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erred, nor does he speak out of his own desire. (53:1–3)
He is saying that Muhammad did not recite this Qur’an of his own accord; therefore He declared, “It is nothing”—that is, the Qur’an is nothing—“but a revelation that is sent down,”¹ (53:4).
By this statement Allah invalidated every claim that the Qur’an could be anything other than revelation, for He said, “It is nothing … but a revelation that is sent down.”
Then He said, “taught him,” meaning that Gabriel—peace be upon him—taught Muhammad. Concerning Gabriel He says, “one endowed with mighty power, possessed of sound faculties, who then rose to his station …” until His words, “then he revealed to His servant what he revealed,”² (53:10).
(1) Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, al-Tibyan fi Aqsam al-Quran, p. 155: The Exalted then says: “wa ma yantiqu ʿani l-hawa, in huwa illa wahyun yuha” (He does not speak from desire; it is only a revelation revealed). He declares that His Messenger’s speech never stems from personal whim, and through this perfection He guided him to uprightness. He says “ʿani l-hawa” (from desire) rather than “bi-l-hawa” (with desire), because “from” is more emphatic: it means that his speech does not originate in passion—if it does not originate in it, how could he utter it? Thus both matters are negated: desire is absent from the source of his speech and from the speech itself. His words are truth, and their source is guidance and rectitude, not error and misguidance. He then says: “in huwa illa wahyun yuha” (it is only a revelation revealed), making the pronoun refer to the verbal noun implied in the verb, i.e. nothing that he utters is but revelation. This is better than the view that the pronoun refers solely to the Quran, for it embraces both his recitation of the Quran and his statements in the sunnah, both of which are revealed.
(2) Ibn al-Qayyim, al-Tibyan fi Aqsam al-Quran, p. 157: The Most High next describes the one who taught him the revelation and the Quran, with traits diametrically opposed to those of Satan, the teacher of misguidance. He says: “ʿallamahu shadidu l-quwa” (taught him one mighty in power), similar to His words: “dhi quwwatin ʿinda dhi l-ʿarsh” (possessor of power, with the Lord of the Throne) [al-Takwir 20]. We have explained there the reason for describing him with power. His phrase “dhu mirrah” means: splendid in appearance, handsome in form, and majestic—not a devil, the ugliest and most deformed of creatures, but one of the most beautiful, strongest, and most trustworthy beings, held in high esteem by Allah. This validates and ennobles the chain of revelation and prophethood, as stated likewise in Surat al-Takwir. Thus he is portrayed with knowledge, strength, beauty, and majesty. These were also the attributes of the human messenger…
غَوَى، وَمَا يَنْطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَى}
[النجم: ١-٣]
.
يقول:
إن محمدًا لم يقل هذا القرآن من تلقاء نفسه: فقال:
{إِنْ هُوَ}
يقول: ما هو،
يعني القرآن:
{إِلاَّ وَحْيٌ يُوحَى}
١
[النجم: ٤]
.
فأبطل أن يكون القرآن شيئًا غير الوحي،
لقوله:
{إِنْ هُوَ}
يقول: ما هو
{إِلاَّ وَحْيٌ يُوحَى}
ثم قال: علَّمه. يعني علم محمدًا جبريل،
صلى الله عليه وسلم وهو:
{شَدِيدُ الْقُوَى، ذُو مِرَّةٍ فَاسْتَوَى}
إلى قوله:
{فَأَوْحَى إِلَى عَبْدِهِ مَا أَوْحَى}
٢
[النجم: ١٠]
.
١ قال ابن القيم -رحمه الله- في كتابه "التبيان في أقسام القرآن" "ص: ١٥٥":
ثم قال سبحانه: {وَمَا يَنْطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَى، إِنْ هُوَ إِلاَّ وَحْيٌ يُوحَى} ينزه نطق رسوله أن يصدر عن هوى، وبهذا الكمال هداه رشده، وقال: {وَمَا يَنْطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَى} ولم يقل: وما ينطق بالهوى؛ لأن نطقه عن الهوى أبلغ، فإنه يتضمن أن نطقه لا يصدر عن هوى، وإذا لم يصدر عن هوى فكيف ينطق به، فتضمن نفي الأمرين: نفي الهوى عن مصدر النطق ونفيه عن نفسه، فنطقه بالحق، ومصدره الهدى والرشاد لا الغي والضلال.
ثم قال: {إِنْ هُوَ إِلاَّ وَحْيٌ يُوحَى} فأعاد الضمير على المصدر المفهوم من الفعل، أي ما نطقه إلا وحي يوحى. وهذا أحسن من قول من جعل الضمير عائدًا إلى القرآن فإنه يعم نطقه بالقرآن والسنة، وأن كليهما وحي يوحى.
٢ قال ابن القيم -رحمه الله- في كتاب "التبيان في أقسام القرآن" "ص: ١٥٧":
ثم أخبر تعالى عن وصف من علمه الوحي والقرآن، مما يعلم أنه مضاد لأوصاف الشيطان معلم الضلال الغواية، قال: {عَلَّمَهُ شَدِيدُ الْقُوَى} وهذا نظير قوله: {ذِي قُوَّةٍ عِنْدَ ذِي الْعَرْشِ} [التكوير: ٢٠] وذكرنا هناك السر في وصفه بالقوة، وقوله: {ذُو مِرَّةٍ} أي: جميل المنظر حسن الصورة ذو جلالة، ليس شيطانًا أقبح خلق الله وأشوههم صورة، بل هو من أجمل الخلق وأقواهم وأعظمهم أمانة، ومكانة عند الله، وهذا تعديل لسند الوحي والنبوة وتزكية له. كما تقدم نظيره في سورة التكوير، فوصفه بالعلم والقوة وجمال المنظر وجلالته. وهذه كانت أوصاف الرسول البشري =