Do Not Say "Knowledge of the Ruh is Little" if You Haven’t Read Its Origin

These two authentic hadiths explain the context behind the revelation of verse Al-Isra' 85. This verse often leads to misunderstandings regarding the meaning of "little," due to not reading the verse in its full context and overlooking who "they" refers to.

The verse was revealed in response to the People of the Book among the Jews, who asked Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) about the Ruh to test him, boasting that they had significant knowledge about it through the Torah. Allah aided the Prophet by revealing this verse.

After reading these hadiths, never tell fellow Muslims that the knowledge of Ruh is limited. Such a point might be used when speaking to followers of other faiths, but it should not be used among Muslims who practice Tawhid. Do not misuse the context and unintentionally attribute falsehood to Allah’s verses.

Consider this simple logic: Why do we recite the "3 Quls" before sleep? Is it for our physical body (jasad) or for our Ruh (spirit)? If it were just for the body, it would be sufficient to lock doors and windows, switch on the air conditioning or fan, pull up the blanket, and sleep. However, the "3 Quls" are meant to protect the Ruh so it doesn’t wander. We seek Allah’s protection through the blessings of the Qur'an upon our Ruh.

Indeed, the knowledge of the Ruh is so vast that even if the oceans and rivers were ink, they would be insufficient to write all the knowledge of the Ruh.

First Hadith

حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ، حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ زَكَرِيَّا بْنِ أَبِي زَائِدَةَ، عَنْ دَاوُدَ بْنِ أَبِي هِنْدٍ، عَنْ عِكْرِمَةَ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ،

We were informed by Qutaybah, who was informed by Yahya ibn Zakariyya ibn Abi Zaidah, from Dawud ibn Abi Hind, from Ikrimah, from Ibn Abbas,

قَالَ
He (Prophet Muhammad) said,

قَالَتْ قُرَيْشٌ لِيَهُودَ اعْطُونَا شَيْئًا نَسْأَلُ عَنْهُ
"The Quraysh said to the Jews: 'Give us something we can ask this man (Muhammad) about.'"

هَذَا الرَّجُلَ فَقَالَ سَلُوهُ عَنِ الرُّوحِ
They (the Jews) replied, "Ask him about the Ruh (spirit)."

قَالَ فَسَأَلُوهُ عَنِ الرُّوحِ فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ:‏‏
He (Prophet Muhammad) said, "Thus, they asked him about the Ruh, and Allah revealed the verse:"

وَ يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الرُّوحِ قُلِ الرُّوحُ مِنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّي وَمَا أُوتِيتُمْ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً
"And they ask you concerning the Ruh. Say, 'The Ruh is of my Lord’s command, and you have not been given of knowledge except a little.'" (Al-Isra': 85)

قَالُوا أُوتِينَا عِلْمًا كَثِيرًا التَّوْرَاةُ وَمَنْ أُوتِيَ التَّوْرَاةَ فَقَدْ أُوتِيَ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا فَأُنْزِلَتْ‏:‏
They (the Jews) said, "We have been granted abundant knowledge through the Torah, and whoever is given the Torah has indeed been given much good." Then the following verse was revealed:

قُلْ لَوْ كَانَ الْبَحْرُ مِدَادًا لِكَلِمَاتِ رَبِّي لَنَفِدَ الْبَحْرُ
"Say, 'If the ocean were ink for (writing) the words of my Lord, surely the ocean would be exhausted before the words of my Lord were completed,' until the end of the verse." (Al-Kahf: 109)

قَالَ هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ غَرِيبٌ مِنْ هَذَا الْوَجْهِ
He (the narrator) said, "This hadith is hasan sahih and gharib (rare) from this perspective."

Grade: Sahih
Reference: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3140
In-book reference: Book 47, Hadith 192

Second Hadith

حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ خَشْرَمٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا عِيسَى بْنُ يُونُسَ، عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، عَنْ عَلْقَمَةَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ،

Ali ibn Khashram narrated to us, Isa ibn Yunus informed us, from Al-A'mash, from Ibrahim, from Alqamah, from Abdullah,

قَالَ كُنْتُ أَمْشِي مَعَ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي حَرْثٍ بِالْمَدِينَةِ وَهُوَ يَتَوَكَّأُ عَلَى عَسِيبٍ
He said, "I was walking with the Prophet ﷺ in a farm in Madinah, and he was leaning on a stick."

فَمَرَّ بِنَفَرٍ مِنَ الْيَهُودِ فَقَالَ
Then he passed by a group of Jews, and some of them said,

بَعْضُهُمْ لَوْ سَأَلْتُمُوهُ فَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ لاَ تَسْأَلُوهُ فَإِنَّهُ يُسْمِعُكُمْ مَا تَكْرَهُونَ
"Why don't you ask him?" But others replied, "Do not ask him, for he will tell you things you dislike."

فَقَالُوا لَهُ يَا أَبَا الْقَاسِمِ حَدِّثْنَا عَنِ الرُّوحِ
Then they said to him, "O Abu al-Qasim, tell us about the Ruh."

فَقَامَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم سَاعَةً وَرَفَعَ رَأْسَهُ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَعَرَفْتُ أَنَّهُ يُوحَى إِلَيْهِ حَتَّى صَعِدَ الْوَحْىُ ثُمَّ قَالَ ‏:‏
The Prophet ﷺ stood for a while and raised his head to the sky, and I realized that he was receiving revelation. After the revelation concluded, he said:

الرُّوحُ مِنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّي وَمَا أُوتِيتُمْ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً
"The Ruh is of my Lord’s command, and you have not been given knowledge except a little."

قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ
Abu Isa said, "This hadith is hasan sahih."

Grade: Sahih
Reference: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3141
In-book reference: Book 47, Hadith 193

May it be beneficial!