Ruhlar

Ruhlar is the Turkish plural of ruh, meaning soul or spirit. The term derives from the Arabic ruh and is used in Turkish to denote the immaterial life force that animates living beings. In everyday Turkish, ruh can refer to the inner life or essence of a person, while ruhlar can denote souls collectively or spirits in a folkloric sense.

In Islamic theology, ruh refers to the soul created by God; its exact nature is often described as a divine mystery, and discussions about it appear in various Qur’anic passages. Turkish thinkers frequently situate ruh within broader conversations about life, creation, and the self, distinguishing it conceptually from related ideas such as nafs, or the ego.

Turkish folklore and popular culture feature ruhlar as non-corporeal beings, sometimes described as ancestral spirits or wandering ghosts. They may be imagined as able to interact with the living, appearing in dreams, tales, or rites related to graves, commemorations, and local legends. Such depictions vary by region, tradition, and historical period, blending religious, cultural, and literary influences.

In modern usage, ruhlar appears in literature, poetry, and media as a neutral term for the souls of the dead or as a poetic shorthand for inner life and spiritual mood. The plural form often carries a mythic or symbolic resonance, even when discussing everyday concepts of life and breath.