Quranic Foundations And Structure Of Muslim Society
PROPHET'S contact with the transcendental Reality started crystallising when he began to see true dreams[1]—dreams in which he appears to have seen future events, which happened as he had seen them, or hidden things of this world, which were exactly what he had seen during his sleep, or hidden realities of the transcendental world. As this spiritual state continued, his love for solitude increased until, in the very prime of his youth, in spite of his marriage with his beloved wife Khadija (which took place when he was twenty-five years old), he began retiring to the wilderness, where, totally cut off from human, animal and even plant life, he would stay engaged in meditation, in the Cave of Hira, which, even to this day, possesses the majesty of the ‘Void’.
This retreat to the Cave of Hira continued to repeat itself until, at the age of forty,[2] on the 12th of Rabi‘ al-Awwal,[3] the pitch darkness of the night inside the Cave and the death-like stillness of the surrounding wilderness was shattered when the Light from God descended (4:173) and the archangel Jibreel, the holy and trustworthy Spirit from God, appeared before him and asked him to read, which request was made twice, each time the angel pressing him in his embrace to activate more and more the transcendental dimension of his personality, to which each time the same reply came, i.e., “I do not know how to read.” Then the angel recited to him the first revelation of the Qur’an, which reads:
“Read! (or recite, or proclaim) in the Name of your Lord and Cherisher Who created (everything in the universe)—
created man out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood:
Read! And your Lord is Most Bountiful,—
He Who taught (the preservation, cultivation and promotion of knowledge) through the Pen,—
taught man that which he knew not.” (96:1-5).
Thereby the Holy Prophet acquired those verses in his memory and returned home highly excited by that most abnormal experience.
Thus came the first revelation of the Qur’an, which was the forerunner for all those others that came down over a period of twenty-three years—the actual period of the Holy Prophet’s ministry—and constitute, together with that first one, the Qur’an as it was completed and as we have it today.
Thus also commenced the period of the Holy Prophet’s life in which not only the communication through the messenger-angel but also other modes of Divine communication blessed him very frequently.
The classical Islamic scholars have listed certain modes of Revelation on the basis of Hadith literature, with slight differences among themselves. Thus, Suyuti has mentioned five (Al-Itqeen, vol. 1, p. 44,), and Ibn Qayyim has listed seven (Zad al-Ma‘eed, vol. 1, pp. 24-25). However, keeping strictly within the bounds prescribed by the Qur’anic testimony, as demanded by the nature of the present book, we will not go beyond the basic implications of the three modes mentioned in the holy book—which actually reduce themselves to two, viz., ‘direct communication by God’ and ‘communication by God through the messenger-angel’.
We need not bring testimony from the Hadith literature in respect of the revelations that constitute the Qur’an, because the holy book itself has explicitly stated the mode of its revelation as consisting in Divine communication through the messenger-angel, Jibreel:
“Verily this is a Revelation from the Lord of the Worlds: The Trusted Spirit (i.e., Jibreel) has brought it down upon your heart (O Muhammad!) that you may be of the warners, in plain Arabic language.” (26:192-195).
“So verily I call to witness the Planets that recede, moving swiftly (and) hiding themselves; and the Night as it dissipates (gradually melting away in the Day); and the Dawn as it breathes away the darkness;—verily it is a Word (brought) by a messenger honoured (i.e., Jibreel), endued with Power (so that no devilish force can obstruct the path of this powerful messenger), with rank before the Lord of the Throne (i.e., Allah), with authority there (i.e., in the heavens), faithful to his trust. And (O people!) your Companion (Muhammad) is not one possessed (as the calumniators say). Without doubt he beheld him (i.e., Jibreel) at the Clear Horizon.[4] And he (i.e., Muhammad) is not a withholder of (the knowledge of) the Unseen (which has been bestowed on him by Allah).” (81:5-24).
“Say (O Muhammad!): the Holy Spirit[5] (i.e., angel Jibreel) has brought down the revelation (of the Qur’an) from your Lord in Truth …” (16: 102).
Here two important facts may be noted: (1) although even the dreams of a Prophet are fully meaningful and explicit and are grounded in absolute truth, all the Qur’anic revelations came to the Holy Prophet in the state of waking,—on which fact the authorities are unanimous, according to Kitab al-Tibyan (p. 21); (2) the messenger angel seems to have been employed by God for the Qur’anic revelations for ensuring their reception by the Holy Prophet (ṣallallahu ta`ala `alayhi wa sallam) in absolute exactitude of language, the Qur’an being meant to be a book of guidance for humanity for all time.
In respect of Divine communication through the messenger rangel, however, occasions besides those relating to the revelation of the Messages that constitute the Qur’an have also been reported in the Hadith literature, wherein the angel’s role emerges as very important. For instance, we know that Jibreel was commissioned by God to rehearse the Holy Qur’an with the Holy Prophet every year during the nights of the month of Ramadan (Bukhari: ØaÍÊÍ; BÉbs: Kaifa KÉna bada’ al-WaÍy and Dhikr al-MalÉ’ikah), and to communicate to him the method of the five daily obligatory Prayers (Bukhari: ØaÍÊÍ; BÉbs: Dhikr al-MalÉ’ikah).
In connection with angel Jibreel, we also come across a Hadith which is to the effect that, in answer to an enquiry, the Holy Prophet said: “At times the angel (Jibreel) assumes the human form for me and speaks to me, and I retain (in my memory) what be says.”[6]
What was the exact nature of the appearance of the the angel in human form, referred to here, cannot be known to us. However, we find it in the Hadith literature to have occurred on a good number of occasions, and, among them, it also happened a number of times that even the Holy Prophet’s Companions saw that angel.[7]
Coming to the mode of Divine communication ‘from behind a veil’: Such a phenomenon has been reported in the following Hadith:[8]
“(Lady) Ayesha (wife of the Holy Prophet) reported that Harith ibn Hisham enquired from Allah’s Messenger: ‘How does the Revelation come to you, O Allah’s Messenger?’ To that he replied: ‘It comes to me at times in the likeness of an echoing sound of a bell,82 and that is (the mode) most severe on me; then it is cut off from me, and I definitely remember thereafter what the (Communicator from behind the ‘veil’) has spoken’.”[9]
82 It was in fact a sound very different front physical sounds,—a sound which is inexplicable in terms of human language (A1-ItqÉn, vol. 1 p. 44). Hence the description should not be understood in the literal sense.
Further: Suyuti, the author of A1-ItqÉn, puts forward the view that this sound preceded the communication of Revelation for the sake of withdrawing the attention of the Holy Prophet from everything else and concentrating it on the Revelation which was to follow (vol. l, p. 44). Imam Ahmad’s Musnad corroborates this view.
For a clear understanding of the implication of the above Hadith, we have to go to the Qur’anic testimony, which relates to the affirmation of Divine communication ‘from behind a veil’ with the Holy Prophet (Peace be on him!) (42:51-52), on the one hand, and which states that phenomenon in actual terms in respect of certain other Divine Messengers, on the other. For instance, in the case of the Holy Prophet Abraham (Peace be on him!): “We called unto him: O Abraham! you have already fulfilled the vision …” (37:104-105). Again, in the case of the Holy Prophet Moses (Peace be on him!): “And when Moses came to Our appointed tryst and his Lord had spoken to him, he said: “My Lord! Show me (Yourself), that I may gaze upon You …” (7:143).
Besides the modes, we come across another aspect of Divine communication also in the Hadith literature, namely, the external ultra-natural symptoms noticed by the Holy Prophet’s Companions and reported by them. In that connection, we may first state what Lady Ayesha (Allah be pleased with her!) is said to have reported:
“Indeed, I saw him while the Revelation came down on him on a very cold day; then, at the expiry of it (i.e., the state of the communication of Revelation), sweat poured forth from his forehead.[10]
Going to other reports, we find that the Holy Prophet (Peace be on him!) attained such a profound state of submergence of his consciousness in the Divine Revelation that those who saw him in that state felt as if his soul had departed from this world (Kanz al-‘Ummal, vol. 4, p. 30); and Imam Bukhari reports in his ØaÍÊÍ that the rosy white colour of his face would change into intense red and his breathing would become louder (BÉbs: GÍusl al-KhulËq and Nazal alQur’an bi Lisan-i-Quraish). Al-Hakim narrates the report from Abu Hurairah that at the time when the Holy Prophet received the Revelation, it was impossible for anyone to fix his gaze at his holy face (Al-Mustadrak, vol. 2, p. 222). This report implies the establishment of a halo of undescribable majesty and supernatural character around his face—in fact, around his entire personality. Imam Ahmad relates in his Musnad on the authority of Abdullah ibn ‘Amr that: “Sura al-Ma’idah was revealed to Allah’s Messenger while he was riding on a she-camel, which showed expressly her inability to bear (the weight she experienced in physical terms to an extent that) he had to alight (from its back)” (vol. 2, p. 176). This fact is corroborated in several other reports also. Zaid ibn Thabit relates that: “… then Allah, the Possessor of Blessedness and the Most High, sent down on His Messenger (Muhammad) a Revelation. At that time (I was sitting so close to him by his side that) his folded leg covered my folded leg, whereby I experienced such a heavy load (as to give me the feeling) that my folded leg would be crushed to pieces.” (Bukhari, ØaÍÊÍ, KitÉb al-TafsÊr).
As to the manifestation of physical effects on the Holy Prophet’s personality, Ibn Khaldun, the founder of Sociology and of Philosophy of History, observes in his world-renowned Muqaddimah, in connection with his scholarly philosophical discourse on the nature of Prophetic Revelation, that a transformation of the Holy Prophet’s personality from the human plane to the angelic plane took place on all such occasions (pp. 98, 99).
However, the phenomenon of ‘severity’ became toned down to lighter and lighter as time passed; as we find, for instance, in Imam Ahmad’s Musnad in connection with the revelation of sura AlKauthar (vol. 3, p. 102).
That the Holy Qur’an is based on literal Inspiration in the form of Prophetic Revelation and is not the result of the Holy Prophet’s own intellectual or spiritual awakening as a seer, is borne out also by the mode of the projection of its teachings, wherein clearly it is God Who addresses humankind, including the Holy Prophet, and not the Holy Prophet himself.
Again, anyone who undertakes a comparative study of the language of the Holy Qur’an and the language of the Hadith literature, which consists of the utterances of the Holy Prophet on his own behalf, can easily notice the clear difference in the style of’ expression in both.
Still again, the challenges thrown by the Holy Qur’an to the disbelievers in its divine status, as in 10:38, 11:13, 17:88 and 52:34, bear out that the holy book emphatically affirms about itself that it is the Word of God and not a product of the Holy Prophet’s mental effort.
Going into external factors further: Arabic is probably the richest language in respect of its vocabulary, which means for our present purpose that if the very words of the Holy Quran had not been regarded as revealed with the immutable divine sanction behind them, the verses, as they were revealed from time to time during a long period, would have easily and naturally undergone changes at least through the interplay of synonyms;—while it is a well-attested fact that the addition or elimination of such an unimportant word as ‘and’, for which there is ‘in Arabic only a single letter, was not permitted and could not take place.
Then, entering into internal evidence again: The Holy Prophet’s entire attitude towards the revelations that he received, belies any assumption as to those revelations being mere ‘inspirations’ that were projected by him in his own words. For instance, let us consider the verses wherein he has been commanded by God thus: “Move not your tongue concerning the (Qur’an) to make haste therewith (in fear of not remembering exactly the text that was revealed). Verily upon Us is the collecting thereof (in your mind) and the reciting thereof (exactly as it is revealed to you). Wherefore when We recite it follow you the recital thereof. And thereafter verily upon Us (i.e., under Our guidance) is the expounding thereof.” (75:16-19). Movement of the tongue relates to the anxiety of remembering the words that he had heard and not thoughts that could have been infused in his mind through inspiration.
Before closing this discussion, it is very necessary to emphasize most vehemently that the nature of Revelation—in fact, of entire prophetic experience, is such that it is incommunicable to and incomprehensible for a non-prophet. Hence, it would be the greatest mistake to view it in terms of the natural laws that relate to the general or basic human level.
[1] The phenomenon of ‘true dreams’ continued all through the Holy Prophet’s life. The term used by Lady Ayesha is Ru’yÉ ØÉliÍa which means righteous, sound and healthy dreams. The statement which follows to the end of the paragraph is based originally on Bukhari’s ØaÍÊÍ; BÉb: Kaifa kÉna bada’al- WaÍy—reported by Lady Ayesha, wife of the Holy Prophet.
[2] Bukhari: ØaÍÊÍ; BÉb: Øifat al-Nabi.
[3] lbn Kathir: Al-BidÉyah wa al-NihÉyah, vol. 2, p. 260—on the authority of Ibn Abbas.
[4] Cf. the Hadith reported and accepted by Bukhari: “Jabir reported that he heard God’s Messenger telling about the cessation of Revelation (for a short period after the first one) as follows: ‘(Once) while I was walking I heard a voice coming from above, and raising my eyes I beheld the angel who had come to me at Hira seated on a throne between heaven and earth. I felt overawed (by the supernatural majesty of the experience,—it being the early stage of the experience of that type).’ Then I returned to my family and said: ‘Wrap me up, wrap me up!’ So they wrapped me up. Then Allah Most High sent down the revelation: ‘O you wrapped up (in a mantle)! arise and deliver your warning! And preach you the greatness of your Lord (lit., your Lord do you magnify)! And your garments keep free from stain! and all pollution shun!’ Thereafter the process of Revelation became intensified and continuous.” (Bukhari: ØaÍÊÍ, KitÉb al-TafsÊr. Cf. Muslim: ØaÍÊÍ).
[5] Or, the Holy Ghost, who rendered the same service to other Divine Messengers, including Jesus (God bless him!). He is an angel, created by God, and not the third member of Godhead, as erroneously and blasphemously conceived by Pauline Christianity.
[6] Imam Malik: Mu’aÏÏÉ;BÉb MÉ jÉ’a fi al-Qur’ān. Cf. Bukhari and Muslim.
[7] In this connection, very definite events, stated in very explicit form, have been reported, among others, by Imam Bukhari (ØaÍÊÍ: BÉbs: SuwÉlu JibrÊl, Kaifa nazala al-WaÍy, Marja‘ al-NabÊ min al-AÍzÉb wa Makhrajahu ilÉ Bani Quraizah, Dhikr a1-MalÉ’ikah, ShuhËd al-MalÉ’ikah Badran).
[8] Imam Malik: op. cit.
[9] As to the communicator of Revelation referred to here, Imam Ahmad and Imam Muslim have narrated Traditions that imply that it was God Himself speaking from behind the ‘veil’. Al-Bazzar’s Musnad brings forth similar evidence. Imam Bukhari devotes to this fact a separate section entitled Dhikr al-NabÊ wa riwÉyatihÊ ‘an RabbihÊ, where the narrators are personalities of the calibre of Anas ibn Malik, Abu Hurairah and Abdullah Ibn Abbas. The view that the communicator in question was the angel Jibreel also emerges, however.
Looking at the problem rationally; The phenomenon of ‘the Bell and the Message’ appears to bear similarity in form to the present-day communication through the telephone, wherein a bell rings as a prelude to the communication of some message. But, in the case of Jibreel, we learn from the Qur’ān that he, was sent in person by God—e.g., the relevant verses quoted in this chapter. Hence, to say, as some have held, that the communicator was Jibreel, is evidently unreasonable. Moreover, the Qur’ānic testimony in this respect (42:51-52) is final and decisive. As such, we are compelled to hold to the view that the communicator in the case under reference was God Himself.
[10] Imam Malik: op. cit.
to be continued . . . . .
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