2.4 Revealed Books

Revealed books are mentioned in the Holy Qur’an under three names. The first name is kitab (pl. kutub), meaning a Book The word al-Kitab has been used for the Holy Qur’an itself, for its chapters, for any previous revelation, (13:43), for all previous revelations taken together (98:3) and for all revealed books including the Holy Qur’an (3:119). Revealed books are also spoken of as suhuf (pl. of sahifa) as in 87:18, 19, where all previous books, particularly the books of Moses and Abraham are so called, or as in 80:13 and 98:2 where the Holy Qur’an itself is spoken of as suhuf. The third name under which revealed books are mentioned is zubur (pl. of zabur), as in 26:196, 4:163, etc. The singular form, zabur, occurs only three times in the Holy Qur’an, twice in connection with the book of David: “And We gave to David a scripture (zabur)’ (4:163, 17:55); and on one occasion a quotation is given from al-Zabur: “And truly We wrote in the Book (al-Zabur) after the reminder that My righteous servants will inherit the land” (21:105).

The Arabic word for revelation, wahy, has, in its highest form, come to signify the Divine word which is communicated to prophets (anbiya’) and saints, or righteous servants of God (auliya’) who have not been raised to the dignity of prophethood. (R.). According to the Holy Qur’an, revelation is a universal fact, so much so that it is even spoken of as being granted to inanimate objects: “Then He directed Himself to the heaven and it was a vapour, so He said to it and to the earth: Come both willingly or unwillingly. They both said: We come willingly. So He ordained them seven heavens in two periods, and revealed in every heaven its affair” (41:11, 12). On another occasion there is mention of revelation to the earth: “When the earth is shaken with her shaking, and the earth brings forth her burdens, and man says, What has befallen her? On that day she shall tell her news, as if thy Lord had revealed to her” (99:1-5). In the first instance, God’s speaking to the earth and the heavens and His revelation to the heavens shows that there is a kind of revelation through which the Divine laws are made to operate in the universe; in the second, a great revolution that is brought about upon earth — its “bringing forth its burdens”, explained as the laying open of its treasures (R.) in the form of minerals and other products — is spoken of as a kind of revelation. There is also a revelation to the lower animals: “And thy Lord revealed to the bee: Make hives in the mountains and in the trees and in what they build, then eat of all the fruits and walk in the ways of thy Lord submissively” (16:68, 69). This is really an example of the Divine revelation being granted also to the lower creation, so that what they do by instinct is really a revelation. These two examples show that Divine revelation is intended for the development and perfection of everything within its ordained sphere. Here may also be mentioned the revelation to angels: “When thy Lord revealed to the angels: I am with you, so make firm those who believe” (8:12). As revelation itself is communicated through angels, it appears that there are various orders of angels; and it is for this reason that Gabriel, the angel who brings revelation to the prophets of God, is regarded as the greatest of them all.

Much misconception prevails as to the sphere of revelation to man. It is generally thought that revelation is limited to the prophets of God. This is not true, for the Holy Qur’an regards it, in one form or another, as the universal experience of all humanity. Raghib, already quoted, defines revelation, in a strictly technical sense, as meaning the word of God as conveyed to the prophets (anbiya’) and to other righteous servants (auliya) of God. And on several occasions the Holy Qur’an speaks of revelation (wahy) having been granted to such righteous servants of God who were not prophets, men as well as women. The mother of Moses is said to have received a revelation though she was undoubtedly not a prophet, and so are the disciples of Jesus who were not prophets: “And We revealed (auhaina) to Moses’ mother, saying: Give him suck; then when thou fearest for him, cast him into the river, and fear not, nor grieve; surely We shall bring him back to thee and make him one of the messengers” (28:7); “And when I revealed (auhaitu) to the disciples (of Jesus), saying, Believe in Me and My messenger” (5:111). These verses leave not the least doubt that wahy or revelation is granted to those who are not prophets as well as to prophets, and therefore the door to revelation is not closed, even though no prophet at all would come after Holy Prophet Muhammad. It is only authoritative revelation, the form of revelation peculiar to prophets, the revelation through Gabriel as explained in the next paragraph, that has ceased after him.

Revelation to inanimate objects, to the lower animals and to the angels is of a different nature from revelation to man, and it is the latter with which we are chiefly concerned. Divine revelation to man is stated to be of three kinds: “And it is not vouchsafed to a mortal that Allah should speak to him, except by revelation or from behind a veil, or by sending a messenger and revealing by His permission what He pleases;” (42:51). The first of these, which is called wahy in the original, is the inspiring of an idea into the heart, for the word wahy is used here in its primary significance of a hasty suggestion or infusing into the heart, as distinguished from a revelation in words. In spite of the fact that this kind of revelation is the “infusing of an idea into the heart,” it is called a form of God’s speaking to man. This is technically called “inner revelation” (wahy khafi) and the sayings of the Holy Prophet touching religious matters are in this class. The Holy Prophet himself is reported to have said on such an occasion: “The Holy Spirit has inspired (this) into my heart” (N.). It is an idea put into the mind, as distinguished from revelation proper, which is a message conveyed in words. Revelation in this form is common to both prophets and those who are not prophets.

The second mode of God’s speaking to man is said to be “from behind a veil” (min warai’ hijab), and this includes dream (ru’ya), vision (kashf) and ilham (when voices are heard or uttered in a state of trance, the recipient being neither quite asleep, nor fully awake). This form of revelation is also common both to prophets and those who are not prophets, and in its simplest form, the ru’ya or the dream, is a universal experience of the whole of humanity. The Holy Qur’an tells us of the vision of a king, who was apparently not a believer in God (12:43) — a vision which had a deep underlying significance. This shows that, according to the Holy Qur’an, revelation in its lower forms is the common experience of all mankind, of the unbeliever as well as the believer, of the sinner as well as of the saint.

The third kind, which is peculiar to the prophets of God, is that in which the angel (Gabriel) brings the Divine message in words. This is the surest and clearest form of revelation, and such was the revelation of the Holy Qur’an to the Holy Prophet. This is called revelation that is recited in words (wahy matluww). It is the highest and most developed form; and it was in this manner that revelation was granted to all the prophets of God in every nation. The revealed books are a record of this highest revelation, and technically the word revelation (wahy) is applied to this form as distinguished from the lower forms.

Speaking of Adam, the Holy Qur’an has stated the reason why revelation from God was needed, and the purpose which it fulfilled. Man had two objects before him, to conquer nature and to conquer self, to bring under his control the powers of nature and his own desire. In the story of Adam as the prototype of man, as related in the Qur’an, we are told that Adam was given the knowledge of things, that is to say that man was endowed with the capacity to obtain knowledge of all things; he was also gifted with the power to conquer nature, for the angels (beings controlling powers of nature) were made to submit to him; but Iblis (the inciter of lower desires in man) did not make obeisance, and man fell a prey to his evil suggestions. Man was powerful against all, but weak against himself. He could attain perfection in one direction by his own exertions; he could conquer nature by his knowledge of things and the power granted to him; but the greater conquest and the greater perfection lay in the conquest of his inner self, and this conquest could only be brought about by a closer connection with the Divine Being. It was to make this perfection possible for him that revelation was needed. Thus, we are told, when man proved weak against his own desires and passions, Divine help came to him in the form of certain “words from his Lord”, that is to say, in the form of Divine revelation which was granted to Adam. And as for his posterity, the Divine law was given: “Surely there will come to you a guidance from Me, then whoever follows My guidance, no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve” (2:38). In these words man is told that, with the help of Divine revelation, he shall have no fear of the Devil’s temptings, and so the hindrance of his progress and the obstacle to the development of his faculties being removed, he will keep advancing on the road to perfection.

It has already been pointed out that revelation in its lower forms, in the form of inspiration or that of dreams or visions, is the universal experience of humanity, but even in its highest form, it is not, according to the Holy Qur’an, limited to one particular man or to one particular nation. It is, on the other hand, most emphatically stated that just as God has given His physical sustenance to each and every nation, even so He has endowed it with His spiritual sustenance for its moral and spiritual advancement. Two quotations from the Holy Qur’an will suffice to show that revelation in its highest form has been granted to every nation: “There is not a people but a warner has gone among them” (35:24). “And for every nation there is a messenger” (10:47). And thus the idea of revelation in Islam is as broad as humanity itself.

The religion of Islam, therefore, requires a belief, not in the Holy Qur’an alone but in all the books of God, granted to all the nations of the world. At its very commencement it lays down in clear words: “And who believe in that which has been revealed to thee and that which was revealed before thee” (2:4). And again: “The Messenger believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, and so do the believers; they all believe in Allah and His angels and His Books and His messengers” (2:285). A book was granted to every prophet of God: “Mankind is a single nation. So Allah raised prophets as bearers of good news and as warners, and He revealed with them the Book with truth” (2:213); “But if they reject thee, so indeed were rejected before the messengers who came with clear arguments and scriptures and the illuminating Book” (3:184). Only two books are mentioned by their special names, the Taurat (Torah, or book of Moses) and the Injil (Gospel, or book of Jesus). The giving of a scripture (zabur) to David is also mentioned (17:55), and the scriptures (suhuf) of Abraham and Moses are mentioned together in 53:36, 37 and 87:19. But, as stated above, a Muslim is required to believe, not only in the particular books named but in all the books of all the prophets of God, in other words, in the sacred scriptures of every nation, because every nation had a prophet and every prophet had a book.

According to the Holy Qur’an, revelation is not only universal but also progressive, attaining perfection in the last of the prophets, the Holy Prophet Muhummad. A revelation was granted to each nation according to its requirements, and in each age in accordance with the capacity of the people of that age. And as the human brain became more and more developed, more and yet more light was cast by revelation on matters relating to the unseen, on the existence and attributes of the Divine Being, on the nature of revelation from Him, on the requital of good and evil, on life after death, on Paradise and Hell. The Holy Qur’an is called a book “that makes manifest,” because it shed complete light on the essentials of religion and made manifest what had hitherto remained, of necessity, obscure. It is on account of this full resplendence of light which it casts on all religious problems that the Holy Qur’an claims to have brought religion to perfection: “This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favour to you and chosen for you Islam as a religion” (5:3). Six hundred years before this revelation, Jesus Christ said: “I have yet many things to say unto you but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth” (Jn. 16:12, 13). This is clearly a reference to the coming of a revelation with which religion will come to perfection, and, among the sacred books of the world, the Holy Qur’an alone advances the claim that it has brought religion to perfection; and, in keeping with that claim, has cast the fullest light on all religious questions.

Besides bringing revelation to perfection and making plain what was obscure in the previous scriptures, the Holy Qur’an claims to be a guardian over those scriptures, guarding the original teachings of the prophets of God, and a judge deciding the differences between them. Thus after speaking of the Torah and the Gospel (5:44, 47), it says: “And We have revealed to thee the Book with the truth, verifying that which is before it of the book and a guardian over it” (5:48). It is elsewhere pointed out in the Holy Qur’an that the teachings of the earlier scriptures had undergone alterations, and therefore only a revelation from God could separate the pure Divine teaching from the mass of error which had grown around it. This the Holy Qur’an did, and hence it is called a guardian over the earlier scriptures. As for its authority as a judge, we are told: “We certainly sent messengers to nations before thee … And We have not revealed to thee the Book except that thou mayest make clear to them that wherein they differ” (16:63, 64). Religious differences had grown to a large extent. All religions were from God, yet they all denounced one another as leading man to perdition; and their basic doctrines had come to differ from one another to such an extent that it had become simply unthinkable that they could have proceeded from the same Divine source; till the Holy Qur’an pointed out the common ground, namely, the Unity of God, and the universality of revelation.

There is much that is common to the Holy Qur’an and the previous scriptures, especially the Bible. The Holy Qur’an has repeatedly declared that the basic principles of all religions were the same, only the details differing according to the time and the stage of a people’s development. All these principles in a more developed form are taught by the Holy Qur’an, and occasionally lessons have been drawn from previous history. But the remarkable thing is that, both in its discussion of religious principles and in its references to history, the Holy Qur’an has done away with the defects of the earlier books. Take, for example, the Bible. It mentions many incidents which, so far from conveying any ennobling lesson, are derogatory to the dignity of prophethood and, sometimes, even of an obscene nature. An educated Jew or Christian would prefer that his sacred book did not contain such statements as that Abraham, that great and revered patriarch of all nations, was a liar, that Lot committed incest with his own daughters, that Aaron made the image of a calf and led the Israelites to its worship; that David, whose beautiful Psalms are the texts of sermons in churches and synagogues, committed adultery with Uria’s wife, and that Solomon with all his wisdom worshipped idols to please his wives! The Holy Qur’an speaks of all these great men but it accepts none of these statements and rejects most of them in unmistakable words. Again, it speaks of the Devil tempting Adam, but in a language which makes it clear that it is the story of man’s everyday experience; there is no image of dust into whose nostrils the breath of life is breathed; no rib of Adam is taken out to make the woman; there is no Divine interdiction against the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; there is no serpent to beguile the woman, nor does the woman tempt the man; the Lord God does not walk in the garden in the cool of the day; no punishment is meted out to the serpent that he shall go on his belly and eat dust; the bringing forth of children is not a punishment for the woman, nor is labouring in the fields a punishment for the man. Similarly the Holy Qur’an relates the history of Noah several times, but not once does it state that there was a deluge which covered the whole earth and destroyed all living creatures on the face of the earth. It only speaks of a flood that destroyed Noah’s people. There are many other examples which show that, though the Holy Qur’an relates the histories of some of the prophets of yore in order to draw lessons therefrom, yet it does not borrow from the Bible. It is from the Divine source that its knowledge is drawn, and hence it is that when referring to those histories, it removes all their defects.

The examples given above show that the old scriptures, though revealed by God, have undergone considerable changes; and this is not only true of the Bible but applies with equal truth to all the ancient revealed books. Modern criticism of the Bible, together with the accessibility of ancient manuscripts, has now established the fact that many alterations were made in it; it is over thirteen hundred years since the Holy Qur’an charged the followers of the Bible with altering its text, and that at a time when nobody knew that such alterations had been made in its text. Only one quotation may be given in this connection: “Do you then hope that they would believe in you, and a party from among them indeed used to hear the word of Allah, then altered it after they had understood it, and they know (this) … Woe, then, to those who write the book with their hands and then say, This is from Allah; so that they may take for it a small price!” (2:75-79). Hence it should be borne in mind that though the Holy Qur’an speaks again and again of “verifying” what is before it, yet it does not and cannot mean that there have been no alterations in them. On the other hand, it condemns many of the doctrines taught by the followers of the earlier scriptures, and this shows that while their origin is admitted to be Divine, it is at the same time pointed out that these books have not come down in their original purity, and that the truth revealed in them has been mixed up with errors due to alterations effected by human hands.

In almost every great religion, Divine revelation is considered to be the particular experience of a particular race or nation, and even in that nation the door to revelation is looked upon as having been closed after some great personage or after a certain time. But Islam, while making revelation the universal experience of humanity, also considers its doors as standing open for all time. There is an erroneous idea in some minds that, in Islam, the door to revelation was closed with Holy Prophet Muhammad, because it is stated in the Holy Qur’an that he is the last of the prophets. Why there shall be no prophet after him will be discussed in the next chapter, but it is an error to confuse the discontinuance of prophethood with the discontinuation of revelation. It has been shown that of the three kinds of revelation, two are common to both prophets and those who are not prophets, while only one form of revelation, the highest, in which the angel Gabriel is sent with a message in words, is peculiar to the prophets; and therefore when it is said that no prophet shall appear after Holy Prophet Muhammad, the only conclusion that can be drawn from it is that the door has been closed on that highest form of revelation; but by no stretch of words can revelation itself be said to have come to an end. The granting of revelation to those who are not prophets being an admitted fact, as shown before on the basis of clear Qur’anic verses, revelation remains, and humanity will always have access to this great Divine blessing, though prophethood, having reached its perfection, has naturally come to an end. The doctrine of the continuance of revelation is clearly upheld in the Holy Qur’an and the Hadith. The former says: “Those who believe and guard against evil, for them is good news (bushra) in this world’s life and in the Hereafter” (10:63, 64). The bushra granted in this world’s life are “good visions which the Muslim sees or which are shown to him,” according to a saying of the Holy Prophet (Rz). And according to one of the most reliable Hadith, bushra or mubashshirat — both words having the same significance — are a part of prophethood. Thus the Holy Prophet is reported to have said: “Nothing remains of prophethood but mubashshirat,” (Bu. 92:5). Being asked what was meant by mubashshirat, he replied, “good (or true) visions” (Bu. 92:5). According to another hadith he is reported to have said: “The vision of the believer is one of the forty-six parts of prophethood” (Bu. 92: 4). In another version of the same report, instead of the vision of the believer, the words are good (or true) visions (ru’ya salihah). The word vision is used here in a wide sense, and includes the inspiration which is granted to the righteous. For we are told in yet another hadith: “There used to be among those who were before you persons who were spoken to (by God) though they were not prophets; if there is such a one among my people, it is ‘Umar’ (Bu. 62:6). All these hadith and the Qur’anic verses quoted above afford enough proof that revelation in some of its lower forms is continued after the Holy Prophet, and it is only the highest form of revelation — that brought by Gabriel — which has been discontinued with the termination of prophethood.

It is thus one of the basic principles of Islam that God speaks as He hears and sees. It has been said that God is never spoken of in the Holy Qur’an as Mutakallim or Kalim, that is, as One Who speaks. It has already been shown that there are many names of the Divine Being that are taken from some attribute or act ascribed to Him in the Holy Qur’an, as for instance, al-Rafi’, al-Qabidz, al-Ba‘sit, al-Mujib, al-Muhyi, etc. There are even names that are taken not from an express attribute or act but from the sense simply, as al-Wajid, al-Muqaddim, al-Mu’akhkhir, etc. Now the attribute kalam of the Divine Being is mentioned frequently in the Holy Qur’an. God spoke to (kallama) Moses (4:164; 7:143); He spoke to (kallama) other prophets (2:253); He speaks to those who are not prophets (42:51). This leaves no doubt that speaking is an attribute of God according to the Holy Qur’an, just as seeing and hearing are His attributes. The list of the ninety-nine names that has been prepared may not include it, but the Holy Qur’an definitely and decidedly states again and again that God has been speaking to His servants. Hence, though no prophet will come after Holy Prophet Muhammad, yet God still speaks to His righteous servants, because it is one of His attributes, and because His attributes cannot cease to function.

The useless controversy which once occupied the attention of the Muslim world as to whether the Holy Qur’an was created or uncreated, and whether it was eternal or came into existence afterwards (muhdath), on account of which many men of note had to suffer great hardships, seems to have been due to some misunderstanding. It is recognized by all that speech (kalam) is an attribute of God, and all attributes of the Divine Being are inseparable from Him; indeed the Divine Being could not be conceived of as existing without these. Hence none of His attributes could be said either to have been created or to be muhdath, that is, coming into existence afterwards. But there is equally no doubt that Divine attributes find expression at different times. God sees and hears from eternity, He sees and hears now and He will see and hear in the future. Similarly He speaks from eternity; He speaks even now and He will speak in the future. When Adam came into this world, He granted Him a revelation; afterwards He granted a revelation to Noah, then to Abraham, then to Moses. He granted revelations to all nations of the world, each at a particular time and in the language of that particular people. That revelation, and in fact all events of the future, existed in His unlimited knowledge from all eternity, but so far as human experience is concerned, it was new (muhdath), and we have to speak in terms of human experience. Nothing is new in the sight of God, whenever done, but according to our conception of things, the revelations given to Adam and to Noah and to all other prophets were new when they were granted. The Holy Qur’an itself is explicit on this point: “There comes not to them a new (muhdath) Reminder from their Lord but they hear it while they sport” (21:2). In this sense, the Holy Qur’an was also a new reminder, though it was there in the knowledge of God from all eternity. But things cannot be said to be eternal and uncreated, simply because they are in the knowledge of God from eternity.