or He sends a messenger who, by His leave, conveys whatever He wills.”

Thus the Exalted Lord distinguishes between (1) revelation (waḥy) that comes directly to the prophet, and (2) the sending of a messenger who, with His permission, communicates what He wishes—just as He distinguishes both of these from direct divine speech, as in His words:

“We have revealed to you as We revealed to Noah and the prophets after him…” (Qur’an 4:163)

up to His statement:

“And Allah spoke to Moses directly.” (Qur’an 4:164)

Here He separates the general revelation shared by all prophets from His special act of speaking to Moses, peace be upon him, just as He separates revelation from the sending of a messenger who conveys by His permission whatever He wills.

This undermines their doctrine on both counts, for they acknowledge nothing beyond a kind of revelation and inspiration that they label the “sacred faculty.” Yet the revelation and inspiration affirmed by God are far above what they ascribe to this faculty. It follows that the states of the messengers whom God sends to the prophets lie outside the soul’s natural powers and beyond the ordinary, shared form of revelation and inspiration. Allah, Most High, says:

“Allah chooses messengers from among the angels and from among humankind.” (Qur’an 22:75)

Hence He selects messengers from people and messengers from angels.

Likewise, He has informed us that He speaks to human beings from behind a veil, and that He spoke to Moses directly, as He says:

“Those messengers—We favored some of them over others; among them are those to whom Allah spoke.” (Qur’an 2:253)

And He says:

“When Moses came at Our appointed time and his Lord spoke to him, he said, ‘My Lord, show me that I may look at You.’ He said, ‘You shall not see Me.’” (Qur’an 7:143)

All of this proves that He indeed speaks to certain servants with a speech that lies beyond the ordinary