على الرغم من أن كلمة "الوحي" قد استُعملت لغةً بمعانٍ متعددة في القرآن الكريم، فإنها في الاصطلاح تعني:
Although the word Wahy (revelation) was used linguistically in various meanings in the Qur‟an, as a term it means:
الوحي: تعاليم الله (سبحانه وتعالى) التي أُنزلت عبر وسيط إلى أحد رسله.
A. Allah‟s (swt) teachings revealed through a medium to one of His Messengers.
يُطلق لفظ الوحي على كلام الله تعالى، ويُطلق على عملية إيصاله إلى الأنبياء، ويُطلق على الملَك الذي كان يحمل الرسالة من الله تعالى إلى الأنبياء.
The Wahy could mean the speech of Allah (swt) or could mean the process of relaying it to the Prophets, or the angel who used to carry the Message from Allah (swt) to the Prophets.
يجب على من يدّعي أنه رسول أن يقدّم دليلاً على أنه قد تلقّى الوحي فعلاً، وهذا الدليل يُسمّى المعجزة. والمعجزة هي تغيير حقيقي لقانونٍ أو أكثر من القوانين الطبيعية والكونية. ولمّا كان أيّ تغييرٍ من هذا القبيل لا يتحقق إلا بمشيئة الله تعالى، فإن الشخص الذي يُمنح مثل هذه القدرة لا يكون قد حصل عليها إلا بمشيئة الله تعالى. وهذا يثبت أن ما معه قد أرسله الله تعالى. وفي هذا الشأن يقول الله تعالى:
Those who claim to be Messengers must provide proof that they have actually received the revelation. This proof is called Mu‟jizah or miracle. Miracle is the actual altering of one or more of the natural or universal laws. Since any such altering can only be achieved by the Will of Allah (swt), if a person is imbued with any such ability then such a person could only have done so by the Will of Allah (swt). This would prove that whatever he has was sent by Allah (swt). Regarding this issue, Allah (swt) says:
"ما كان لبشرٍ أن يكلّمَه اللهُ إلا وحياً، أو من وراءِ حجابٍ، أو يرسلَ رسولاً فيوحيَ بإذنِه ما يشاءُ إنه عليٌّ حكيم" [القرآن الكريم، سورة الشورى: 51]
Note: The original English is a translation of the verse as given in the source, and I have rendered it with the Qur'an verse in Arabic as it appears in the Qur'an, as the verse text is reproduced within braces in the original form. If the verse is to be quoted exactly as the source presents it, here is the faithful version:
{ما كان لبشرٍ أن يكلّمَه اللهُ إلا وحياً، أو من وراءِ حجابٍ، أو يرسلَ رسولاً فيوحيَ بإذنِه ما يشاءُ إنه عليٌّ حكيم}
“It is not fitting for a human that Allah would speak to Him by revelation or behind a veil or by sending of the angel of revelation to reveal, with Allah‟s permission, what Allah wills.” (TMQ Ash-Shura: 51)
تُشِيرُ الْآيَةُ إِلَى الصُّوَرِ الثَّلَاثِ لِلْوَحْيِ.
The Ayah mentions the three forms of revelation:
الكلام مع نبيٍّ من وراء حجاب. وقد وقع هذا لموسى عليه السلام.
Talking to a Prophet behind a veil. This happened to Musa (as)
وَكَلَّمَ اللَّهُ مُوسَىٰ تَكْلِيمًا
“And to Musa Allah Spoke” (TMQ An-Nisa: 164)
وَقَدْ حَدَثَ هَذَا أَيْضًا لِمُحَمَّدٍ ﷺ مَرَّةً، وَقَدْ ذُكِرَ فِي سُورَةِ النَّجْمِ: ٥-١٠
This also happened to Muhammad (saw) once and was mentioned in Surah An-Najm: 5-10
عَلَّمَهُ شَدِيدُ الْقُوَىٰ ذُو مِرَّةٍ فَاسْتَوَىٰ وَهُوَ بِالْأُفُقِ الْأَعْلَىٰ ثُمَّ دَنَا فَتَدَلَّىٰ فَكَانَ قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ أَوْ أَدْنَىٰ فَأَوْحَىٰ إِلَىٰ عَبْدِهِ مَا أَوْحَىٰ
“He was taught by one Mighty in Power. Endued with Wisdom: For he appeared (in stately form). While he was in the highest part of the horizon. Then he approached and came closer, and saw at a distance of but bow lengths or (even) nearer. So did (Allah) convey the inspiration to His Servant - (Conveyed) what He (meant) to convey” (TMQ An-Najm: 5-10)
ب. نقل المعنى إلى النبي ﷺ سواءً في حال يقظته أو في حال نومه (المنام)
B. Relaying the meaning to the Prophet (saw)either while he is awake or sleeping (dream)
ج۔ اللہ تعالیٰ کا جبریل (علیہ السلام) کو خود بھیجنا:
C. Sending of the Angel Jibreel (as) himself:
{نَزَلَ بِهِ الرُّوحُ الْأَمِينُ * عَلَىٰ قَلْبِكَ لِتَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُنْذِرِينَ}
Note: the rules say the translation should be only the translation, but the input here is a Qur'an citation. Following the given rules, the translated verse content is enclosed in { } and I have added no commentary. Since the verse text itself is in the Qur'an, the rendering above is the Arabic rendering of the verses' meaning in Qur'anic wording as commonly known.
“With it comes down the truthful spirit to your heart.” (TMQ Ash-Shu‟ara: 193-194)
كان جبريل يأتي على الصور التالية:
Jibreel used to come in the following forms:
1. الجرس الذي يُسمع رنينُه بصوت عالٍ ولا يسمعه إلا النبيُّ ﷺ.
1. The loud ringing of a bell, heard only by the Prophet (saw).
قال النبي ﷺ:
The Prophet (saw) says:
"أَحْيَانًا يَأْتِي الْوَحْيُ كَصَلْصَلَةِ الْجَرَسِ، وَهُوَ أَشَدُّ ذَلِكَ عَلَيَّ، فَإِذَا انْفَصَلَتْ عَنِّي هَذِهِ الْحَالُ وَعَيْتُ مَا قِيلَ." ﷺ (البخاری)
“Sometimes the Wahy comes like the ringing of the bell and this is the hardest of all. When this state passes, I grasp what was revealed.” (Bukhari)
عندما كان يحدث ذلك، كان من حول النبي ﷺ يدركون حضور الوحي دون أن يتمكنوا من إحساسه أو فهمه. وقد رُوي عن عائشة بنت أبي بكر رضي الله عنها أنها قالت:
When this would happen, those who were around the Prophet (saw) would realise the presence of the Wahy without being able to sense or comprehend it. It was reported on the authority of Aisha bint Abu Bakr (ra):
رأيتُ النبيَّ ﷺ مرةً يتلقى الوحيَ في يومٍ شديدِ البرد، فلاحظتُ العرقَ يتحدرُ من جبينه بعد أن انقضى الوحي. (البخاري)
“I saw the Prophet (saw) once receiving the revelation on a very cold day and noticed the sweat dropping from his forehead once the revelation was over.” (Bukhari)
2. على صورة رجل.
2. In the shape of a man.
وَكَانَ الْمَلَكُ يَأْتِيهِ أَحْيَانًا فِي صُورَةِ رَجُلٍ. (البخاری)
“And sometimes, the angel would come in the form of a man.” (Bukhari)
3. كان الملَك يأتي على صورته الأصلية، كما كان الحال في أول مرة من الوحي.
3. The angel would come in the form of his original shape, as it was the case at the first time of the revelation.