[Sūrah ii. 254]: “Of them is one to whom God spoke (i.e. Moses); and we have raised some of them degrees; and we have given Jesus the son of Mary manifest signs, and strengthened him by the Holy Spirit.”
[Sūrah v. 109]: “When God said, ‘O Jesus, son of Mary! remember my favours towards thee and towards thy mother, when I aided thee with the Holy Spirit, till thou didst speak to men in the cradle, and when grown up.’”
Al-Baiẓāwī says the meaning of the expression Rūḥu ʾl-Qudus is the Angel Gabriel, although some understand it to refer to the spirit of Jesus, and others to the Gospel of Jesus, whilst some think it is the Ismu ʾl-Aʿz̤am, or “the exalted name of God,” whereby Jesus raised the dead. (See Tafsīru ʾl-Baiẓāwī, p. 65.) [[SPIRIT], [HOLY SPIRIT].]
RUINOUS BUILDINGS. The owner of a ruinous wall in any building is responsible for any accident occasioned by its fall, after having received due warning and requisition to pull it down, and a person building a crooked wall is responsible for the damage occasioned by its falling. But the owner of a ruinous house is not responsible for accidents occasioned by the fall of any article from it, unless such article belong to him. (Hidāyah, Grady’s Ed., pp. 664, 665.)
RUK͟H (رخ). The name of a monstrous bird, which is said to have power sufficient to carry off a live elephant. (G͟hīyas̤u ʾl-Lug͟hah, in loco.)
AR-RUKNU ʾL-YAMĀNĪ (الركن اليمانى). The Yamānī pillar. The south corner of the Kaʿbah, said to be one of the most ancient parts of the temple. [[MASJIDU ʾL-HARAM].]
Burkhardt says: “In the south-east corner of the Kaʿbah, or as the Arabs call it, Rokn el Yamany, there is another stone about five feet from the ground; it is one foot and a half in length, and two inches in breadth, placed upright, and of the common Meccah stone. This the people walking round the Kaʿbah touch only with the right hand; they do not kiss it.” (Captain Burton says he had frequently seen it kissed by men and women.)
Burton remarks: “The Rukn el Yamani is a corner facing the south. The part alluded to (by Burkhardt) is the wall of the Kaʿbah, between the Shami and Yemani angles, distant about three feet from the latter, and near the site of the old western door, long since closed. The stone is darker and redder than the rest of the wall. It is called El Mustajab (or Mustajab min el Zunub, or Mustajab el Dua, “where prayer is granted”). Pilgrims here extend their arms, press their bodies against the building, and beg pardon for their sins.” (El Medinah and Mecca, vol. ii. p. 160.)
RUKŪʿ (ركوع). A posture in the daily prayers. An inclination of the head with the palms of the hands resting upon the knees. [[PRAYERS].]
