The Nature of Revelation?


Revelation is where God imparts whatever knowledge He wills to those


whom He chooses to receive it. God gives this knowledge to them in order for


them to convey it to whomever else He wishes.


All the Messengers of God experienced revelation. God says:


“Verily, We have sent Revelation to you (O Muhammad) as


We have sent Revelation to Noah and the prophets who


came after him. We had sent revelation to Abraham,


Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, the Tribes, Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron,


and Solomon. And to David We gave the Psalms. And


Messengers We have told you about before, and


Messengers We have not told you about – and to Moses We


spoke directly.” (Quran 4:163)


The possibility of divine revelation cannot be denied by anyone who


believes in the existence of God and in His omnipotence. God maintains His


creation in any manner that pleases Him. The connection between the Creator


and his Creation is by way of His Messengers, and these Messengers only


know what God wants from them by way of revelation, either directly or


indirectly. The rational mind cannot dismiss the possibility of revelation, since


nothing is difficult for the all-powerful Creator.


The Nature of Revelation


Revelation is not a personal experience that a Prophet brings forth from


within himself. It is not a spiritual state that a person can attain by doing


certain meditations or spiritual exercises. Quite the contrary, revelation is a


communication between two beings: one that speaks, commands, and gives,


and another who is addressed, commanded, and receives. Prophet Muhammad,


may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him – as with every Prophet –


never confused himself with the One who gave the revelation to him. As a


human being, he felt his weakness before God, feared God’s wrath if he should


disobey, and hoped for God’s mercy.


He sought help from God, submitted to what he was commanded to do, and


was on occasion even sternly reprimanded by God. The Prophet admitted his


absolute inability to alter even one word of God’s Book. God says:


“And when Our clear signs are recited to them, those who


hope not for a meeting with Us say: ‘Bring a Quran other


than this or change it.’ Say (O Muhammad): ‘It is not for


me to change it of my own accord. I only follow what is


revealed to me. I fear, if I were to disobey my Lord, the


punishment of an awful day.’ Say: ‘If God had willed, I


would not have recited it to you nor would He have made it


known to you. I have lived with you a whole lifetime before


it came to me. Have you no sense?’” (Quran 10:15-16)


This should make perfectly clear the difference between the essence,


attributes, and ways of the Creator and those of His Creation.


The Prophet took great care to maintain a distinction between his own


speech (the Hadeeth) and the direct speech of God, though both were the result


of revelation. For this reason, in the early period of revelation, he used to


prohibit anything that he uttered to be written down except for the Quran. This


preserved for the Quran its distinctiveness as being the very word of God,


unmixed with the speech of people.


The Prophet would also make a distinction in his own speech between his


own opinions and what came from God as revelation.


He said: “I am only a human being like yourselves. Opinions can be right


or wrong. But, when I say to you that God said something, then know that


I will never attribute something false to God.”


The Prophet had no hand in the revelation that he received. Revelation is a


force external to the being of the Prophet. He was not able to manipulate it in


any way. This is supported by the fact that certain crises would befall the


Prophet or one of those around him that required an immediate solution, but he


found no verse of Quran to recite to the people. He had to remain silent and


wait, sometimes in desperation, until God, in His wisdom, revealed what was


needed.


A good example of this is the time when Aishah, the wife of the Prophet


was accused of adultery by some of the hypocrites, though she was innocent.


People began to say things that were painful for the Prophet until his heart was


about to burst. He was unable to prohibit this. All he could say was:


“O Aishah, I have heard this or that. If you are innocent, then God will


show your innocence, and if you fell into sin, then seek God’s


forgiveness.”


A whole month passed like this before the revelation came down declaring


Aishah’s innocence and exonerating the household of the Prophet.


In brief, revelation has nothing to do with the choices and wishes of the one


who receives it. It is an unusual, external occurrence. It is a force of


knowledge, because it gives knowledge. It is free from error. It comes only


with the truth and guides only to what is right.


How revelation comes to the angels and to the Messengers


In the Quran it is mentioned that God speaks to the angels. God says:


“And (remember) when your Lord revealed to the angels:


‘Verily I am with you, so keep firm those who have


believed’…” (Quran 8:12)


Revelation to the angels happens by God speaking to them and the angels


hearing from Him.


Revelation comes to God’s human Messengers either directly or through an


intermediary. In the case of an intermediary, it is the angel Gabriel who brings


the revelation. There are two ways that this occurs:


1. The angel would come to him with a voice like the clanging of a bell. This


is the severest way revelation would come to the Messenger. Such a harsh


sound demands the full attention of the one being addressed with it. When


the revelation came in this manner, it was extremely demanding upon all of


the Messenger’s faculties.


2. The angel would come to him in the form of a man. This was easier than


the previous way, since the form of the angelic Messenger was familiar to


the human Messenger and easier to relate to.


Both of these ways are mentioned by the Prophet in his answer to al-


Haarith b. Hishaam when he asked how the revelation came to him. God’s


Messenger said:


“Sometimes he comes to me like the clanging of a bell, and this is the most


difficult for me. It weighs upon me and I commit to memory what he


says. And sometimes the angel comes to me in the form of a man and


speaks to me and I commit to memory what he says.”


Revelation without an intermediary happens in two ways:


1. A good dream: Aishah relates:


“It began as a good dream during sleep. He would not have a dream


except that it would come as clear as day.”


This was to prepare God’s Messenger to receive revelation while awake.


The whole Quran was revealed while the Prophet was awake.


The story of Abraham when he was commanded to sacrifice his son


demonstrates how a dream can be revelation that must be acted upon. God


says:


“So We gave him glad tidings of a forbearing boy. And


when he was old enough to walk with him, he said: ‘My


son, I have seen in a dream that I am sacrificing you. So


look, what do you think?’ He said: ‘O my father, do what


you are commanded. By God’s will, you shall find me to be


among those who are patient.’ Then, when they had both


submitted themselves and he had laid him prone on his


forehead, We called out to him: ‘O Abraham, you have


fulfilled the dream.’ Thus do We reward the righteous.


That was indeed a manifest trial. And We ransomed him


with a great sacrifice. And We left for him a goodly


remembrance for later generations. Peace be upon


Abraham! Thus indeed do We reward the righteous.


Verily, he was one of Our believing servants.” (Quran


37:101-111)


If that dream had not been revelation that had to be obeyed, Abraham


would never have gone forward to sacrifice his son, but in fact he almost did


so. He was only stopped because God commanded him to stop and ordered


him to sacrifice something else instead.


The good dream is not only for the Prophets. It remains for the believers,


even though it is not revelation. God’s Messenger said:


“Nothing remains of prophecy except for glad tidings.” When he was


asked what these glad tidings were, he said: “Dreams.”


2. God speaking directly from behind a barrier: This happened to Prophet


Moses. God says:


“When Moses came to Our appointed meeting, his Lord


spoke to him…” (Quran 7:143)


God also says:


“…And God spoke to Moses directly.” (Quran 4:164)


This also happened to Prophet Muhammad on the night of his Journey and


Ascension when he was taken up into the heavens and his Lord spoke to him.


All of these ways of receiving revelation are mentioned in the Quran. God


says:


“It is not for a human being that God should speak to him


except as revelation or from behind a barrier, or by


sending a Messenger who reveals by His leave whatever He


wishes. Verily, He is All-Knowing, All-Wise.” (Quran


42:51)