانَ رَبِّي هَلْ كُنْتُ إِلَّا بَشَرًا رَسُولًا

Or there be for thee a house of 7gold, or ascend thou into the heaven; and never will we believe in thy ascending until thou causeth to be sent down unto us a book that we may read it. “Say: thou (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!)” “Glory be to my Lord; am I aught save a man (sent by God as) Apostle. (17:93)8

Commentary

Verse 85

‘Ruh’ – Spirit - has been used in Qur’an in several senses:

1. The life or spirit blown into Adam... (15:29).

2. The life in every conscious individual being man or animal.

3. Jesus - is termed as a Word of God and a spirit from him... (4:171).

4. Qur’an as a revelation… (42:52).

5. Spirit which along with the angels come down at the ‘Shab-e-Qadr’ (Planning Night)… (97:4).

6. The Spirit which along with the angels will stand on the Resurrection Day… (79:38).

7. The Holy Ghost… (5:110).

8. The Spirit from God sent to Mary which appeared to her in a human form... (19:17).

Besides these Qur’anic usages, the term ‘spirit’ was in vogue among the pagans - Arabs, Indians, Romans and Africans, etc. attributing to the spirit all the phenomena which they could not explain in natural terms. Therefore the question here was not in reference to a particular sense of usage of the term, but in general as to what is the unseen immeasurable and active agent - whether in human body in giving knowledge to man, not obtained through experiment or producing unnatural phenomena in human society and other natural realms which is used as a general term. Regarding the spirit in its general sense there is divergence of opinion among the ancient philosophers whether it is created or not created and in either case, what is its definition. There are several views. Some Indian and Greek Schools held the view that spirit and matter both are uncreated. Then they disputed whether there is a third agent controlling these two as God or not. Another dispute was whether the spirit is one manifesting in various ways in the realm of nature or every specie of or every individual has a spirit of its own. Then about the nature of the spirit; whether it is an unidimensional conscious entity influencing the dimensional realm or it is also dimensional, of very fine ethnical character, not matter. These were the questions which occupied the minds of the scholars of all religions before and after the advent of Islam and the question was every now and then put to the Holy Prophet and Qur’an also used the term ‘Ruh’ in the above senses. Even after the Holy Prophet, the question was dealt with by the various schools of thought in Islam tending towards one or other views of the ancient Greek, Persian and the Indian philosophers. Moreover, the answer to this question here according to some commentators is of evasive character in the sense that God did not consider it appropriate to give a positive answer and said, tell them the spirit is a matter of Divine concern, your knowledge is not sufficient to understand it.

And they ask thee (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) about the spirit, Say thou “The spirit is, from the command of my Lord, and ye are not given of the knowledge but a little.” (17:85)

But other commentators say that God has given here an explanatory answer to this question with regard to both aspects (1) that spirit is a created being, an outcome of God’s Command - (2) that its nature, i.e., the nature of the Divine Command itself - All pervading, assuming in every stage and every realm the appropriate shape or character accordingly in some stages unidimensional and some dimensional. In other words the answer is that the spirit or the active agent in the universe and in the order of creation is the outcome of the Divine Will or command, not conditioned with any particular character or limitation like the radiation coming from its source which is not conditioned at all by the characters of the ground on which it falls, but the reflection or the effect produced from that radiation is conditioned with the character of the ground, material or non-material. And it is from this view-point, the effect or reflection, that the spirit has been termed by the scholars, as material or non-material.

Otherwise, what proceeds from God is non-dimensional and non-material, which may produce effect in the material beings, becoming material - and produce effect in non-material realm becoming non-material. The factor responsible for animal function is termed ‘spirit’ and the mind itself is termed as spirit because it pro duces effects and reflections as its own realm and the knowledge and what proceeds from God, of knowledge and information to human mind that is also called spirit. In short, any effect or reflection produced by the agencies other than material factors, can be termed as spirit or angels or the Hand of God. This is a philosophical interpretation of this verse which explains all the views of the commentators and the traditions narrated from the Holy Prophet or the Imams in this connection - Thus answering the question, Qur’an tells the questioners that your knowledge is not sufficient to comprehend the exact nature of the Spirit. (A.P.).

Verse 93

‘Imam or a human apostle of God’, the working of a miracle depends totally upon the Will of the Lord and not upon the fancy of the people to demand it as and when it wants.

• 1. Even what is revealed - the Holy Qurʾan itself - is a Spirit from the Divine Command (see 42:52). Since revelation is entirely dependent upon God’s will, He declares that if He so wills, He can withdraw what He has revealed.
• 2. This announces the Unique position of the Holy Prophet and the next verse - of the Qur’an.
• 3. Refer to verses 2:23, 10:38 & 11:13.
• 4. This indicates the challenging & the Unique inimitability of the Holy Qur’an.
• 5. Decline.
• 6. Refer to verses 17:99, 2:23, 10:38, 11:13 & 52:34.
• 7. Ornament.
• 8. Refer to verse 74:52.