What Are the Methods of Revelation to the Prophet (Allah Bless Him and Give Him Peace)?
Answered by Shaykh Anas al-Musa
Question
What are the methods of revelation to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace)?
Answer
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,
Revelation is a swift sign whereby Allah (Most High) informs His chosen servants of all He wishes to unveil to them regarding guidance and knowledge but in a secretive, non-conventional manner unknown to humans. Thus, revelation is a recognition one finds within oneself, with certainty that it is from Allah (Most High), either directly or indirectly. It is akin to the feelings of hunger, thirst, sadness, and joy. [‘Itr, ‘Ulum al-Quran; ‘Ali al-Hasan, al-Manar fi ‘Ulum al-Quran; Qattan, Mabahith fi ‘Ulum al-Quran; Ahmad Ma‘bad, Nafahat min ‘Ulum al-Quran]
Methods of the Revelation
There are various methods of revelation, including:
1. Direct
Direct communication between the servant and his Lord, as Allah (Most High) spoke to our master Moses,
“And to Moses Allah spoke directly.” [Quran, 4:164];
2. Inspiration
Inspiration is cast into the heart of His Prophet and chosen ones among His creation in the form of necessary knowledge that cannot be repelled or doubted.
3. True Dreams
True dreams that come to pass as clearly as the dawn breaks.
4. Through the Angel
Through the Angel Gabriel (Allah bless him and give him peace) the noble Messenger, about whom Allah (Most High) said,
“Full of power, held in honor by the Lord of the Throne, obeyed there (in heaven), and trustworthy.” [Quran, 81:20-21]
This type of revelation, especially the revelation of the Quran, is the most famous and prevalent, known as “clear revelation,” as Allah (Most High) said,
“Which the trustworthy spirit (Gabriel) brought down into your heart (O Prophet)—so that you may be one of the warners—in a clear Arabic tongue.” [Quran, 26:193-195]
‘Aisha (Allah be pleased with her) clarified how the revelation came to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) when she said,
“The commencement of the Divine Inspiration to Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) was in the form of good dreams which came true like bright daylight, and then the love of seclusion was bestowed upon him. He used to go in seclusion in the cave of Hira, where he used to worship (Allah alone) continuously for many days before his desire to see his family. He used to take with him the journey food for the stay and then come back to (his wife) Khadija to take his food likewise again till suddenly the Truth descended upon him while he was in the cave of Hira. The Angel came to him and asked him to read. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) replied, ‘I do not know how to read.’ The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) added, ‘The Angel caught me (forcefully) and pressed me so hard that I could not bear it anymore. He then released me and asked me to read again, and I replied, “I do not know how to read.” Thereupon, he caught me again and pressed me a second time till I could not bear it anymore. He then released me and asked me to read again, but again, I replied, “I do not know how to read (or what shall I read)?” Thereupon, he caught me for the third time and pressed me, and then released me and said, “Read in the name of your Lord, who has created (all that exists), created man from a clot. Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous.”’ [Quran, 96:1-3]…” [Bukhari]
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) described some of the forms of revelation when Harith ibn Hisham asked him, “How does the revelation come to you?” He said, “Sometimes it comes to me like the ringing of a bell, and that is the hardest form on me. Then it departs from me, and I have grasped what it said. And sometimes the Angel comes to me in the form of a man and speaks to me, and I understand what he says.” [Muslim]
Allah (Most High) also outlined in His Noble Book the manners of revelation to His Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) in three ways, saying, “It is not (possible) for a human being to have Allah communicate with them, except through inspiration, or from behind a veil, or by sending a messenger-angel to reveal whatever He wills by His permission. He is surely Most High, All-Wise.” [Quran, 42:51]
Ranks of Revelation
Scholars have termed the aforementioned methods as the ranks of revelation, detailed as follows:
- True dreams, as mentioned in the previous hadith by ‘Aisha.
- The Angel casting inspiration into the Prophet’s (Allah bless him and give him peace) heart and mind without him seeing the Angel; as the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) himself stated, “And indeed, the Trustworthy Spirit has breathed into me that no soul will die until it completes its provision, so be beautiful in seeking provision.” [Musnad Shafi‘i]
- The Angel appearing to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) in the form of a man and speaking to him, and the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) understanding what is said, as in the hadith of Gabriel (Allah bless him and give him peace) when he came to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) asking him about Islam, faith, excellence, and the Hour. [Ahmad]
- The Angel coming to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) in his angelic form and revealing to him where he hears but does not see him. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) described this state of revelation as being like the ringing of a bell, as previously mentioned in the question of Harith ibn Hisham. Note: These four ranks are encompassed and included in Allah’s statement, “Or by sending a messenger angel to reveal whatever He wills by His permission.” [Quran, 42:51]
- The Angel Gabriel coming to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), and appearing to him in his magnificent angelic form in which he was created, and revealing to him whatever Allah willed to reveal. This occurred to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) twice: once on the earth and the second time in the heavens during the night of Isra and Mi‘raj at the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary, as Allah (Most High) said, “And he certainly saw that (angel descend) a second time at the Lote Tree of the most extreme limit (in the seventh heaven).” [Quran, 53:13-14]
- Allah (Most High) speaking to the Prophet from behind a veil, as occurred to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) during the night of Mi‘raj when the prayers were ordained, and it was proclaimed, “I have decreed My obligation and have lightened the burden for My servants.” [Bukhari] [Zarqani, Manhil al-‘Irfan; ‘Itr, ‘Ulum al-Quran; Tayyar, al-Muharrar fi ‘Ulum al-Quran; Fahd al-Rumi, Dirasat fi ‘Ulum al-Quran; Qattan, Mabahith fi ‘Ulum al-Quran]
In summary: The revelation of Allah, Exalted be He, to His messengers, peace be upon them, maybe with or without means. There are three direct (without means) types: 1- Dreams. 2- Speech. 3- Inspiration, referred to as hidden revelation. The mediated type is the fourth, which is through Gabriel, peace be upon him, known as clear revelation, “Which the trustworthy spirit (Gabriel) brought down into your heart (O Prophet)—so that you may be one of the warners—in a clear Arabic tongue.” [Quran, 26:193-195]
Revelation
Revelation is based on a connection between “an angel” and “a human”; a connection between “the Angel of Revelation,” Gabriel (Allah bless him and give him peace) and the human Messenger, our Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace). It is known that the characteristics of humans differ from those of angels, so for communication between the Angel and the human to occur, either the human aspect must dominate so the human understands his speech, or the spiritual must dominate to facilitate the Angel’s conveyance. To illustrate, when two people, one Arab and the other non-Arab, converse, understanding requires one to learn the other’s language, similarly in the case of revelation. The term revelation is used to denote what is revealed, i.e., the Quran sent down to the heart of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). The Angel of Revelation, Gabriel (Allah bless him and give him peace) appears in various forms; sometimes he appears to the Messenger in his true angelic form, sometimes in the form of a human seen and heard by those present, and sometimes he descends upon the Messenger unseen, but his effect manifests through changes in the Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace), who may become heavily burdened, sweat profusely on a very cold day, or feel the revelation’s impact like the ringing of a bell in the ears of its listeners, which is the most intense form of revelation. The people present in the Prophet’s gathering may hear it but not understand anything, whereas the Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) hears and comprehends what is revealed to him entirely, knowing with certainty that it is the revelation from Allah (Most High) without any confusion or error. Once the revelation concludes, he retains what was revealed to him as if it were inscribed in his heart. Allah (Most High) addressed His Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) in the Quran, saying,
“Do not rush your tongue trying to memorize (a revelation of) the Quran. It is certainly upon Us to (make you) memorize and recite it. So once We have recited a revelation (through Gabriel), follow its recitation (closely). Then it is surely upon Us to make it clear (to you).” [Quran, 75:16-19] [Ahmad Ma‘bad, Nafahat min ‘Ulum al-Quran]
Summary
Revelation, in all its forms, is a profound matter that requires a person to transcend the material world and the realm of observation to understand and conceive it, lest they fall into the fallacies of those who deny revelation, describing it as a neurological disorder, an affliction from jinn, a form of madness, or dubbing it a psychological revelation.
Allah’s blessings be upon our master and Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and companions.
[Shaykh] Anas al-Musa.
Shaykh Anas al-Musa, born in Hama, Syria, in 1974, is an erudite scholar of notable repute. He graduated from the Engineering Institute in Damascus, where he specialized in General Construction, and Al-Azhar University, Faculty of Usul al-Din, where he specialized in Hadith.
He studied under prominent scholars in Damascus, including Shaykh Abdul Rahman al-Shaghouri and Shaykh Adib al-Kallas, among others. Shaykh Anas has memorized the Quran and is proficient in the ten Mutawatir recitations, having studied under Shaykh Bakri al-Tarabishi and Shaykh Mowfaq ‘Ayun. He also graduated from the Iraqi Hadith School.
He has taught numerous Islamic subjects at Shari‘a institutes in Syria and Turkey. Shaykh Anas has served as an Imam and preacher for over 15 years and is a teacher of the Quran in its various readings and narrations.
Currently, he works as a teacher at SeekersGuidance and is responsible for academic guidance there. He has completed his Master’s degree in Hadith and is now pursuing his Ph.D. in the same field. Shaykh Anas al-Musa is married and resides in Istanbul.
