Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says that (once) I was walking with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the ruins of Madinah, and he was walking with the support of a date-palm stick. Some Jews happened to pass by (from there). One of them said to another, "Ask him about the soul." One of them said, "Do not ask, lest he says something that you dislike." (But) some of them insisted, "We will certainly ask." Then one person stood up and said, "O Abu al-Qasim (peace and blessings be upon him)! What is the soul?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent. I thought to myself that revelation was coming to him, so I stood up. When that state (of revelation) was lifted from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he recited (the verse of the Qur'an that had been revealed at that time): "(O Prophet!) They ask you concerning the soul. Say: The soul is by the command of my Lord, and you have been given only a little knowledge." (Therefore, you cannot understand the reality of the soul.)