Ruh

The spirit that gives a body life, whose reality Allah kept to Himself.

Also written · Rooh · Ruuh · Rouh · Ar-Ruh · Roh · Spirit · Soul · Ruh vs nafs

What Ruh means in Islam

When the Prophet peace be upon him was asked about the ruh, the answer came: say, the spirit is from the affair of my Lord, and you have been given only a little knowledge (Qur'an 17:85). It is taken at death, held in the barzakh, and returned to the body at the resurrection. Many scholars use ruh and nafs for the same thing seen from two angles, while others treat them as distinct.

Evidence · Qur’an · Stated directly in the Qur’an

Read beside it

Rooms that name it

Spirit, wind and relief are one word family in ArabicA Light · Root r w h, breath, wind, relief
Adam from Clay: Ruh BreathedThe Path · chapter 2
Surah Al-KahfSurah 18 · The Cave

Words that sit beside it

NafsThe self: the inner person that can command wrong, blame itself, or come to rest.النَّفْس
BarzakhThe state between death and the resurrection, where the soul waits after the body is buried.البَرْزَخ
Malak al-MawtThe angel of death, who takes each soul at its appointed time by Allah's command.مَلَكُ المَوْت
Ba'thThe resurrection: bodies raised and souls returned, so that everyone stands for judgement.البَعْث