Reality of the Holy Spirit (Part 2)

بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

الصلاة والسلام عليك يا سيدي يا رسول الله

Salutations and peace upon you, my master, Apostle of Allah

A common notion among the Muslims is that the Holy Spirit, which is mentioned in the Holy Quran, is none other than the Archangel Gabriel. However, there isn't actually any Ayah of the Quran or an authentic Hadith from the Prophet صلوات الله والسلام عليه which explicitly states that the Holy Spirit is none other than Archangel Gabriel. In his discussion on the reality of the Holy Spirit, the great mufassir, Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, mentions four different views, one of which is that it is the Angel Gabriel, another that, with respect to the Holy Spirit that strengthened and helped Jesus it is the Gospel, and yet another view that it is a name through which Jesus raised the dead to life. However, I take the fourth view which is that the Holy Spirit is in fact the Spirit of Allah Himself and is one of His attributes:

حدثت عن عمار قال ثنا ابن أبي جعفر عن أبيه قال القدس هو الربّ تعالى ذكره حدثني يونس قال أخبرنا ابن وهب قال قال ابن زيد وأيّدْنَاهُ بِرُوحِ القُدُسِ قال الله القدس وأيّد عيسى بروحه قال نَعْتُ الله القدس وقرأ قول الله جل ثناؤه هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْمَلِكُ الْقُدُّوسُ قال القدس والقُدُّوس واحد حدثني يونس قال أخبرنا ابن وهب قال أخبرني عمرو بن الحرث عن سعيد بن أبي هلال بن أسامة عن عطاء بن يسار قال قال كعب نَعْتُ الله القدس

Ibn Zayd said (And We strengthened him with the Holy Spirit), "Allah is al-Qudus and He strengthened Jesus with His Spirit." He said, "Al-Qudus is the attribute of Allah," and recited the saying of Allah جل ثناؤه (He is Allah other than whom there is no god but He, the King, the Holy). He said, "Al-Qudus and Al-Quddus are one" (Tafsir al-Tabari, v.2, p.225)

I accept the view of Abd al-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam that the Holy Spirit refers to the personal Spirit of Allah, which is His attribute. 

Concerning the Holy Spirit, Allah says that through it He revealed the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad:

قُلۡ نَزَّلَہٗ رُوۡحُ الۡقُدُسِ مِنۡ رَّبِّکَ بِالۡحَقِّ لِیُـثَبِّتَ الَّذِیۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا وَہُدًی وَّبُشۡرٰی لِلۡمُسۡلِمِیۡنَ

Say, "The Holy Spirit has sent it down from your Lord in truth to make steadfast those who believe, and as a guidance and glad tidings for the Muslims."

(Surah 16:102)

This is the only instance in the Holy Quran where the term Holy Spirit occurs without mention of it as the means to strengthen Jesus. From this Ayah the view is derived that the Holy Spirit must be Archangel Gabriel, since its function mentioned here was to bring down the Quran upon Prophet Muhammad عليه السلام and that was likewise the function of Archangel Gabriel:

قُلۡ مَنۡ کَانَ عَدُوًّا لِّجِبۡرِیۡلَ فَاِنَّہٗ نَزَّلَہٗ عَلٰی قَلۡبِکَ بِاِذۡنِ اللّٰہِ

Say, "Who is an enemy of Gabriel—for He [Allah] caused him [Gabriel] to descend upon your heart by the authority of Allah"

(Surah 2:97)

I have taken the second meaning of the pronouns mentioned by al-Qurtubi and others in their tafasir with the result that Allah caused Gabriel to descend upon the heart of Muhammad عليه السلام instead of the meaning of Gabriel caused the Quran to descend upon the heart of Muhammad عليه السلام. But both meanings are correct since they are not mutually exclusive. This proves that the Angel Gabriel descended not only in the presence of the Prophet but also descended directly into his heart. As an Angel of Light he is a special being that is able to do so. The heart of a Prophet is enveloped by the Holy Spirit or by an Angel through which he receives divine inspiration and is able to prophesy. But because the Quran states that the Holy Spirit brought down the Quran to the Prophet and likewise that Angel Gabriel brought it down to him does not necessitate that the two are one and the same. It could mean that at times the Holy Spirit—the personal Spirit of God—came to the Prophet directly, and at times God used the Angel Gabriel to reveal the Quran to him. And it could mean that they came to him together. Allah and His Apostle know best!

The Holy Spirit is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In the Psalms of David: "take not thy holy spirit from me" (Psalm 51:11) and by the Prophet Isaiah: "Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him?" (Isaiah 63:11).

The New Testament describes Jesus as being "filled" with the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1). In a sense, being filled or possessed by the Holy Spirit or an Angel is the opposite of demonic possession, but both are actual phenomena.