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 (auḥaitu) to the disciples (of Jesus), saying, Believe in Me and My messenger” (5:111). These verses leave not the least doubt that waḥy 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 Muḥammad. 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 man granted in three ways

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 Allāh 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 waḥy in the original, is the inspiring of an idea into the heart, for the word waḥy is used here in its primary significance of a hasty suggestion or infusing into the heart, as distinguished from a revelation in words.5 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” (waḥy khafī) 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.6

The second mode of God’s speaking to man is said to be “from behind a veil” (min warāi’ ḥijāb), and this includes dream (ru’yā), vision (kashf) and ilhām (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’yā or the dream,