Abdal Hakim Murad - The Cambridge Companion to Islamic Theology

9 Revelation
yahya michot
The concept of ‘‘revelation’’ is usually considered to have for correspondents,
in the Arabic language, words formed on the basis of two
different roots: WH _
Y and NZL. In English translations of the Qur’an,
wah _
y is commonly understood as ‘‘revelation’’ and awh _
a as ‘‘to reveal’’
or, sometimes, as ‘‘to inspire’’ or ‘‘to incite’’. In non-religious contexts,
however, a fundamental meaning expressed by the root seems to be that
of a sound or noise, rapid and blustering like thunder. Words derived
from the second root, like nazala, nuzul, nazzala and anzala, all relate
to the ideas of ‘‘coming down’’, ‘‘descending’’, or ‘‘sending down’’, and
have a strong place-related physical connotation. In the Qur’an, they
are used much more often than the words derived from WH _
Y. Once
examined together, the various qur’anic occurrences of these two groups
of terms convey the clear image, not of the ‘‘unveiling’’ evoked by the
word ‘‘revelation’’, but rather of a solemn or even awe-inspiring communication,
literally originating ‘‘from on High’’: ‘‘If We had sent down
this Qur’an upon a mountain, you would have seen it humble itself and
split apart by the fear of God’’ (59:21).
The affirmation that such a transcendent communication takes
place in the history of mankind is most often conceived in Islam through
the dimensions of prophethood and messengership, from which it is
therefore sometimes difficult to distinguish the thematic of revelation.
The latter should, however, not be studied exclusively in relation to its
recipient but also from the viewpoint of its divine origin and of the
modalities of its transmission. This means, first and foremost, that a
proper understanding of God as ‘‘revelator’’ must be developed.
God is of course the unique creator of the universes. All His creatures,
good or bad, are submitted to His creative power and governed by
Him. He is their sole Lord, their sole Master and their sole King, from
whose decision and decree they cannot escape: what He wills is, even if
they do not want it; and what they want, if He does not will it, is not. He
makes humans live and die as He pleases, whereas they are essentially in
180
Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008