It will help us to understand the value and nature of inspiration to know the differences between revelation and inspiration. They are as follows:
1- Inspiration can be regarded as evidence by Sufis, who are Islamic mystics, and some other people. However, it is not a proof or judgment that binds the majority.
2- Whereas the source of revelation is always divine, that of inspiration can be otherwise. For this reason, while revelation is absolute, inspiration is suppositional. This is because revelation comes via an angel. There is no possibility of making a mistake for the angel. However, as the heart has relation to the mind and to the evil commanding soul, it is affected by them. Therefore, mistakes may occur in this respect.
3- The prophethood contained in revelation belongs to the whole humankind. Inspiration, however, is restricted to the person who receives it. Revelation is like a sun which illuminates the entire universe. As for inspiration, it is like a lamp that illuminates only the person who receives it.
4- The prophet who receives revelation is responsible for communicating the revelation to people. However, a wali, a saintly person, is not responsible for communicating it to people. It is generally better to keep it secret.
5- Revelation is clear, pure and peculiar to prophets. Inspiration, though, is blurred and can be mixed up. It is a quality that angels and animals also possess other than humans.
The Mother of Prophet Moses
The Glorious Quran mentions the divine inspiration that the mother of Prophet Moses received:
The Pharaoh, who ruled Egypt at the time when Prophet Moses was born, had the male children of the Israelites killed. The mother of Prophet Moses, worried that her son might be killed, receives this divine consolation:
Suckle him (for a time, without anxiety for his life), then when you have cause to fear for him, put him in the river, and do not fear or grieve. We will surely return him to you and make him one of our Messengers. (Al-Qasas, 28:7)
This inspiration, which came to the mother of Prophet Moses, consoles and leads her to act in a certain way. At the same time it bears two pieces of good news that concern the future. These two pieces of good news are that Moses will be returned to her mother and that little Moses will be a prophet in future. Though it is unknown to us how the inspiration came to Prophet Moses mother, it can be that it was sent via dream or by way of an angel, as is the case with Virgin Mary.
It is a mistake to see such an experience of inspiration as peculiar to the mother of Prophet Moses. There are many people who receive such inspirations in similar cases. Such inspirations bear the qualities of consoling, directing, and informing about the future, as in the case of Prophet Moses mother.
FAQ in the category of Inspiration - Revelation
All of the heavenly books except the Quran were sent down as a whole at one time. (see Razi, the interpretation of verse 32 of the chapter of al-Furqan)
The whole Torah was sent to Hz. Musa (Moses) as a whole at one time, written on tablets.
The Psalms was sent down to Hz. Dawud (David) as a whole at one time.
The Gospel was sent down at one time but it was not written as a book when Hz. Isa (Jesus) was alive. For, the short time period of Hz. Isa's conveying the message and the conditions of the age when he lived were not suitable for it.
The Gospel that was written first was written after Hz. Isa in 70’s. Therefore, the truths conveyed by Hz. Isa could not be written instantly; the words of people were included in the Gospels that were written afterwards, causing the origin of the book to be distorted.
In the Quran, the way revelation is sent to prophets is expressed as follows:
"(O Muhammad!) Thus doth (He) send Inspiration to thee as (He did) to those before thee― Allah, Exalted in Power, full of Wisdom." (ash-Shura, 42/3)
The meaning of the verse is as follows: "He sends you and sent the prophets before you revelation like this or in the sense that will be explained later." The writer of Kashshaf states the following regarding the issue:
"That is, the meanings covered by this chapter are such meanings that Allah revealed the same, and in other chapters and to the previous prophets. Thus, Allah repeated these meanings in the Quran and all of the heavenly books. For, there is an eloquent warning and a great grace to His slaves in them."
The reason why the verb "reveals" is used in present tense not the verb "revealed"in past tense shows that it is His custom to do like that. The following also exists here: Allah's revelation to you and the prophets before you is like this revelation, which is stated and described in this chapter. For, the types of revelation are stated as follows: at the end of this chapter:
"It is not fitting for a man that Allah should speak to him except by inspiration, or from behind a veil, or by the sending of a Messenger to reveal, with Allah's permission, what Allah wills..." (ash-Shura, 42/51)
They probably symbolize these three types.
"We have sent thee inspiration as We sent it to Noah and the Messengers after him; We sent inspiration to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes to Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, and Solomon, and to David, We gave the Psalms." (an-Nisa, 4/163)
The verse above shows that revelation is sent to all prophets and that there can be a similarity in the ways of revelation.(see Elmalılı, the interpretation of the relevant verses)
We learn detailed information about the ways of revelation from the hadiths of the Prophet (pbuh) and the witnessing of the Companions. The same ways are possible for Hz. Isa and other prophets.
The following classification can be made about the ways of revelation (wahy):
1. The first type of revelation is the true dreams seen by the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). These dreams are called "true dreams" (ru’ya as-sadiqa). These dreams, which the Prophet (pbuh) saw, came true later. Hz. Aisha sheds light on these dreams by saying, "There was no dream of the Prophet that did not come true like the brightness of the morning."
2. The angel of revelation puts the revelation in the heart of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) while he is awake. This form of revelation is stated in the following hadith:
"The Holy Spirit blew into my heart this: 'No soul will die without using up his sustenance.' Therefore, fear Allah and seek your sustenance through legitimate ways." (Mundhiri, at-Targhib wat-Tarhib, 4/12)
The Holy Spirit is Hz. Jibril. There is no evidence that Jibril was visible. It is understood from the hadith that the angel conveyed the revelation without being seen.
3. Jibril conveyed revelation being disguised as a young man or a man. Many Companions report that Jibril conveyed revelation like this by seeming like Dihya, one of the Companions. This is the easiest and least troubled way of revelation.
4. The angel brings revelation to the Prophet (pbuh) without being seen. The Prophet heard a clanging like a gong or bell. This is the hardest form of revelation. This form of revelation is related to the verses involving threats and warnings. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) describes this kind of revelation as follows:
"Revelation sometimes came with a sound like the clanging of a gong or bell. This one is the hardest one for me." (Bukhari, Bad’ul-Wahy, 1/2; Muslim, Fadail, 87)
During the time when such revelation came, the Prophet (pbuh) would shake, sweat and feel disturbed. It is stated in a hadith reported from Ibn Abbas that the Messenger of Allah had difficulty in memorizing the verses and that he moved his lips. Allah Almighty warned His Prophet as follows: in a verse:
"Move not thy tongue concerning the (Qur'an) to make haste therewith. It is for Us to collect it and to promulgate it: But when We have promulgated it, follow thou its recital (as promulgated)." (al-Qiyama, 75/16-18)
After the revelation of this verse, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) would listen to Hz. Jibril and read the verses like him after he left.
5. The angel appears in his original form, brings the order of Allah to the Prophet (pbuh) and reads it. Hz. Jibril brought revelation like this twice. The first one was at the beginning of the prophethood. The Prophet (pbuh) fainted then. The second one took place during Miraj (Ascension). The following verse can be mentioned as evidence:
"For indeed he saw him at a second descent. Near the Lote-tree beyond which none may pass." (an-Najm, 53/13,14)
6. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) speaks to Allah when he is awake. There is no intermediary in such talk. The prayers being rendered fard took place like that. The following verse can be mentioned related to this way of revelation:
"And to Moses Allah spoke direct." (an-Nisa, 4/164)
7. Hz. Jibril brings revelation to the Prophet (pbuh) while he is asleep. It is reported that the chapter of al-Kawthar was sent down like that.
There are thousands of means of covering a distance like the pace of human walking, speed of sound, speed of light and speed of imagination. Therefore, it is possible to cover a distance that takes millions of years in a moment with imagination; similarly, the creatures that Allah created out of light can go anywhere in a moment like imagination, which is also a creature of Allah, with the permission of Allah.
Besides, if one is asked how the law of gravity goes from one part of the world to the other part and how long it takes, the answer will be it is everywhere in the world. So, the angels of Allah, who are His officials, can convey the order of Allah in a moment.
The issue of ascension and days being equal to thousands of years mentioned in the question:
The word "yawm (day)" mentioned in the Quran has several meanings and it is used in several senses. Therefore, the word day mentioned in the question aims to state that life in the hereafter is vast, that there are different realms in the universe and that time is relative. It is not used for the revelation to come.
"Yet they ask thee to hasten on the Punishment! But Allah will not fail in His Promise. Verily a Day in the sight of thy Lord is like a thousand years of your reckoning." (al-Hajj, 22/47)
Similar expressions are used in other verses too. They give clear signs that time is not a being that is definite and unchanging and that it functions or is perceived differently in different places and at different speeds. That the phrase "a Day in the sight of thy Lord" is used instead of "a Day of thy Lord" in the verse is remarkable since it shows that Allah, who is the creator of time, is free from such limitations. In addition, in many verses like 10:45, 23:112-113, 70:6-7, 79:46, there are statements showing that different people perceive time differently in different environments.
"He rules (all) affairs from the heavens to the earth: in the end will (all affairs) go up to Him, on a Day, the space whereof will be (as) a thousand years of your reckoning." (as-Sajda, 32/5)
"The angels and the spirit ascend unto him in a Day the measure whereof is (as) fifty thousand years." (al-Maarij, 70/4)
It is stated in the second verse above that "angels will ascend unto Him in a day the measure whereof is fifty thousand". It seems as if both verses describe the Day of Judgment, in which the results of everything will be presented to Allah. As a matter of fact, that a day of one thousand years is mentioned in one verse and fifty thousand years in another suggests that the Day of Judgment will be perceived differently by different people.
In order to explain that Allah does not ascend and descend to those levels but His order and His messengers and officials that convey His order, that is, the angels and the spirit do, Allah states that the Angels and the Spirit ascend to Him. Upon His order, all of them ascend to His presence and
"The Day that the Spirit and the angels will stand forth in ranks" (an-Naba, 78/38)
will stand in ranks as it is stated in the verse above. Means disappear completely.
"And to Him shall be your return." (al-Baqara, 2/245)
"But to Allah do all questions go back (for decision)." (al-Baqara, 2/210)
"All that is on earth will perish." (ar-Rahman, 55/26)
"Everything (that exists) will perish except His own Face." (al-Qasas, 28/88)
"Whose will be the dominion that Day?" (al-Mumin, 40/16)
The secrets mentioned in the verses above are revealed; there will be no defender.
The length of that day is equal to fifty thousand years. The limitation “of your reckoning” does not exist here. However, acting upon the verse "He rules (all) affairs from the heavens to the earth: in the end will (all affairs) go up to Him, on a Day, the space whereof will be (as) a thousand years of your reckoning" (as-Sajda, 32/5), there are some scholars who say that this meaning will be in question here.
However, it is possible that the day here expresses warning since this year is the year of the angels and the Spirit. Some scholars say what is meant by fifty thousand years here is not to explain the duration but to express the horror of that day, which does not prevent that day from becoming longer and shorter. As a matter of fact, the following hadith, narrated from Abu Said al-Khudri, reminds it:
"That day is made light for the believer. It becomes even lighter than a prayer he performs in the world."
There are various phases of the Day of Judgment like the ones between blows, states and horrible incidents. They are perceived differently by believers and unbelievers before they enter Paradise and Hell. This fifty thousand-year day is not the whole Doomsday and the hereafter; they are days of waiting. Before a believer is taken to Hell after he is reckoned, he will wait at stopping places of fifty thousand years and in each one of many more places for fifty thousand years.
In his book called Mektubat, Badiuzzaman Said Nursi indicates the small and trifling disagreements about the life of Hz. Khidr by some hadith and fiqh scholars compared to the majority of scholars; then, he explains the healthy aspect of the issue and the aspect that the majority of scholars agree on without analyzing the controversial aspect. He uses scholarly and mental evidence as support and states that Hz. Khidr is alive but that he is in the second level of life, that some scholars doubt whether he is alive, that Hz. Khidr and Ilyas live on earth but that they have a free life compared to us, that the obligations and restrictions that limit and constrict us loosen, become invalid and be deactivated for them, that they can, for instance, be in more than one place simultaneously, their ability to move is not restricted by human conditions, that they can eat and drink like us when they want to, but are not compelled to eat and drink like us, that some saints with special abilities have some occasions with Hz. Khidr, that there is a degree of sainthood called ‘the degree of Khidr’, that a saint who reaches this degree receives instruction from Khidr and meets with him and that sometimes the one at that degree is mistakenly thought to be Khidr himself.
Here, we want to mention briefly the source of the disagreements of some scholars regarding the issue, that is, those who say, "he is not alive", and the answers given to them.
"Nobody present on the surface of the earth this night of yours (tonight) will be living after the completion of one hundred years from this night." (Bukhari, Ilm, 41)
Acting upon the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) above, some hadith scholars including Imam Bukhari hold the view that Hz. Khidr died within that century.
"We granted not to any man before thee permanent life (here)." (al-Anbiya, 21/34)
Acting upon the verse of the Quran above, some scholars like Ibn al-Jawzi decreed that Hz. Khidr died before the Messenger of Allah (pbuh).
Many hadith scholars, primarily Hz. Abdullah bin Umar, who narrated the hadith, said the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said those who lived in that century would die. It means one hundred years from now, all of those who are living now will die as a general rule of Allah, and the century will end. Besides, the word “yours” in the phrase “this night of yours” in the hadith shows that it does not include those living before the ummah of Muhammad. In that case, it states that the members of the ummah of Muhammad who were living at that time would die in a hundred years. (Ayni, Umdatul-Qari, Vol. I Chapters 175-177) Accordingly, Hz Isa, Idris, Khidr and Ilyas are excluded.
The verse regarding the issue addresses the Prophet as follows:
"We granted not to any man before thee permanent life (here): if then thou shouldst die would they live permanently?"
However, it will be appropriate to exclude the death of Hz. Khidr, who has been living before the time of Hz. Musa (Moses), who travelled with him, whose existence is definite based on Bukhari and Muslim's sound hadiths, from the general decree of this verse. Otherwise, it will be necessary to think that Hz. Isa (Jesus) and Hz. Idris (Enoch) also died acting upon the general rule and decree of this verse, which will be a thought that is opposite to the verses of the Quran. It means it is more appropriate to interpret the verse as follows: "Every living being will definitely die and eternity is peculiar to Allah only."
We find it sufficient here to give the names of some books about the narrations that Hz. Khidr met the Prophet (pbuh) and that some Companions saw him, and resources in which Islamic scholars accept that he is alive:
(Al-Isaba - Ibn Hajar 1/429-452; Sahih Muslim Kitabul Fadail 170-174, 4/2380; Sharhus- Sunnah - Baghawi 15/280; Jam'ul-Fawaid 1/43; Musnadul-Firdaws 1/345 and 427, 5/504; Jam'ul-Jawami' - Suyuti hadith no: 4118 and 70707; Kanzul-Ummal hadith no: 34409; Mawariduz-Zam'an - Ibn Hibban hadith no: 2092; Tirmidhi hadith no: 30151; Zuharul-Firdaws - Ibn Hajar 4/401; Ihyau Ulumid-Din 1/336; al-Fathul-Kabir 1/439; Sharh-i Muslim - Nawawi 8/234; Ramuzul-Ahadith p: 198; Nurul-Absar p: 157, 258 and 270; al-Musannaf - San'ani 2/393; al-Fathur-Rabbani - Ghaylani p: 240,…)
Mind/intellect has difficulty in understanding many things: How can a tree included in a seed? How does the world stand in space? How does the soul function in the body? How do flowers come out of the ground? Giving them names does not mean giving the answer to those questions. It is sometimes necessary to express our astonishment by saying Allahu Akbar when we see them.
For instance, it is also an answer to say, “I do not know” to a person who asks, “What is spirit like?”, "What is revelation like?". When we say so, we give the real answer to the question. The most advanced knowledge about something whose real nature is not known is expressed by “I do not know”. If we do not say so and make some guesses like, “it is long or short”, “it is this or that color”, we will be deceived and deceive others. It is something like looking at the ground and making some guesses about gravity.
From this point of view, it is not appropriate to explain revelation through material things. It is something peculiar to prophets. One who is not an angel cannot know what is being an angel like and one who is not a human cannot understand what is being a human like. Similarly, one who is not a prophet cannot experience it and know it. However, the existence of divine revelation is certain.
"The Possessor and Master of the universe surely does everything with knowledge, disposes every affair with wisdom, directs everything all-seeingly, treats everything all-knowingly, and arranges everything willing the instances of wisdom, purposes, and benefits that are apparent in them. Since, then, the One who creates knows, surely the One who knows will speak. Since He will speak, surely He will speak to those who possess consciousness and thought, and those who will understand His speech. Since He will speak to those who possess thought, surely he will speak to mankind, whose nature and awareness are the most comprehensive of all conscious beings. Since He will speak to mankind, surely He will speak to the most perfect of mankind and those most worthy of address..." (Badiuzzaman Said Nursi, Mektubat, p. 89)
