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Fatwa CenterContents of Kitaab Ar-Rooh by Ibn Al-Qayyim
Question
Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu Shayk. I would like to know whether Kitaab Ar-Ruh is authentically attributed to Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allaah have mercy upon him. It contains quotes like Ibn Taymiyyah solving issues of Fiqh in dreams and other quotes about souls being omnipresent in this world and so on. I would like to know whether these matters are in accordance with our creed? I also read criticism on this book by contemporary Salafi scholars.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
The book entitled Kitaab Ar-Rooh is soundly attributed to Ibn al-Qayyim 
as stated by the knowledgeable scholar Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd . Among the prominent evidence of this is the following:
1. Ibn al-Qayyim himself mentioned Kitaab Ar-Rooh in his book Jalaa’ al-Afhaam as he said, “I have profoundly elaborated on this subject and others in Kitaab Ar-Rooh.”
2. In his book Ahwaal al-Quboor, his student Ibn Rajab quoted from Kitaab Ar-Rooh and attributed it to Ibn al-Qayyim.
3. All the scholars who wrote a biography of Ibn al-Qayyim attributed Kitaab Ar-Rooh to him, including Al-Haafith Ibn Hajar.
4. The book contains topics, issues and benefits about which Ibn al-Qayyim spoke in his other books, and his statements about them were similar in terms of opinion, inference, and the style in which he handled them.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen stated that Ibn Al-Qayyim might have written this book, as well as his book Rawdhat al-Muhibbeen, when he first started seeking knowledge. Ibn ‘Uthaymeen mentioned this in his commentary on Alfiyyat Ibn Maalik.
Regarding the dreams which Ibn Al-Qayyim saw about his Sheikh Ibn Taymiyyah, please refer to fatwa 290140.
Ibn al-Qayyim determined in Kitaab Ar-Rooh that the souls are not like the bodies, as he said:
“Most people make a mistake about this subject as they believe that the soul is of the genre of bodies in the sense that if it occupies a place, it cannot be at another place. This is a clear mistake; rather, the soul is high above the heavens and then it is returned to the grave, and it responds to the greetings of salaam and knows about the Muslim while it is at its place there. Similarly, the soul of the Prophet is always with Ar-Rafeeq Al-A'ala (the uppermost, highest company in heaven) and Allaah returns it to the grave to respond to the greetings of whoever greets the Prophet and it hears his words. The Prophet saw Moosa (Moses) standing in prayer in his grave, and he saw him in the sixth and seventh heavens. So the soul is either fast-moving, like the wink of an eye, or it is connected with the grave and the area of the grave, like the sunbeam in relation to the sun in the sky...”
This is a fact which he mentioned with its evidence, and there is no problem about it.
The reason why some contemporary scholars criticize this book is due to the stories and dreams that are mentioned in it, especially what he mentioned about some Sufis. Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen found an excuse for him, as found in Fataawa Noorun ‘al Ad-Darb, when he was asked, “What do you think about Kitaab Ar-Rooh by Ibn Al-Qayyim, and are the stories which he mentioned about the dead people correct?”
He replied:
“The book contains good subjects, and the one who reads it will know that these are the words of Ibn Al-Qayyim . However, the book contains these stories which he mentioned about the dreams of some dead people; Allaah Alone knows whether or not they are true, but it seems that he was non-scrutinizing in quoting them because they soften the heart and urge the person to fear the torment of the grave and to hope for its enjoyment. The objective is good, but only Allaah knows whether they are true or false.”
Allaah knows best.
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