Doctrines and Beliefs of Islam
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out revelation, as the Quran asserts explicitly: “Verily to every people there is a messenger” (10:48). A prophet is chosen by God and by Him alone. Classes of prophets (anbiyā’) range from those who bring some news from God (nabī) to messengers (rasūl) who bring major messages. And then there are the possessors of determination (ūlu’l-‘azm) . , like Moses, Jesus, and the Prophet of Islam, who established major new religions. In all cases, the prophet receives his message from God; his words and deeds are not the result of his own genius or historical borrowings. A prophet owes nothing to anyone save God. He brings a message that has the freshness and perfume of veritable originality because his message comes from the Origin, a message vis-à-vis which he remains the passive receiver and transmitter. Revelation (al-wah. y) in Islam is understood in the precise sense of reception of a message from Heaven through an angelic instrument of revelation without the interference of the human substance of the receiver, who is the prophet. It needs to be added, however, that the message is always revealed in forms that are in accordance with the world for which it is intended and with the earthly receptacle chosen by God for His particular message. Understood in this sense, revelation is clearly distinguished from inspiration (al-ilhām), which is possible for all human beings by virtue of their being human, but which is usually actualized only within those who prepare the mind and soul through spiritual practice for the reception of true inspiration. Of course, the “Spirit bloweth where it listeth,” and inspiration can occur in circumstances that cannot always be