Quranic Foundations And Structure Of Muslim Society
MODES OF DIVINE COMMUNICATION WITH THE HOLY PROPHET :
The above-quoted verse is followed immediately by the following:
“And thus (i.e., in the comprehensive manner covered in the different modes of Divine communication presented in 42:51) have We, by Our Command, sent unto you (O Muhammad) the Inspiration.[1] You knew not (before the establishment of Divine communication) what the Scripture was, nor what the Faith …” (42:52).
Accordingly, God’s communication with the Holy Prophet was normally in three ways: (1) direct communication in the form of what has been termed in 42:51 as wahy; (2) direct communication ‘from behind the veil’; (3) indirect communication through an intermediary messenger-angel.
The third being the sole mode of communication employed in respect of the revelation of the Qur’an, as we shall shortly notice, the other two modes must be taken to relate to the domain of general communication. Indeed, the Holy Prophet (ṣallallahu ta`ala `alayhi wa sallam), being firmly and absolutely established as ‘abd in the state of harmony with God (6:162, etc.) and thus in absolute intimacy with, and under the loving care of, God (52:48: etc.), his communication with God and God’s communication with him was frequent—the communication from God not confined to the revelation of the Qur’an.
The above-mentioned modes of communication relate, however, to the Holy Prophet’s life in respect of his earthly constitution in which he normally stayed except—so far as our knowledge goes—on the occasion of Me‘raj (Ascension), which can be understood only in terms of transcendental transformation of his personality by God. Hence God’s communication with him on that occasion should be classed as belonging to a mode different and distinct from the modes mentioned in 42:52. The reference in the Holy Qur’an stands thus:
“By the Star when it goes down, your Companion (Muhammad) does not err, nor is misled; nor does he speak (anything) of (his own) Desire (or, ratiocination). It is nothing but Revelation that is revealed (to him). He has been taught by One Mighty in Power, endued with Wisdom; so he attained completion in knowledge,[2] while he was in the highest horizon (during his Me‘raj or Ascension). Then he (—existing on that occasion, as deducible, in the transcendental dimension of existence—) approached and came closer (to Allaah, in the transcendental dimension), and it was a distance (in terms of transcendental dimension) of but two bow-lengths or nearer (—implying idiomatically extreme nearness—). Thus He (i.e., Allaah) revealed to His Devotee (Muhammad) what He revealed. The (Prophet’s) heart lied not in what he saw (it being the direct Vision of, and communication from, Allaah).” (53:1-11).[3]
[Note:- Some scholars who subscribe to no adequate notion either of the nature of human personality or of the dimensions of the personality of a Messenger of God—whose view of religious verities is, for all practical purposes, either ‘formalistic’ or ‘naturalistic’— consider it necessary to explain away or minimise every super-natural, or metaphysical, element in the Holy Prophet’s personality. As such, they deny that the Holy Prophet (Peace be on him!) was blessed with the vision of God in his Me‘raj, saying that the person whom he saw was the angel Jibreel (Gabriel). As for the Hadīth literature, both the views—viz., ‘vision of God’ and ‘vision of Jibreel’—are deducible. But, as regards the Qur’an, it affirms the ‘vision of God’ in the transcendental dimension of existence, i.e., life in Heaven, even for the true followers of the Messengers of God—not to speak of the Messengers of God themselves.
The view reported to have been put forward by Lady Ayesha
should be taken to relate basically to the impossibility of seeing God with the
physical vision; and, as such, it an absolutely correct view. The Holy
Prophet’s Me‘raj was, however, an event of unique nature in which it should be
accepted that his sacred personality had been transformed by God from the
physical to the transcendental dimension of existence[4]—the
same dimension in which his true followers who, in their status, are simply
non-entities as compared with his status as God’s greatest Messenger, will
exist in Heaven, and will, therefore, become capable of being blessed with the
vision of God (75:22-23).]
Reverting to 42:52, it was not at all necessary for the Holy Qur’an, after explicitly affirming all the three modes of Divine communication mentioned in 42:51, to pin-point each occasion and each guidance as it came to the Holy Prophet (ṣallallahu ta`ala `alayhi wa sallam) from God through the respective modes. Such information can be relevantly sought in the Hadith literature, although even there we cannot expect absolute accuracy in respect of reporting, nor a detailed specification of occasions and modes, basically because of the personal and secret nature of Divine communication. However, that being the only way open to us, we may obtain from there whatever information is in conformity with the Qur’an.
There is a consensus of historical reports that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (ṣallallahu ta`ala `alayhi wa sallam) grew up as superbly-normal in mental, physical and moral health and beauty, but abnormally devoted to truthfulness, thoughtfulness, and sympathy for and service to fellow-beings. He passed the greater part of his youth, right from infancy, in the ‘lap of Nature’, away from the city-life of Makka, where he was born. As a grown-up young man, he had the occasion to undertake long journeys in the ‘environment of Nature’ when he crossed time and again, in connection with commerce, the desolate desert vastnesses of Arabia. He was born in a community of idol-worshippers; but he never had anything to do with any idol even unconsciously. He had the mental grace and the personal beauty of the Holy Prophet Abraham peace be upon him, from whom he had descended through the Holy Prophet Ishmael peace be upon him. But his family had lost the teaching of Abraham and Ishmael, and had preserved only its history.
[1] This word should be taken here to cover in its implication all the levels of Divine Revelation.
[2] Istawe al-rajul means ‘he became full grown and mature in body and intellect, or he attained the completion of his make and intellect’. (Lane’s Lexicon)
[3] The translation of these verses and the explanatory remarks inserted within brackets are based on a critical assessment of Hadīth literature and of the Qur’ānic philosophy of Religion as upheld by a vast majority of Islamic scholars in history.
[4] Qualitative transformations are all the time taking place in Nature. Thus the view presented here is in accordance with the Natural Law. Also: this view synthesizes the partial views in which one school of thought—the minority school—emphasises that Me‘raj was just a ‘spiritual’ experience like other spiritual experiences, in which the Holy Prophet’s soul alone was the subject of experience, while the other school—representing an overwhelming majority of Muslims in history—gives prominence to the participation of the Holy Prophet’s body in that entire event.
to be continued . . . . .
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