Tafsir of “the Holy Spirit”
Imam At-Tabari reports three explanations. The first and strongest is that the Holy Spirit is Jibril, as said by Qatadah (d. 117 AH), al-Suddi (d. 127 AH), al-Dahhak (d. 105 AH), and al-Rabiʿ (d. 136 AH). A narration also shows Jews asking the Prophet ﷺ about the Spirit, and he confirmed it is Jibril. A second view from Ibn Zayd (d. 182 AH) says it is the Injil.
A third view from Ibn Abbas (d. 68 AH) through al-Dahhak says it is the name by which ʿIsa gave life to the dead.
Al-Tabari rejects the Injil view, since the verse already mentions that ʿIsa was taught the Injil, and concludes that the Holy Spirit is Jibril, described as holy for his purity.
The Holy Spirit as Support
Ibn Taymiyyah explains that authentic hadith prove the Holy Spirit is Jibril. The Prophet ﷺ prayed for Hassan ibn Thabit to be supported by the Holy Spirit, and Aishah and al-Baraʾ narrated that this meant Jibril. This shows that support from the Holy Spirit is not limited to al-Masih but also given to prophets and even believers.
Ibn Taymiyyah says that Christians wrongly claim the Holy Spirit is Allah’s life, whereas in truth it refers to Jibril or Allah’s support in the hearts of prophets and awliya.
Revelation through the Holy Spirit
Ibn Taymiyyah also states that the Prophet ﷺ received the Quran from Jibril, who heard it from Allah. The Quran itself says the Holy Spirit, also called the trustworthy Spirit, brought it down. The Salaf did not say the Prophet ﷺ heard directly from Allah, but held that Jibril is the Holy Spirit who conveyed revelation.
Translation: Imam At Tabari said: The scholars of tafsir differed over the meaning of the words of Allah: “with the Holy Spirit.” Some of them said: The spirit which Allah the Exalted informed us that He supported ‘Isa with, is Jibril, peace be upon him.
Al Hasan ibn Yahya (d. 303 AH) said: ‘Abd al Razzaq (d. 211 AH) told us, Ma‘mar (d. 154 AH) informed us, from Qatadah (d. 117 AH) regarding the words of Allah: “and We supported him with the Holy Spirit.” He said: It is Jibril. (Reported by Ibn Abi Hatim in his Tafsir 1/168 after narration 884 from the path of Amr.)
Musa ibn Harun said: Amr ibn Hammad told us, Asbat told us, from al Suddi (d. 127 AH) regarding the words: “and We supported him with the Holy Spirit.” He said: It is Jibril. (Reported by Ibn Abi Hatim in his Tafsir 1/128 after narration 884 from the path of Ibn Abi Ja‘far.)
Al Mathna said: Ishaq told us, Abu Zuhayr told us, from Juybar, from al Dahhak (d. 105 AH) regarding the words of Allah: “and We supported him with the Holy Spirit.” He said: The Holy Spirit is Jibril.
And it was narrated from ‘Ammar ibn al Hasan, who said: Ibn Abi Ja‘far told us, from his father, from al Rabi‘ (d. 136 AH): “and We supported him with the Holy Spirit.” He said: Allah supported ‘Isa with Jibril, and he is the Holy Spirit.
Ibn Hamid said: Salamah told us, from Ibn Ishaq (d. 150 AH), who said: ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Abd al Rahman ibn Abi al Husayn al Makki told me, from Shahr ibn Hawshab al Ash‘ari (d. 112 AH): A group of Jews asked the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, saying: Inform us about the spirit. He said: “I ask you by Allah and by His days with the Children of Isra’il, do you know that it is Jibril, and he is the one who comes to me?” They said: Yes. (This is reported in Sirah Ibn Hisham 1/543 at length, and will appear fully later in section 285, see also p. 283.)
Others said: The spirit with which Allah supported ‘Isa was the Injil.
Yunus ibn ‘Abd al A‘la (d. 264 AH) said: Ibn Wahb (d. 197 AH) informed us, who said: Ibn Zayd (d. 182 AH) said regarding the words of Allah: “and We supported him with the Holy Spirit,” that Allah supported ‘Isa with the Injil as a spirit, just as He made the Qur’an a spirit. Both of them are the spirit of Allah, as Allah said: “And thus We have revealed to you a spirit from Our command” (al Shura: 52).
Others said: The spirit is the name by which ‘Isa gave life to the dead.
Al Manjab said: Bishr ibn ‘Ammarah told us, from Abu Ruwaq, from al Dahhak, from Ibn Abbas (d. 68 AH): “and We supported him with the Holy Spirit.” He said: It is the name by which ‘Isa gave life to the dead. (Reported by Ibn Abi Hatim in his Tafsir 1/199 narration 886 from Abu Zur‘ah, from al Manjab.)
The strongest of these interpretations is the saying of those who said: The spirit in this verse is Jibril. This is because Allah the Exalted told us that He supported ‘Isa with him, as He said: “When Allah said: O ‘Isa son of Maryam, remember My favour upon you and upon your mother, when I supported you with the Holy Spirit, you spoke to people in the cradle and in maturity, and when I taught you the Book and wisdom and the Torah and the Injil” (al Ma’ida: 110).
Allah told us here that He supported him with the Holy Spirit. If the spirit with which Allah supported him was the Injil, then His words would be: “when I supported you with the Holy Spirit” and “when I taught you the Book and wisdom and the Torah and the Injil.”
That would be a repetition without purpose, for according to those who said its meaning is “I supported you with the Injil,” then His words mean: I supported you with the Injil, and I taught you the Injil. But no one can be supported by it without being taught it, so that would be merely repeating the same words in a single verse without any additional meaning. That is corrupt speech, and Allah the Exalted is far above addressing His servants with words that do not provide them benefit.
Therefore it is clear that the claim that the spirit in this verse is the Injil is false, even though all the Books of Allah the Exalted which He revealed to His messengers are indeed spirits from Him, because by them the dead hearts are given life, the abandoned souls are revived, and misguided intellects are guided.
Allah the Exalted called Jibril a spirit, and attributed him to holiness, because Allah created him as a spirit from Himself, without the birth of a father producing him.
So He named him a spirit for this reason, and He attributed him to holiness, and holiness means purity. Just as Allah called ‘Isa son of Maryam “a spirit from Him,” because Allah created him as a spirit from Himself without the birth of a father.
Tafsir At Tabari (2/221-224)
(Reported by Muslim in the Book of the Virtues of the Companions, chapter on the virtues of Hassan, 4/1936 (157). Also reported by Abu Dawud in the Book of Manners, chapter on what has come concerning poetry, 5/280 (5015). Also reported by al-Tirmidhi in the Book of Manners, chapter on reciting poetry, 5/138 (2846). Also reported by Ahmad in his Musnad from the hadith of Aishah, 6/72)
And in the two Sahihs from al-Bara ibn Azib he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say to Hassan ibn Thabit: “Satirise them or attack them, and Jibril is with you.” (Reported by al-Bukhari in the Book of al-Maghazi, chapter on the Prophet’s return from the Confederates and his going to Banu Qurayzah, 5/151. And by Muslim in the Book of the Virtues of the Companions, chapter on the virtues of Hassan ibn Thabit, may Allah be pleased with him, 4/1933 (153). And by Ahmad in his Musnad 4/286, 298, 299, 301, 303 from the hadith of al-Bara ibn Azib, may Allah be pleased with him.)
So this Hassan ibn Thabit, one of the believers, when he defended Allah and His Messenger and satirised the polytheists who denied the Messenger, Allah supported him with the Holy Spirit, who is Jibril, peace be upon him.
And the people of the earth know that Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, did not unite the divine with the human nature of Hassan ibn Thabit. So it is known that his informing that Allah supported him with the Holy Spirit does not mean union of the divine with the human. Thus it is known that support with the Holy Spirit is not unique to al-Masih.
The People of the Book acknowledge this, and that other than him from the prophets were supported with the Holy Spirit such as Dawud and others.
Rather they even say that the disciples had in them the Holy Spirit. And it has been established by agreement of Muslims, Jews, and Christians that the Holy Spirit can be with other than al-Masih, even with other than the prophets, as will come if Allah wills.
The point here is to show their lying against Muhammad ﷺ. And this support is like His saying:
“لَا تَجِدُ قَوْمًا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ يُوَادُّونَ مَنْ حَادَّ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَلَوْ كَانُوا آبَاءَهُمْ أَوْ أَبْنَاءَهُمْ أَوْ إِخْوَانَهُمْ أَوْ عَشِيرَتَهُمْ أُوْلَئِكَ كَتَبَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الْإِيمَانَ وَأَيَّدَهُم بِرُوحٍ مِّنْهُ”
“You will not find a people who believe in Allah and the Last Day loving those who oppose Allah and His Messenger, even if they were their fathers, or their sons, or their brothers, or their tribe. Those, He has written faith in their hearts and supported them with a Spirit from Him.” (al-Mujadilah 22.)
(al-Shawkani (d. 1250 AH) said in his tafsir: “He strengthened them with help from Him against their enemies in this world. And He called His help to them a Spirit because their matter lives by it. And it is said: it is the light of the heart. And al-Rabi ibn Anas said: it is the Quran and the proof. And it is said: it is Jibril. And it is said: it is faith. And it is said: it is mercy.” See: Fath al-Qadir 1/193.)
So this support with a Spirit from Him is general for everyone who does not love the enemies of the messengers, even if they are his relatives, but rather loves those who believe in the messengers even if they are strangers, and hates those who do not believe in the messengers even if they are relatives. And this is the religion of Ibrahim.
And He said:
“قَدْ كَانَتْ لَكُمْ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ فِي إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ إِذْ قَالُوا لِقَوْمِهِمْ إِنَّا بُرَءاءُ مِنكُمْ وَمِمَّا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ كَفَرْنَا بِكُمْ وَبَدَا بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمُ الْعَدَاوَةُ وَالْبَغْضَاءُ أَبَدًا حَتَّى تُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَحْدَهُ”
“There has been for you an excellent example in Ibrahim and those with him, when they said to their people: We are free from you and from what you worship besides Allah. We disbelieve in you, and enmity and hatred has appeared between us and you forever until you believe in Allah alone.” (al-Mumtahinah 4)
And He said:
“وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ لِأَبِيهِ وَقَوْمِهِ إِنَّنِي بَرَاءٌ مِّمَّا تَعْبُدُونَ إِلَّا الَّذِي فَطَرَنِي فَإِنَّهُ سَيَهْدِينِ. وَجَعَلَهَا كَلِمَةً بَاقِيَةً فِي عَقِبِهِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ”
“When Ibrahim said to his father and his people: Indeed I am free from what you worship, except the One who created me, for indeed He will guide me. And He made it a lasting word in his offspring, that they might return.” (al-Zukhruf 26–28)
And He said:
“فَلَمَّا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ أَنَّهُ عَدُوٌّ لِلَّهِ تَبَرَّأَ مِنْهُ”
“So when it became clear to him that he was an enemy to Allah, he dissociated from him.” (al-Tawbah 114)
And this support with the Holy Spirit for those who aid the messengers is general for everyone who aids them against those who opposed them from the polytheists and the People of the Book as mentioned.
There is nothing in the Quran, nor in the Gospel, nor in other than that from the Books of the prophets, that the Holy Spirit with which al-Masih was supported is an attribute of Allah subsisting in Him, namely His life, nor that the Holy Spirit is a Lord who creates and provides. So the Holy Spirit is not Allah, nor an attribute from His attributes.
Rather nothing is found in the words of the prophets that an attribute of Allah subsisting in Him is called “a son” nor that His life is called “the Holy Spirit.”
So if the Christians interpret the saying of al-Masih “baptise the people in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” to mean that the Son is His attribute which is knowledge, and the Holy Spirit His attribute which is life, this is a clear lie upon al-Masih.
Never will you find in his words, or in the words of any of the prophets, that naming of Allah or any of His attributes as “a son,” nor naming His life “the Holy Spirit.”
They also mention in their creed that al-Masih was incarnated from Mary and from the Holy Spirit. And this agrees with what Allah informed, that He sent His Spirit, who is Jibril, and he is the Holy Spirit, who blew into Mary and she conceived al-Masih. So al-Masih was incarnated, created, from his mother and from that Spirit.
And this Spirit is not an attribute of Allah, neither His life nor other than that. Rather the Holy Spirit has been mentioned often in the words of the prophets, and what is meant by it is either the angel, or what Allah places in the hearts of His prophets and His awliya from guidance, support, and the like. As He said:
“أُوْلَئِكَ كَتَبَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الْإِيمَانَ وَأَيَّدَهُم بِرُوحٍ مِّنْهُ”
“Those, He has written faith in their hearts and supported them with a Spirit from Him.” (al-Mujadilah 22)
And He said:
“وَكَذَلِكَ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ رُوحًا مِّنْ أَمْرِنَا مَا كُنتَ تَدْرِي مَا الْكِتَابُ وَلَا الْإِيمَانُ وَلَكِن جَعَلْنَاهُ نُورًا نَّهْدِي بِهِ مَن نَّشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِنَا”
“And thus We have revealed to you a Spirit from Our command. You did not know what the Book is nor faith, but We made it a light by which We guide whom We will of Our servants.” (al-Shura 52) (Ibn Kathir (d. 774 AH) said regarding the revelation here: “It is the Quran.” Tafsir Ibn Kathir 4/122.)
Jawab Al Sahih By Ibn Taymiyyah (2/182-187)
Shayk Al Islam Ibn Taymiyyah says: The Prophet ﷺ, heard it from Jibril, and he is the one who brought it down to him. And Jibril heard it from Allah the Exalted, as Imam Ahmad (d. 241 AH) and other imams clearly stated. Allah the Exalted said:
“قل من كان عدوا لجبريل فإنه نزله على قلبك بإذن الله”
“Say, whoever is an enemy to Jibril, it is he who brought it down upon your heart by the permission of Allah.” (al-Baqara 97)
And He said:
“نزل به الروح الأمين على قلبك لتكون من المنذرين بلسان عربي مبين”
“The trustworthy Spirit has brought it down upon your heart so that you may be of the warners, in clear Arabic speech.” (al-Shuara 193–195)
And He said:
“وإذا بدلنا آية مكان آية والله أعلم بما ينزل قالوا إنما أنت مفتر بل أكثرهم لا يعلمون قل نزله روح القدس من ربك بالحق”
“And when We substitute a verse in place of another, and Allah knows best what He sends down, they say: You are only a forger. Rather most of them do not know. Say: The Holy Spirit has brought it down from your Lord in truth.” (al-Nahl 101–102)
So He, glorified be He, informed that the Holy Spirit, who is the trustworthy Spirit, who is Jibril, brought it down from Allah in truth.
And none of the Salaf said that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, heard it directly from Allah. It was only said by some of the later ones.
Majmu Fatawa By Ibn Taymiyyah (12/298)
