3. `Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn `Imran al-Daqqaq said: Muhammad ibn Abu `Abd Allah al-Kufi said, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Isma`il al-Barmaki that al-Husayn ibn alHasan said: Bakr ibn Salih said, on the authority of al-Qasim ibn `Urwah, on the authority of `Abd al-Hamid al-Ta’i, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Muslim that I asked Abu Ja`far al-Baqir about the Word of Allah, the Mighty and High: `And I breathed into him of My Spirit. What is the meaning of “breathing” in this verse?’ Thus, he replied,

Verily, a spirit moves like the air. Hence, it is called a spirit [ruh], because its name has been derived from the word air [rih]. Verily, He derived it from the word al-ruh because the spirit is homogeneous [mujanis] to the air [al-rih]. Verily, He associated it to Himself because He selected it over all the spirits like He selected that House from the houses and said: My House, and said for a Messenger from His Messengers: My Friend, and its like. All of those are created, with a beginning, have Lord, and re managed.