The original source1 from which all principles and ordinances of Islām are drawn is the Holy Book called al-Qur’ān.2 The name Qur’ān is frequently mentioned in the book itself3 which also states to whom, how, why, when, and in what language, it was delivered. It was revealed to Muḥammad: “And (who) believe in that which has been revealed to Muḥammad — and it is the Truth from their Lord” (47:2). It was revealed in the month of Ramadzān on a certain night which thenceforward received the name of the Night of Majesty4 (Lailat al-Qadr): “The month of Ramadzān is that in which the Qur’ān was revealed” (2:185); “We revealed it on a blessed night” (44:3); “Surely We revealed it on the Night of Majesty” (97:1). It was revealed in Arabic language: “So We have made it easy in thy tongue that they may be mindful” (44:58); “Surely We have made it an Arabic Qur’ān that you may understand” (43:3). It was revealed in portions, every portion being written and committed to memory as soon as it was revealed, and the revelation was spread over twenty-three years of the Holy Prophet’s life, during which time he was occupied solely with the reformation of a benighted world: “And it is a Qur’ān which we made distinct, so that thou mayest read it to the people by slow degrees, and We have revealed it in portions” (17:106). It was not the Holy Prophet who spoke under influence of the Holy Spirit; it was a Divine Message brought by the angel Gabriel, 5 and delivered in words to the Holy Prophet who communicated it to mankind: “And surely this is a revelation from the Lord of the worlds. The Faithful Spirit has brought it on thy heart that thou mayest be a warner, in plain Arabic language” (26:192 - 195); “Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel — for surely he revealed it to thy heart by Allāh’s command” (2:97); “The Holy Spirit has revealed it from thy Lord with the truth” (16:102).
1 Generally the sources are said to be four, the Holy Qur’ān, the Sunnah or Ḥadīth (Doings and Sayings of the Holy Prophet Muḥammad as preserved in collections of Ḥadīth), Ijmā‘ or unanimous agreement of the Muslim community and Qiyās or reasoning. The former two are called al-adilat al-qaṭ‘īyya or absolutely sure arguments, and the latter two as al-adilat al-ijtihādiyya or arguments obtained by exertion. But as ijmā‘ and qiyās are admittedly based on the Holy Qur’ān and the Ḥadīth, the latter itself being only an explanation of the Holy Qur’ān, as will be shown later on, the Holy Qur’ān is actually the real foundation on which the whole superstructure of Islām rests, and being the only, absolute and final authority in every discussion relating to the principles and laws of Islām, it is perfectly right to say that the Holy Qur’ān is the sole source from which all the teachings and practices of Islām are drawn.
2 The word Holy Qur’ān is an infinitive noun from the root qara’a which signifies primarily he collected together things (LA.). It also signifies: he read or recited, because in reading or reciting, letters and words are joined to each other in a certain order (R.). “According to some authorities, the name of this book al-Qur’ān from among the world’s Divine books is due to its gathering together in itself the fruits of all His books, rather its being a collection of the fruits of all the sciences, a reference to which is contained in the words, ‘an explanation of all things’ ” (R.). It also means a book that is or should be read, containing a prophetical reference to its being “the most widely read book” (En. Br.) in the whole world. The Holy Qur’ān speaks of itself under various other names. It is called al-Kitāb (2:2) meaning the Writing which is complete in itself; al-Furqān (25:1) or the Distinction between right and wrong and between truth and falsehood; al-Dhikrā, al-Tadhkira (15:9) or the Reminder or a source of eminence and glory to man; al-Tanẓīl (26:192) or the Revelation from on High; Aḥsan al-Ḥadīth (39:23) or the Best Saying; al-Mau‘iẓa (10:57) or the Admonition; al-Ḥukm (13:37) or the Judgment; al-Ḥikma (17:39) or the Wisdom; al-Shifā (10:57) or the Healing; al-Hudā (72:13) or the Guidance; al-Raḥma (17:82) or the Mercy; al-Khair (2:105, 3:104) or the Goodness; al-Rūḥ (42:52) or the Spirit or the Life; al-Bayān (3:138) or the Explanation; al-Ni‘ma (93:11) or the Blessing; al-Burhān (4:174) or the Argument; al-Qayyim (18:2) or the Maintainer; al-Muhaimin (5:48) or the Guardian; al-Nūr (7:157) or the Light; al-Ḥaqq (17:81) or the Truth. Besides these it is mentioned by several other names; and there is also a large number of qualifying words applied to it. For instance, it is called Karīm (56:77) or Honourable; Majīd (85:21) or Glorious; Ḥakīm (36:2) or Wise; Mubārak (21:50) or Blessed (lit. a thing the goodness of which shall never be intercepted); Mubīn (12:1) or the one making things manifest; ‘Aliyy (43:4) or Elevated; Faṣl (86:13) or Decisive; ‘Azīm (15:87) or of great importance; Mukarram or Honoured. Marfū’ or Exalted, Muṭahharah or Purified (80:13, 14); Mutashābih (39:23) or conformable in its various parts.
4 The Lailat al-Qadr or the Night of Majesty is one of three nights in the month of Ramadzān, 25th, 27th or 29th, i.e., the night preceding any of these dates (Bu.32:4). The Holy Prophet was, at the time when revelation first came to him, forty years of age.
5 It should be noted that the Holy Qur’ān uses the words Holy Spirit and Gabriel interchangeably. In one of the reports speaking of the first revelation to the Holy Prophet the angel who brought the revelation is called al-Nāmūs al-Akbar, or the great Nāmūs, and Nāmūs means the angel who is entrusted with Divine secrets (N.); the Divine secrets, of course, being the Divine messages to humanity sent through the prophets of God. The same report adds that it was the same angel that brought revelation to Moses. Thus both the Holy Qur’ān and the reports make it clear that Divine revelation was brought to the Holy Prophet, as well as to the prophets before him, by the angel Gabriel who is also called the Holy Spirit or the Faithful Spirit or the great Nāmūs. This clears up all doubts as to what is meant by the Holy Spirit in Islām; and in the mouths of the Old Testament prophets, as well as Jesus Christ, it carried exactly the same significance. It is true that there is not the same clarity here as in Islām, but it is equally true that the orthodox Christian conception of the Holy Spirit was quite unknown to the Jewish mind, and in this respect Jesus Christ was a staunch Jew, his terminology being taken in its entirety from the Jews. In the Old Testament terminology, the form used is the Spirit or the Spirit of God. In Ps 51:11 and Is. 63:10, 11 the form used is Holy Spirit which is also the form adopted in the Tālmūd and Midrāsh. The Holy Ghost is peculiar to the New Testament writers. The Jews looked upon it as one of the created things; it was among the ten things that were created on the first day (En.J.). The function of the Holy Spirit is described thus:
“The visible results of the activity of the Holy Spirit, according to the Jewish conception, are the books of the Bible, all of which have been composed under its inspiration. All the prophets spoke “in the Holy Spirit”; and the most characteristic sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit is the gift of Prophecy, in the sense that the person upon whom it rests beholds the past and the future. With the death of the last three prophets, Haggai, Zachariah and Malachi, the Holy Spirit ceased to manifest itself in Israel” (En. J.).
It is clear from this that the Jewish idea was that the Holy Spirit brought inspiration to the prophets, the only difference between this and the Islāmic conception being that the latter looks upon the very words of revelation as proceeding from a Divine source, while the former apparently regards the words as being those of the Holy Prophet speaking under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ and his disciples used the word in exactly the same sense. Jesus’ first experience of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove was the result of his baptism by John (Mt. 3:16) which seems to indicate its association with a certain stage in the spiritual development of man. The Holy Spirit did not descend upon him until he was baptized. The idea of a dove-like form is also met with in the Jewish literature. Moreover, Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit as inspiring the righteous servants of God: “How then doth David in spirit call him Lord?” (Mt. 22:43); “For David himself said by the Holy Ghost” (Mk. 12:36); the Holy Spirit is given to them that ask Him (Lk. 11:13). Even the disciples’ first experience of the Holy Spirit is a repetition of the old Jewish tradition. As there we find the Spirit coming with “a voice of a great rushing” (Ezk. 3:12), so in the case of the disciples of Jesus “there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind” (Acts, 2:2). Thus the Holy Spirit as conceived by Jesus and his disciples was the same as in the Old Testament prophets, which again is almost identical with its conception in Islām, and the orthodox Christian view of the spirit as one of the three persons of the Godhead, co-eternal with God, is of later growth.