Quran Garden

Session 4

Let's talk about revelation.  Since God cannot be seen or heard, and because the nature and built of human beings cannot receive directly from God, His message has to be delivered through revelation. 

But what is the meaning of "revelation"?  Revelation is to inform someone secretly or quietly. When someone like a salesman comes to your door, and you don't have the time to meet with them, you might motion to a family member to let that person go.  In essence, you have informed your family member quietly that you did not want to see that person, and revealed your wishes to them.

There are many forms of revelation that are mentioned in the Quran. God has revealed to the angels, to people other than the prophets, such as the mother of Moses, and to many of His creation as stated in this verse:

Your Lord revealed to the bees: "Build dwellings in the mountains and the trees, and also in the structures which men erect." (16:68)

Furthermore, the devils have revealed to each other and to human beings.

However, when the word "revelation" is used, it usually takes the specific meaning of God revealing His message to His prophets.  There are three forms that revelation may take, as mentioned in the following verse:

It is not fitting for a man that God should speak to him except by inspiration, or from behind a veil, or by the sending of a messenger to reveal, with God's permission, what God wills: for He is Most High, Most Wise. (42:51)

Let's take these forms one by one.

The first form of revelation is inspiration.  When God inspires someone, He throws the idea into the person's heart, and the person would then act on it.  However, as we know, there are many ideas that pop into one's head or are felt in one's heart.  How do we know which one of them is true revelation?

When true inspiration comes from God to a person, the person finds him or herself completely content and at peace with that thought.  He or she would act on it without experiencing any objection or self-doubt, even if such inspiration calls for an action that is typically against the thoughtful mind.  Let's take an example of this type of revelation from the Quran:                         

We revealed to Moses' mother, "Suckle him and then, when you fear for him, cast him into the river.  Do not fear or grieve: We will return him to you and make him one of the Messengers." (28:7)

What woman -in her right mind- would throw her baby into the sea when she fears most for its life?  She would basically be throwing her baby from grave danger into certain death.  Yet Moses' mother felt entirely at peace with this action when God inspired her.

The second form is revelation from behind a veil.  Every major religion, be it Judaism, Christianity, or Islam, had its message delivered partly by this method.  For example, when the Prophet was commanded to start the five daily prayers, God spoke to him from behind a veil, the same way He spoke to Moses previously.

Finally, the third form is revelation through a messenger sent from God.  The Quran was exclusively revealed by sending a direct messenger, the angel Gabriel.  The Quran was not revealed by inspiration to the Prophet, nor through direct speech by God behind a veil.  The Quran was delivered solely by the angel messenger, so that there would be absolutely no doubt of its origin.  The Prophet used to hear a loud noise like the tolling of a bell before the angel Gabriel would come and become visible to him.  The presence of the angel would take a heavy toll on the Prophet.  His face would change color and, if he was sitting next to one of his companions or resting his leg on them, they would feel the Prophet's leg getting so heavy that they would describe it as a boulder.  If he was riding on a horse or a camel, the animal would labor from feeling such an intense weight. 

Initially, these stressful encounters took their toll on the Prophet, peace be upon him.  Then, after the first few revelations of verses, there was a period of pause, and the angel Gabriel did not return to him for a while.  During that time, the Prophet started to miss and long for receiving revelations from God.  Usually, when you miss something, or when you work hard and then take a period of rest, you might start longing for the sweetness of hard work and achievement.  This feeling makes the work easier for you when you return. You actually start looking forward to it.  When you miss the pleasures you get from it, you can overcome the hard parts easily.   God says in Chapter 94:

Have We not comforted your heart, relieved you of the burden which had been a heavy weight upon your back, and granted you an exalted reputation?  So truly where there is hardship, there is also ease; truly where there is hardship, there is also ease.  (94:1-6)

Let's take note of yet another proof of the truthfulness of the message of the Quran.  At times, in one of the meetings with the angel Gabriel, the Prophet would receive a long chapter of the Quran.  When the revelation session was over, the Prophet would recite the new verses to his companions, who, in turn, would write them down.  The new verses might have been long and might have taken thirty minutes or an hour to recite as the companions were writing them down.  Then, when the time for the next prayer came, the Prophet would recite the same verses verbatim as he was leading the prayer.  Any one of us can speak for thirty minutes to an hour and ask others to record our speech.  However, none can repeat their speech word for word and letter for letter an hour later.  The fact that the Prophet used to do precisely this is evidence that the verses were revealed to him and ingrained into his memory through a higher power.

There are verses of the Quran which are very similar to each other, and there are even a few verses that differ by just one letter, which makes it clear that the Prophet was not reciting a casual speech or conveying a general meaning.  He recited and repeated verses that were very specific and very difficult to memorize.  It is not a matter of routine, nor a particular style in writing; the Prophet had nothing to do with all of this.  It is simply an issue of revelation as mentioned in the Quran:

And neither does he speak out of his own desire.  The Quran is nothing less than a revelation that is sent to him. (53:3-4)