Revelation
From WikiIslam
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[edit] Definition
Revelation is the medium by which Allah claims to communicate his word to his prophet so that they may inform the people of his will, what he wants from them and what they must do for him in order to be saved from eternal damnation.
[edit] The Four Books
Throughout history, Allah claims, in the Qur'an, to have sent four Books in revelation. These are:
1. The Taurat: This was Revealed to Musa (Moses) and was sent by Allah for the Jews to follow.
2. The Zabur: This was Revealed to David and is known as the Book of Psalms in today's Bible.
3. The Injil: This was Revealed to Isa (Jesus) and was sent by Allah for the Jews and non-Jews.
4. The Qur'an: This was revealed from the Angel Gabriel to Muhammad. The Qur'an is for all mankind to follow for all time. It allegedly 'confirms' all of the books that came before it.
[edit] Problems in Revelation
The method of Revelation in the Abrahamic Religions (Judaism/Christianity/Islam) usually took the form of internal inspiration, that is, those who wrote the texts and heard the voice of God, heard it in their heads and there was usually no external indication of the inspiration/message. There are of course, exceptions i.e. Moses and the burning bush, etc. Muhammad presents conflicting accounts of how he got his revelation of the Qur'an. In the hadith he states that the Angel Jibriel (Gabriel) recited the Qur'an to him; eventually reciting it in seven different ways. However many hadith also attest to the fact that the Qur'an was a continuous revelation, over 23 years. Muhammad received these 'revelations' while he was having a seizure and the inspiration was like 'a bell clanging in his head.'
So which is it? Did Jibriel reveal the Qur'an to him or was it revealed over time in the form of a clanging bell in his head? If Jibriel only revealed a part of the Qur'an to Muhammad, then why did Muhammad say 'the Qur'an was revealed to be recited in seven different ways'? Why didn't he just say "this Surah can be revealed in seven different ways'?
It is interesting to note that the Qur'an was 'revealed' through the Angel Jibriel, yet all other revelations were directly from Allah to the prophet. If this final Revelation was so important, why did Allah send Gabriel? Why did he not reveal the Qur'an to Muhammad himself? One explanations might be that Muhammad wanted people to think higher of Allah, so he created a "secretary" that would act between Allah and Muhammad. Allah did not talk directly to his people. This made people fear Allah more. A report of Muhammad talking to Allah himself might be more vulnerable to being disbelieved than a claim of him talking to Allah through an angel; it makes the revelation more believable and more 'holy'. In the light of this, one might ask Allah why he didn’t send angels for previous revelations.
