Wahy (Divine Revelation) is the inspiration and guidance given by Allah Almighty to his Prophets. The Holy Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) by means of Wahy.
Allah Almighty sent man to this world and has placed the whole universe under his service. Life in this world is a test and man must…
- Make the best use of this world and of things created in it.
- Keep the laws of Allah Almighty in mind and do nothing that goes against His will and pleasure.
To perform these two functions man needs knowledge. Unless he knows the properties of different things and the manner in which they can be put to use, he cannot use anything in this world to his advantage. And unless he knows the will of Allah Almighty, what pleases or displeases Him, it will be impossible for man to lead a life in accordance to the will of Allah Almighty.
- Man’s senses
- Man’s reason
- Wahy
Man learns many things through his senses, many others through reason, and the knowledge of things he cannot get through these two sources are bestowed upon him through Wahy.
The knowledge gained through the senses cannot be deduced through reason. For instance, you know by seeing a wall with your eyes that its colour is white. But, it will be impossible to close your eyes and try to find out the colour of the wall on the sole strength of your reason.
Similarly, the knowledge gained through reason cannot be discovered by the senses. For instance, you cannot find out who made that wall by simply seeing it with your eyes or touching it with your hands. But you could use your reason to arrive at this knowledge.
Then there are things the knowledge of which can neither be acquired through the senses nor through reason. For instance, to find out what manner of use of that wall will please Allah Almighty and what manner of its use will displease Him, is possible neither through the senses nor through reason.
In order to give man the answer to such questions, the source that Allah Almighty has prescribed is Wahy. This makes it clear that Wahy is the highest source of knowledge for man which offers to him the answers to questions about his life and provides guidance that cannot be attained by means of the senses and reason.
If you have faith in the fact that this universe has been created by Allah Almighty and He has sent man to this world for a purpose, how then is it possible to imagine that He, after creating man, would leave him in total darkness, without telling him why he was sent to this world, what his duties are, where he is destined to go and how he can realize the purpose of his life?
When a man of ordinary reason would not send someone on a mission without telling him the objective of the mission, how can Allah Almighty, under Whose ultimate wisdom this whole universe is functioning, leave man without guidance?
If there is faith in the ultimate wisdom of Allah Almighty, then it is mandatory to believe that He did not leave His servants in the dark. On the contrary, He has instituted a system for their guidance, which is Wahy (Divine Revelation) and Risalah (Prophethood).
Reference: Ma’ariful Quran (The Wisdom of the Holy Qur’an) – Volume 1 by Maulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi’