Root · 57 in the Quran · 298 in 23 texts of the library
روحa large, regular root denoting spaciousness, ease and continuity, all traced back to rīḥ, … (root rwh)
الراء والواو والحاء أصل كبير مطرد يدل على سعة وفسحة واطراد وأصل ذلك كله الريح وأصل الياء في الريح الواو وإنما قلبت ياء …
Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-lugha · English rendering AI
The family of the root
Patterns computed · our dataThe words of ر و ح that our sources attest: the root's letters in green, the added letters in gold.
64 words8 verbs9 verbal nouns7 participles7 places and instruments5 intensives and elatives15 other nouns7 plurals6 relatives and abstracts
- رُوحthe soul, spirit, or vital principle
- رِيحsuch a one inclines, or turns, with every wind
- أَرْوَاح—
- رِيَاح—
- رَوْحrepose; refreshment
The whole family8 groups, by pattern; tap a pattern to see what it does
Verbs8راحَ · اراحَ · اِسْتَراحَ
The root as an action: the bare Form I, and the Forms made by adding letters before, inside or after the root.grammar →
- راحَit was violently windyLaneForm Ilibrary ×1LaneIbn Fāris
- اراحَhe breathedLaneForm IVQurʾān ×1LaneIbn Fāris
- اِسْتَراحَrest; relaxautoForm Xlibrary ×2Lane
- رَوَّحَhe fannedLaneForm IIlibrary ×1LaneIbn Fāris
Verbal nouns9رِيح · رَوْح · رَوَاح
The action itself, named as a noun (maṣdar).grammar →
- رِيحsuch a one inclines, or turns, with every windLaneForm I · Lane: inf. n.Qurʾān ×29LaneIbn Fāris
- رَوْحrepose; refreshmentautoForm I · Lane: inf. n.Qurʾān ×3library ×3LaneIbn Fāris
- رَوَاحdeparture; returnautoForm I · Lane: inf. n.Qurʾān ×1library ×1LaneIbn Fāris
- تَرْوِيحventilation; amusementautoForm II · Lane: inf. n.library ×1Lane
Participles7مُرَاح · مُرَوَّح · رَائِح
The one who does it, and the one it is done to.grammar →
Place, time and instrument7مَرَاح · مَرُوح · مَرْوَحَة
Where or when it happens, and what it is done with: the m- nouns.grammar →
- مَرَاحplace from which people go, or to which they return, in the evening or …Lanenoun of place or timeLaneIbn Fāris
- مَرُوحnoun of place or timeLaneIbn Fāris
- مَرْوَحَةplace in which, or through which, the winds blow, and in which they efface …Lanenoun of place (with -a)LaneIbn Fāris
- مِرْوَحnoun of instrumentLaneIbn Fāris
Intensives, qualities and the elative5رَيْحَان · أَرْيَح · رَوَّاح
The quality carried far, held as a trait, or compared.grammar →
Other nouns15رُوح · أَرْوَاح · تَرْوِيحَة
Nouns on other patterns; their meaning is learned word by word.grammar →
- رُوحthe soul, spirit, or vital principleLanenounQurʾān ×21library ×129LaneIbn Fāris
- أَرْوَاحmore, and most, conducive to rest or easeLanenounLaneIbn Fāris
- تَرْوِيحَةsingle restLanenounLaneIbn Fāris
- رَيَاحnounLaneIbn Fāris
Plurals7أَرْوَاح · رِيَاح · رُوح
Broken plurals rebuild the word on a new pattern; sound plurals add an ending.grammar →
- أَرْوَاحbroken plural of رُوحlibrary ×39LaneIbn Fāris
- رِيَاحbroken plural of رِيحQurʾān ×10Ibn Fāris
- رُوحbroken plural of أَرْوَاحLaneIbn Fāris
- تَرَاوِيحbroken plural of تَرْوِيحَةLane
Relative and abstract6رُوحِيّ · أَرْيَحِيَّة · أَرْيَحِيّ
-iyy relates a thing to its source; -iyya makes an abstract noun.grammar →
Reference
Why this shape?What each of the 24 patterns does
What each pattern does. The pattern gives a tendency, not a rule: many words have drifted into meanings of their own.
The pattern machinePour the root into a pattern; see whether the word exists
Choose a pattern; the root's letters pour into it. Then see whether the word exists in our sources. The machine makes shapes; only usage makes words.
- Attested: مَرْوَحَة, noun of place (with -a), “place in which, or through which, the winds blow, and in which they efface …” (Lane, Ibn Fāris)
Place noun with -a. The place noun with the feminine -a. Sometimes it is only a variant of mafʿal; often it names the place where a thing is found in abundance (maʾsada, 'a place full of lions'). So maktab is the place of writing, and maktaba, where writings are gathered: a library, a bookshop. Our summary AI
But: maktaba is not in our classical dictionaries for k-t-b: Lane and al-Jawharī give maktab ('a school'), none gives maktaba. Its sense of 'library, bookshop' fits the pattern of abundance, but that is our reading of the pattern, not a classical entry. Many mafʿala words are single items of usage (maqbara 'cemetery'), which the grammarians call heard, not formed by rule.
The grammarians on this pattern (4)
ما يكون مفعلة لازمة لها الهاء والفتحة … وذلك إذا أردت أن تكثر الشيء بالمكان، وذلك قولك: أرض مسبعة، ومأسدة
Chapter on what is mafʿala, with the -a and the a-vowel always: that is when you mean that a thing abounds in a place, as you say 'a land of many beasts of prey (masbaʿa), of many lions (maʾsada)' AI
Sībawayh (d. c. 180/796), al-Kitāb, ed. ʿAbd al-Salām Hārūn, 3rd ed. (Cairo: al-Khānjī, 1988), 4:94 · OpenITI line 21027–21028 ↗ · on this site · OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
و نحو المظنة و المقبرة فتحا و ضما ليس بقياس
and words like maẓinna and maqbara (with a or u) are not by rule AI
Ibn al-Ḥājib (d. 646/1249), al-Shāfiya fī ʿilm al-taṣrīf, ed. Ḥasan Aḥmad al-ʿUthmān (Mecca: al-Maktaba al-Makkiyya, 1995), 1:30 · OpenITI line 223 ↗ · on this site · OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
- “designate the place where the object signified by the noun from which they are formed, is found in large numbers or quantities” Wright, Grammar I, §247, p. 148 ↗ · on nouns of abundance, maf'ala · 3rd ed. (Cambridge, 1896) · public domain
- “Nouns of time and place not unfrequently take the feminine form” Wright, Grammar I, §225, p. 128 ↗ · on maf'ala as a variant of maf'al · 3rd ed. (Cambridge, 1896) · public domain
This root has a weak or doubled letter, so real words change shape (qāla → qāʾil, not qāwil); the machine pours the letters in as they are, and matches attested words by their regular pattern.
About thisWhat “attested” means here; the sources
Attested means found in our data: the Quranic Arabic Corpus (lemmas, verb Forms, participles, verbal nouns, plurals), the library's words (automatic analysis), Lane's Lexicon (his headwords, the Forms he numbers, the verbal nouns and plurals he names) and Ibn Fāris's entry. Nothing is generated for this list. Meanings are Lane's first gloss in his entry, or else the analyser's gloss (“auto”). Vowelling follows the corpus, then Lane, then the analyser; verbs are given in the regular perfect. Lane's Lexicon thins out after qāf, and a few of his entries cover several roots at once: those roots show no Lane. The patterns, written with ف ع ل, are computed by us.
The dictionaries
English: AI translation AIal-Khalīl · 170Al-rūḥ (الروح): the soul/spirit by which the body lives.
al-Khalīl b. Aḥmad (d. c. 170/786), Kitāb al-ʿAyn. The first Arabic dictionary, arranged by permutations of the root letters.
AI AI translation of the Arabic belowal-Jawharī · 393Al-rūḥ (الروح) may be masculine or feminine, plural al-arwāḥ (الأرواح).
al-Jawharī (d. c. 393/1003), al-Ṣiḥāḥ. Admits only usage he judged sound.
AI AI translation of the Arabic belowIbn Fāris · 395The letters rāʾ, wāw, ḥāʾ form a major, regular root indicating breadth, spaciousness, and regularity, and the origin of all this is al-rīḥ (الريح) 'the wind.' The origin of the yāʾ in rīḥ (الريح) is wāw, but it was chan
Ibn Fāris (d. 395/1004), Maqāyīs al-Lugha. Seeks each root's original sense (aṣl).
AI AI translation of the Arabic belowLisān · 711Al-rīḥ (الريح): the breeze of the air, and likewise the scent of anything;
Ibn Manẓūr (d. 711/1311), Lisān al-ʿArab. The great compendium of the earlier dictionaries (entry shortened).
AI AI translation of the Arabic belowLane · 1876English, synthesising the classical dictionaries.
E. W. Lane (d. 1876), An Arabic-English Lexicon. English, synthesising the classical dictionaries.
Lane, Arabic-English Lexiconread Lane's entry online ↗
The same letters, turned
The same three letters in all six orders. Choose one.
ر و ح
الراء والواو والحاء أصل كبير مطرد يدل على سعة وفسحة واطراد وأصل ذلك كله الريح وأصل الياء في الريح الواو وإنما قلبت ياء لكسرة ما قبلها فالروح روح الإنسان وإنما هو مشتق من الريح وكذلك الباب كله والروح نسيم الريح ويقال أراح …
r-w-ḥ is a great, consistent root indicating breadth, spaciousness, and continuity, the origin of all this being al-rīḥ (wind); and the origin of the yā' in al-rīḥ is wāw, but it was changed to yā' because of the kasra before it. Al-rūḥ is the spirit of man, derived from al-rīḥ, and likewise the whole chapter; al-rawḥ is the breeze of the wind; and it is said 'arāḥa…' AI
an entry in Ibn Fārislater sources onlyin none of them
Do these six share one core meaning?
Reference
About thisal-Khalīl, Ibn Jinnī, Ibn Fāris; the counts across the dictionary
al-Khalīl (d. c. 170/786), Kitāb al-ʿAyn, as transmitted by al-Layth: a two-letter word “turns in two ways”, a three-letter word “in six ways” (masdūsa), four letters in 24, five in 120; “its used forms are written down and its unused ones dropped” (line 975 ↗). The dictionary is built on this: each chapter takes a set of letters and names which orders are used (mustaʿmal) and which unused (muhmal). The ring shows that verdict, from the chapter heading as edited (documented in the text; how much of the book is al-Khalīl's own is disputed).
A reported total. al-Suyūṭī transmits, from Ḥamza al-Iṣfahānī, that al-Khalīl put the possible forms, used and unused, of two to five letters at 12,305,412 (al-Muzhir, line 1347 ↗). It is reported, not found in the ʿAyn. It equals exactly the arrangements of 2 to 5 different letters out of 28 (756 + 19,656 + 491,400 + 11,793,600); the breakdown printed beside it is corrupt, and al-Zubaydī's count, given next, differs (6,659,400).
Ibn Jinnī (d. 392/1002), al-Khaṣāʾiṣ, names the greater derivation (al-ishtiqāq al-akbar): bind a three-letter root and its six orders to one meaning, and bring stray members back “by the subtlety of the craft and interpretation” (line 7536 ↗). He says himself that it does not hold for every root (line 167 ↗; line 7603 ↗).
Ibn Fāris (d. 395/1004) gives each root its own aṣl and treats a rearranged word as maqlūb, “turned round”, and so not a root of its own: “j-b-dh is not a root, because it is a single word, turned round” (Maqāyīs, line 6147 ↗). The ring sets his aṣl for each order side by side; whether they meet is the question.
Neighbours on the ring differ by one swap of two letters.
The critique. A source quoted by al-Suyūṭī calls the greater derivation Ibn Jinnī's innovation, “not relied on in the language” (al-Muzhir, line 6159 ↗).
The other axis. The root's letters also go into patterns that keep their order and change the frame: the patterns (awzān) and the verb Forms I–X.
Across Ibn Fāris's dictionary. Of the 2,300 possible sets of three different sound letters (no hamza, w or y), 1,021 have at least one order as an entry. How many of their six orders are entries:
- 1 of 6319
- 2 of 6218
- 3 of 6164
- 4 of 6155
- 5 of 6107
- 6 of 658
- 1 of 6148
- 2 of 6108
- 3 of 6157
- 4 of 6179
- 5 of 6111
- 6 of 643
Of the orders al-Khalīl calls used, 2,097 are entries in Ibn Fāris and 267 are not; 17 that he calls unused are entries in Ibn Fāris.
Attested here means found in our digital texts (Ibn Fāris, Lisān al-ʿArab, Lane, the Quranic Arabic Corpus), with w and y kept apart and hamza spellings merged; it is our data, not a classical verdict. English beside the Arabic is AI translation. Sources and grades: docs/research/root-permutations.md.
Letters & sound
- رrāʾtip of the tongue, near the nūn · voiced, in betweenSīb. · I. Jinnī
- وwāwbetween the lips · voiced, in betweenSīb. · I. Jinnī
- حḥāʾmiddle of the throat · voiceless, continuantSīb. · I. Jinnī
How each letter is made, in brief, from Sībawayh's and Ibn Jinnī's own sentences (linked); their words are under Reference.
Sharing two of its three letters (computed; kinship of form, not of meaning)
Reference
How it is madeSībawayh and Ibn Jinnī · phonetics
English throughout: AI translation of the Arabic AI
ر
ومن مخرج النون غير أنه أدخل في ظهر اللسان قليلا لانحرافه إلى اللام مخرج الراء
From the place of the nūn, except that it goes a little further onto the back of the tongue, because it leans towards the lām, is the place of the rāʾ. Sībawayh, lines 26557–26558 ↗
ومن مخرج النون غير أنه أدخل في ظهر اللسان قليلا، لانحرافه إلى اللام، مخرج الراء
From the place of the nūn, except that it goes a little further onto the back of the tongue, because it leans towards the lām, is the place of the rāʾ. Ibn Jinnī, lines 980–981 ↗
و
ومما بين الشفتين مخرج الباء، والميم، والواو
From between the two lips is the place of the bāʾ, the mīm and the wāw. Sībawayh, line 26563 ↗
ومما بين الشفتين مخرج الباء والميم والواو
From between the two lips is the place of the bāʾ, the mīm and the wāw. Ibn Jinnī, line 986 ↗
ح
ومن أوسط الحلق مخرج العين والحاء
From the middle of the throat is the place of the ʿayn and the ḥāʾ. Sībawayh, lines 26548–26549 ↗
ومن وسط الحلق مخرج العين والحاء
From the middle of the throat is the place of the ʿayn and the ḥāʾ. Ibn Jinnī, line 970 ↗
Sībawayh, al-Kitāb (ed. Hārūn) and Ibn Jinnī, Sirr ṣināʿat al-iʿrāb; OpenITI digital texts (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Full credits on each letter's page.
In the Breath of the All-MercifulIbn ʿArabī · metaphysics
English throughout: AI translation of the Arabic AI
ر
Level of existence: السماء الخامسة · the fifth heaven
Divine Name: المصور · the Form-Giver (al-Muṣawwir)
Lunar mansion: الغفر · al-Ghafr
Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 64675Spheres of its simples (ch. 2): 10 line 2573 ↗
Nature (ch. 2)
المرتبة العشرية فحروفها حارة يابسة
The tenfold rank: its letters are hot and dry.
Ibn ʿArabī, al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, line 2582و
Level of existence: تعيين الرتب والمقامات والمنازل · the determination of ranks, stations and waystations
Divine Name: رفيع الدرجات · Rafīʿ al-Darajāt, Exalted in Degrees
Lunar mansion: الرشا · al-Rashāʾ
Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 62121Spheres of its simples (ch. 2): 10 line 2573 ↗
Nature (ch. 2)
المرتبة العشرية فحروفها حارة يابسة
The tenfold rank: its letters are hot and dry.
Ibn ʿArabī, al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, line 2582ح
Level of existence: الجوهر الهبابي · the dust-like substance (spelled الهبابي in the text)
Divine Name: الآخر · al-Ākhir, the Last
Lunar mansion: الدبران · al-Dabarān
Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 62076Spheres of its simples (ch. 2): 10 line 2573 ↗
Meaning by vowelal-Dabbāgh · a visionary claim about a primordial “Syriac”, not historical Syriac
English throughout: AI translation of the Arabic AI
ر
With fatḥa ـَ
فهي إشارة إلى جميع الخيرات الظاهرة والباطنة.
It is an indication of all goods, outward and inward.
With ḍamma ـُ
فهي إشارة إلى الواحد في نفسه وهو ظاهر.
It is an indication of the one in itself, and it is manifest.
With kasra ـِ
فهي إشارة إلى الشيء الذي فيه الروح وليس من بني آدم، أو إشارة إلى الروح نفسها.
It is an indication of a thing that has spirit in it but is not of the children of Adam, or an indication of the spirit itself.
و
With fatḥa ـَ
فهي الأشياء المشتبكة في الإنسان مثل العروق والأصابع وما أشبه ذلك.
It is the intertwined things in the human being, such as veins, fingers and the like.
With ḍamma ـُ
فهي الأشياء المباينة لبني آدم مثل الأفلاك والجبال وما أشبه ذلك
It is things distinct from the children of Adam, such as the celestial spheres, mountains and the like.
With kasra ـِ
فهي الأشياء المشتبكة المستقذرة أو المبغوضة كالأمعاء ونحوها.
It is intertwined things that are filthy or detested, such as the intestines and the like.
ح
With fatḥa ـَ
فهي تدل على الإحاطة والشمول للجميع.
It denotes encompassing and inclusion of everything.
With ḍamma ـُ
فهي العدد الكثير الخارج عن بني آدم كالنجوم.
It is a great number external to the children of Adam, such as the stars.
With kasra ـِ
فهي العدد الداخل في الذات أو للذات عليه ولاية كملكية العبيد والدنانير والدراهم وغير ذلك.
It is a number contained within the self, or over which the self has authority, such as ownership of slaves, dinars, dirhams and the like.
Two-letter nucleus13 roots in Ibn Fāris’s chapterر و
Ibn Fāris groups his roots under two-letter chapters (“the X and the Y and what makes them three”). These are the roots of this root's chapter with the core sense he gives each. Setting them side by side is our juxtaposition; he does not himself draw a shared meaning. His chapter heading, line 12134 ↗
- رويالراء والواو والياء أصل واحد ثم يشتق منه فالأصل ما كان خلاف العطش ثم يصرف في الكلام لحامل ما يروى منه فالأصل رويت من الماء ريا وقال الأصمعي رويت على أL12135
- روثالراء والواو والثاء كلمتان متباينتان جدا فالروثة طرف الأرنبة والواحدة من روث الدوابL12143
- روجالراء والواو والجيم ليس أصلا على أن الخليل ذكر روجت الدراهم وفلان مروج وراج الشيء يروج إذا عجل به وكل قد قيل والله أعلم بصحته إلا أني أراه كله دخيلاL12145
- روحالراء والواو والحاء أصل كبير مطرد يدل على سعة وفسحة واطراد وأصل ذلك كله الريح وأصل الياء في الريح الواو وإنما قلبت ياء لكسرة ما قبلها فالروح روح الإنسQ 57 · L12147
- رودالراء والواو والدال معظم بابه يدل على مجيء وذهاب من انطلاق في جهة واحدة تقول راودته على أن يفعل كذا إذا أردته على فعله والرود فعل الرائدQ 148 · L12190
- روزالراء والواو والزاء كلمة واحدة وهي تدل على اختبار وتجريبL12204
- روضالراء والواو والضاد أصلان متقاربان في القياس أحدهما يدل على اتساع والآخر على تليين وتسهيلQ 2 · L12206
- روغالراء والواو والغين أصل واحد يدل على ميل وقلة استقرارQ 3 · L12221
- روقالراء والواو والقاف أصلان يدل أحدهما على تقدم شيء والآخر على حسن وجمالL12228
- رولالراء والواو واللام أصل يدل على لطخ شيء بشيءL12250
- رومالراء والواو والميم أصل يدل على طلب الشيء ويقال رمت الشيء أرومه روما والمرام المطلبL12252
- روهالراء والواو والهاء ليس بشيء على أن بعضهم يقول الروه مصدر راه يروه روهاL12255
- رونالراء والواو والنون يدل على شدة حر أو صوت يقولون يوم أرونان وليلة أرونانة أي شديدة الحر والغمL12257
In the sister scriptsHebrew ר ו חSyriac ܪ ܘ ܚ
| Arabic | ر و ح |
| Hebrew | ר ו ח |
| Syriac | ܪ ܘ ܚ |
| Ancient South Arabian (musnad) | 𐩧 𐩥 𐩢 |
| Phoenician | 𐤓 𐤅 𐤇 |
Letter for letter, by the regular sound correspondences of the Semitic languages (Arabic keeps several sounds the others merged). This shows how the root would be spelled; whether a related word exists is a separate question, answered in the Semitic lens. Where an Arabic sibilant (s, sh) continues two older sounds, both spellings are shown.
Lenses
AIClassical lexiconAl-Khalīl defines rūḥ as the nafs by which the body lives, and calls the angels rūḥānī, 'created spirit without body'.well attested
The lexicographers in chronological order, from al-Khalīl to Lane.
Al-Khalīl defines rūḥ as the nafs by which the body lives, and calls the angels rūḥānī, 'created spirit without body'. He names Jibrīl as al-rūḥ and rūḥ al-qudus, and also cites the view that al-rūḥ is an angel who stands alone as a whole row. Under the same head he lists meat whose smell has turned (irwāḥ), and rawāḥ, travel or work from noon to nightfall. Al-Jawharī adds that rūḥ is both masculine and feminine, and that the Quran, Jibrīl and ʿĪsā are each called rūḥ. He also records rūḥānī for angels and jinn, and shows that the yāʾ of rīḥ is an underlying wāw (plural arwāḥ). Ibn Fāris makes rīḥ the origin of the whole root, from which he derives the human spirit, the breeze (rawḥ), breathing (arāḥa), and evening (rawāḥ), 'because the wind mostly blows after noon'. Ibn Manẓūr defines rīḥ as the moving breath of the air and of anything, and reports Abū Ḥātim's dispute over the plural aryāḥ. Lane's form I is concrete: a day that is windy, breezy or cool, and a tent aired by wind. No Mufradāt excerpt was supplied.
Draws on: al-Khalīl · al-Jawharī · Ibn Fāris · Ibn Manẓūr · Lane
Letters & soundAccording to al-Dabbāgh, rāʾ indicates all goods, outward and inward.speculative
What the theorists of sound symbolism would say of these letters. Speculative by nature.
According to al-Dabbāgh, rāʾ indicates all goods, outward and inward. Wāw stands for intertwined things in the human being, such as veins and fingers, and ḥāʾ denotes encompassing and inclusion of everything. A symbolist reader might connect ḥāʾ's encompassing with a spirit that pervades the body. In the chapter 198 data supplied, Ibn ʿArabī assigns rāʾ to the Fifth Heaven; wāw and ḥāʾ have no entry. Ibn Jinnī's imsās treats ḥāʾ as a softer, breathier sound than khāʾ (as in naḍaḥa beside naḍakha). A reader in that tradition might find it apt that the word for wind and breath ends in a breathed fricative. Mainstream linguistics treats this as suggestive at most.
Draws on: al-Dabbāgh · Futūḥāt ch. 198 data · imsās
Root structureAmong Ibn Fāris's r-w siblings are several roots of motion or openness: r-w-d (coming and going in one direction), r-w-gh (swerving, lack of fixity), and r-w-ḍ, one of whose two bases is wideness.uncertain
The two-letter nucleus (Ibn Fāris's own chapters) and the permutations of the letters (Ibn Jinnī).
Among Ibn Fāris's r-w siblings are several roots of motion or openness: r-w-d (coming and going in one direction), r-w-gh (swerving, lack of fixity), and r-w-ḍ, one of whose two bases is wideness. These can be set beside r-w-ḥ's 'spaciousness and continuity'. Other siblings show no such link: r-w-y (quenching thirst), r-w-z (testing), and r-w-j, which Ibn Fāris judges to be loanwords. Among the permutations, ḥ-w-r (13 Quranic occurrences) includes 'returning' and 'turning round'. r-ḥ-w, the rotating millstone, is defective in Maqāyīs, and w-ḥ-r (a lizard; rancour in the breast) stands apart. The motifs of turning and return in ḥ-w-r and r-ḥ-w may be juxtaposed with rawāḥ as the evening return of herds, without any claim of derivation.
Draws on: Ibn Fāris r-w chapter · permutations
Semitic kin & loanwordsHebrew rûaḥ, Aramaic/Syriac rūḥā and Ugaritic rḥ ('wind, breath, spirit', and in Ugaritic also 'scent') are secure cognates.well attested
Cognates in the sister languages, and whether the word was borrowed.
Hebrew rûaḥ, Aramaic/Syriac rūḥā and Ugaritic rḥ ('wind, breath, spirit', and in Ugaritic also 'scent') are secure cognates. They show the same union of moving air, breath, smell and spirit found in the Arabic root. The word is inherited. However, the specialised Quranic phrase rūḥ al-qudus closely matches Syriac rūḥā d-qudshā. Jeffery and others treat it as a phrase shaped by Christian Aramaic usage, which would make it a semantic calque on a native word.
Draws on: Hebrew · Aramaic/Syriac · Ugaritic · Jeffery
- BDB, רוּחַ, p. 924 ↗
- CAL, rwx N ↗
- Wiktionary, רוח ↗
- Jeffery, Foreign Vocabulary of the Qurʾān (1938), s.v. rūḥ
Quranic exegesisAt Q 2:87 ('We strengthened him with rūḥ al-qudus'), al-Ṭabarī reports readings of the phrase as Jibrīl, the Gospel, and the name by which ʿĪsā raised the dead, and prefers Jibrīl.plausible
How the classical exegetes read the word in the Quran.
At Q 2:87 ('We strengthened him with rūḥ al-qudus'), al-Ṭabarī reports readings of the phrase as Jibrīl, the Gospel, and the name by which ʿĪsā raised the dead, and prefers Jibrīl. For Q 17:85 ('they ask you about the rūḥ'), the exegetes record opinions that it means the human spirit, Jibrīl, a great angel, or the Quran. Al-Rāzī uses the verse for an extended discussion of the nature of the soul. In Q 15:29 ('I breathed into him of My spirit'), al-Zamakhsharī and others read the possessive as a genitive of honour. The variant rawḥ in 12:87 ('do not despair of the rawḥ of God') is glossed as relief and mercy. The plural riyāḥ (2:164) is the winds whose turning is a sign, and the singular rīḥ in 3:117 is a freezing, destructive wind.
Philosophy & kalāmIn the medical and philosophical tradition, Avicenna uses rūḥ for the pneuma.plausible
The word as a technical term in falsafa and theology.
In the medical and philosophical tradition, Avicenna uses rūḥ for the pneuma. This is a subtle vapour generated in the heart that carries the faculties through the body, and it is distinct from the nafs, which is the incorporeal rational soul. Al-Ghazālī, in the Iḥyāʾ's book on the marvels of the heart, separates two senses of rūḥ. One is this subtle bodily vapour; the other is the knowing subtle entity (laṭīfa) that is the true human reality. Many mutakallimūn held the rūḥ to be a subtle body (jism laṭīf) pervading the physical body. They were cautious about identifying it with an immaterial substance.
Draws on: Avicenna · al-Ghazālī · kalām
Akbarian readingFaṣṣ Ādam opens with the world brought into being as a proportioned phantom (shabaḥ musawwā) without spirit, like an unpolished mirror.well attested
The word in Ibn ʿArabī's text and terminology.
Faṣṣ Ādam opens with the world brought into being as a proportioned phantom (shabaḥ musawwā) without spirit, like an unpolished mirror. It is a rule of the divine decree that every proportioned locus receives a divine spirit, referred to as inbreathing (nafkh). Ibn ʿArabī says this is nothing other than the locus's attaining the preparedness (istiʿdād) to receive the ongoing self-disclosure. Adam is both the polishing of that mirror and the spirit of that form. The angels stand to this form, the 'great human', as the spiritual (rūḥāniyya) and sensory faculties stand within a human being. No Iṣṭilāḥ definition was supplied for this root.
Draws on: Faṣṣ Ādam contexts
Reference