Meaning of the word revelation is ‘a
usually secret or surprising fact that is made known’. In Islam, this is the
process of a Prophet receiving the word of Allah. It is an intense process that
a prophet has to go through when he exchanges words with the Allah’s messenger
(the angel for this purpose; Hazrat Jibreel A.S.). Not everyone is capable of
receiving such a word and bear such a responsibility. The act of receiving revelations
was thus limited to the Prophets.
The First revelation to Prophet
Muhammad (S.A.W.):
Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) was in the
habit of retiring to the ‘Hira’ cave located on the Mountain ‘Jabal an-Nur’ to
escape the ignorance and insanity of the world and acquire inner peace. It so
happened one day during his ‘alone time’ in the cave that an angel approached
him and said to him the first word that would initiate the process of Quranic
revelations: ‘Iqra’. The angel that day revealed a total of five verses to him
(from Surah Alaq) and it would come to him occasionally for further Quranic
revelations. The process of receiving the complete Quran took about twenty
three years and this book was then divided into thirty sections, each section
containing a few surahs. Total number of surahs in the Quran is 114.
Different revelation methods:
Allah intended that His message be
delivered to the Prophet only. Therefore, several methods of revelations were
used for revealing verses of the Holy Quran. They are described in the Quran
as:
“And it is not for any human being
that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a partition
or that He sends a messenger to reveal, by His permission, what He wills.
Indeed, He is Most High and Wise.” (Holy Quran 42:51)
This ayah from Surat Ash-Shuraa tells
us of the different ways Allah’s message was revealed to His prophets. Which
include from revelation, behind a partition, sending a messenger to reveal His
messages. We cannot argue on how exactly the Prophets received revelations but
there are several Hadith regarding revelations that tell us about the
situation.
Hadith regarding the ways of receiving
revelations:
Hazrat Aisha (R.A.), the wife of
Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) and the woman who has narrated the greatest number of
Hadith tells us that once Al Harith bin Hisham asked the Prophet, "How
does the divine inspiration come to you?" He replied, "In all these
ways: The Angel sometimes comes to me with a voice which resembles the sound of
a ringing bell, and when this state abandons me, I remember what the Angel has
said, and this type of Divine Inspiration is the hardest on me; and sometimes
the Angel comes to me in the shape of a man and talks to me, and I understand
and remember what he says." [Sahih al-Bukhari: 3215]
A responsibility not meant for
everybody:
As mentioned in this Hadith “this type
of Divine Inspiration is the hardest on me”, it is not for any common man to
receive revelations. Even the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.), the person supposed to
receive them, experienced great physical stress in the process.
Hazrat Aisha (R.A.) narrates of
another incident:
"I saw it coming down on him on
an intensely cold day, and when it had left him his forehead was dripping with
sweat." (Muwatta Malik)
Hence, even in cold weather, he
(S.A.W.) was forced to perspire. The psychological pressure alone is too much
for a person to bear and Muhammad (S.A.W.) was a human being just like us.
Conclusion:
Aboo Umaamah relates that the Prophet
(sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam)said: “Read the Qur’an, for verily it will come
on the Day of Standing as anintercessor for its companions.”
We are His creations, we often fail to
see His signs around us and go astray from the right path. He has guided us
time and time again through different methods. He has sent His messages and
books of guidance via Prophets who received revelations which contained the
message of Allah. The prophets bore this burden and conveyed to us His message.
It is now our duty to follow the teachings of Allah and prophet Muhammad
(S.A.W.) and earn sawab (reward).
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