than anyone else to attain this. Yet none of them claimed to have perceived for himself what the Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—reported.

It is well known that Allah has favored some messengers over others and some prophets over others. As the Most High says:

“Those messengers—We have favored some of them over others.”
[al-Baqarah: 253]

And He says:

“And We have certainly favored some prophets over others.”
[al-Isrāʾ: 55]

Thus, He singled Moses out by speaking to him. Prophets and messengers generally cannot hear Allah’s speech as Moses heard it, nor can anyone other than Muhammad perceive for himself what Allah showed Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—on the night of the Ascension and at other times. If such perception is not attainable by prophets and messengers, how could others attain it?

But the person who said this supposes that Allah’s speaking to Moses is of the same kind as the inspirations experienced by individuals. Hence they claimed that one of these people might hear Allah’s speech just as Moses son of ʿImrān heard it. His book Mishkāt al-Anwār (The Niche of Lights) contains statements founded on the principles of these philosophizers that neither Jews nor Christians would accept. This was the source of the departure from the faith of the author of (Khalʿ al-Naʿlayn—Removing the Sandals) and others like him among