, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Among the nations before you there were people who received inspiration. If there is anyone of this kind in my nation, it is ‘Umar.”

Anyone in this nation who receives inspiration and has matters disclosed to him must weigh these against the Quran and Sunnah. If they accord with them, he accepts what has come to him as true; if they contradict them, he pays it no heed. This obligation applied even to ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, the foremost of those who received inspiration: if something was cast into his heart that contradicted the Sunnah, it was not to be accepted from him. For he was not infallible; infallibility belongs only to prophethood.

This is why al-Siddīq was superior to ‘Umar. Al-Siddīq draws not from his own heart but from the light of prophethood, which is protected from error. A person who receives inspiration, however, draws sometimes from his heart and sometimes from prophethood. Whatever he receives from prophethood is protected from error and must be followed. As for what is inspired in his heart, if it accords with what prophethood has brought, it is true; if it contradicts it, it is false.

For this reason, people of knowledge and faith rely, in such matters of religious knowledge, only on the texts of the Quran and Sunnah and the consensus of the Muslim community. They may nevertheless possess corroboration and evidence concerning some of these matters through what they have witnessed and experienced, and through what they have understood and practised. This benefits them personally. Allah Most High’s proof against His servants, however, is His messengers. Beyond this, these matters contain rational proofs and considerations, as well as corroborating evidence