1. What is Revelation?
Revelation - وَحْي in its essence is not a transmission of information descending from a celestial realm, but a stimulation - an arousal - of inner consciousness that breaks open the boundaries of ordinary knowing. It is not the arrival of knowledge from the heavens, but the unveiling (kashf) of an inspiration (ilhām) already inscribed within the hidden strata of human existence. Revelation, in the Quranic sense, is the emergence of meaning from the unseen (ghayb) to the seen (shahāda), the disclosure of metaphysical reality into the horizon of human perception. It is not the hearing of a voice from outside, but the awakening of a resonance from within - the remembrance of what the soul has always known but forgotten in the noise of the world.
At times, the Quran refers to this descent of revelation as tanzīl (تَنْزِيل), indicating not a spatial descent but the gradual manifestation of truth into the receptive heart of the human beings. The Quran, in its profound linguistic subtlety, uses multiple expressions to gesture toward a single essence, each term illuminating a distinct facet of divine communication. Just as the Divine is addressed through various Names - Allah, Rabb, Rahman, Subhan, Kabir - each revealing an aspect of the Infinite, so too the Quran is known by many titles - Al-Kitab, Al-Furqan, Adh-Dhikr, Al-Huda, An-Nur, Al-Bayan, Al-Haqq, Tanzil, Wahi, Ar-Ruh - each reflecting a different dimension of the same eternal Word for Revelation. Thus, revelation is not merely a message to be received, but a light to be awakened - the soul’s own remembrance of its primordial connection with the Source.
The Quran is not a revelation to be read - it is also remembrance (dhikr) to be reawakened.
It is not a physical book sent down from a distant sky-God, but the inner script of consciousness, already inscribed within the human essence. Revelation, in this sense, is not transmission from elsewhere but disclosure from within - the unveiling of what was eternally present in the depths of being.
The Inner Kitab and the Descent of Revelation
Revelation (Wahi) is often imagined as a message descending from the skies - an external transmission from a distant source. Yet the Quran itself subtly redirects this perception: revelation is not a voice from beyond, but a descent (tanzīl) into the heart, the inner horizon where the human and the divine converge.
17:14 - ٱقْرَأْ كِتَـٰبَكَ كَفَىٰ بِنَفْسِكَ ٱلْيَوْمَ عَلَيْكَ حَسِيبًۭا
“Read your Book; sufficient is your own self this Day as a reckoner against you.”
This verse, though commonly understood as referring to the record of deeds on the Day of Judgment, but infact it carries a profound inner and metaphysical meaning.
In the context of Quranic context, the “Book” (Kitab) is not an external document but the record of one’s consciousness - the inner self in which every thought, intention, and act is inscribed and we recognize it as we recognise of children (2:146, 6:20)
“Read your Book” means:
Turn inward and read the text of your own being; see how existence has written itself upon you.
Each human being is, in essence, a living scripture, authored by one’s own choices and awareness.
When consciousness awakens, one begins to “read” what was always there - the hidden script of the soul, written by the pen of time and the ink of experience.
So, when the verse says “kafā bi-nafsika al-yawma ʿalayka ḥasīban” - “your own self is enough as a witness” - it means the self becomes both reader and read, witness and record.
The judgment is not imposed from outside; it is the realization of one’s own truth.
It tells us that every life is a revelation being written - and every soul is a reader of its own scripture.
The Quran repeatedly affirms that the Book is not only a written scripture but an inner reality - a Kitab maknun, a concealed Book within human consciousness (56:78). This inner Kitab is not printed on pages; it is inscribed in the fabric of existence, and mirrored most clearly in the human soul. Each person carries within a silent scripture - a latent wisdom awaiting interpretation.
The Quran frequently links Wahi (revelation) or Tanzil (descent) with Kitāb (Book), revealing a deep relationship between revelation, the descent of meaning, and the inner script - Al-Kitab or Book
Below is a careful list and reflection on those verses.
Verses Where Wahi or Tanzil Occur with Kitab
1. Surah Al-‘Ankabut (29:45)
ٱتْلُ مَآ أُوحِىَ إِلَيْكَ مِنَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ وَأَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ
“Recite what has been revealed (uhiya) to you of the Book (al-Kitab), and establish the connection...”
Reflection:
Here wahi (أُوحِيَ) directly joins with al-Kitab, showing that the Book is not a physical text but a revealed awareness - a living consciousness transmitted to the heart. We are asked not to “read from” but to recite what has been already revealed from the Book within, implying an inner unfolding rather than external dictation.
2. Surah Az-Zumar (39:1)
>تَنزِيلُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ ٱلْعَزِيزِ ٱلْحَكِيمِ
“The descent (tanzil) of the Book is from Allah / Pure Conscience, the Mighty, the Wise.”
Reflection:
This expresses tanzil as the process of divine meaning descending into the form of articulation. The Book (Kitab) here is the structured manifestation of what is internally exists in the Conscience - a symbolic descent of infinite truth into finite words.
3. Surah As-Sajdah (32:2-3)
تَنزِيلُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ مِن رَّبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
“The descent of the Book - there is no doubt in it - is from the Knowledgeable Consciousness.”
Reflection:
This reaffirms the same metaphysical movement - tanzil as the bridge between timeless divine consciousness and the temporal human mind.
4. Surah Al-Jathiyah (45:2)
تَنزِيلُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ ٱلْعَزِيزِ ٱلْحَكِيمِ
The descent of the Book is from Allah / Pure Conscience, the Mighty, the Wise.
Reflection:
Repeated formula emphasizing that revelation is not an event but a flow of wisdom from the transcendent source into conscious reality.
5. Surah Al-Ahqaf (46:2)
تَنزِيلُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ ٱلْعَزِيزِ ٱلْحَكِيمِ
(Again the same structure)
Reflection:
The recurrence of this expression in multiple surahs points to the continuity of descent - revelation as an ongoing unveiling, not a single historical delivery to any specific personality - Quran says the ways (sunnah) of Allah is fixed, He does not change His ways (sunnah).
6. Surah Az-Zumar (39:2)
إِنَّآ أَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ بِٱلْحَقِّ فَٱعْبُدِ ٱللَّهَ مُخْلِصًۭا لَّهُ ٱلدِّينَ
“Indeed, We have sent down (anzalna) to you the Book in truth; so serve Allah, devoting your inner being purely to Him.”
Reflection:
Here inzal (sending down) and Kitab are joined. The Book descends bil-haqq - “with facts” - meaning the essence of Being itself takes form as revelation - this descent happens within the heart, the locus where divine meaning becomes human awareness.
7. Surah Al-Nisa (4:163)
إِنَّآ أَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْكَ كَمَآ أَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَىٰ نُوحٍۢ وَٱلنَّبِيِّۦنَ... وَءَاتَيْنَا دَاوُۥدَ زَبُورًۭا
“Indeed, We have revealed (awḥaynā) to you as We revealed to Noah and the nabiyeen after him…”
Reflection:
This verse links wahi to the continuity of revelation across all Books - showing that Kitab is a universal principle of divine disclosure through consciousness, not limited to anyone or any text.
8. Surah Al-An‘am (6:91–92)
قُلْ مَنْ أَنزَلَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ ٱلَّذِى جَآءَ بِهِۦ مُوسَىٰ نُورًۭا وَهُدًۭى لِّلنَّاسِ... وَهَـٰذَا كِتَـٰبٌ أَنزَلْنَـٰهُ مُبَارَكٌۭ مُّصَدِّقٌۭ ٱلَّذِى بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ**
“Say: Who sent down (anzala) the Book which Moses brought as light and guidance? … And this is a blessed Book which We have sent down, confirming what was before it.”
Reflection:
Tanzil here is universalized - revelation is a stream, and every Kitab is a wave in that ongoing current of divine disclosure.
9. Surah Ash-Shura (42:51–52)
وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْكَ رُوحًۭا مِّنْ أَمْرِنَا ۚ مَا كُنتَ تَدْرِى مَا ٱلْكِتَـٰبُ وَلَا ٱلْإِيمَـٰنُ وَلَـٰكِن جَعَلْنَـٰهُ نُورًۭا نَّهْدِى بِهِۦ مَن نَّشَآءُ مِنْ عِبَادِنَا ۚ
“Thus We revealed to you a Spirit from Our command; you did not know what the Book or faith was, but We made it a light by which We guide whom We will among Our servants.”
Reflection:
This is one of the deepest verses linking Wahi with Kitab at the ontological level.
The Book here is not a written text but a living Light (Nur) - the inner awareness that guides from darkness to illumination. Wahi awakens the Kitab within, revealing the Spirit (Ruh) already latent in human consciousness.
Wahi (Revelation) | 42:52, 4:163, 29:45 | The direct awakening or inspiration from the inner Kitab into consciousness.
Tanzil (Descent) | 32:2, 39:1, 45:2, 46:2 | The translation of Divine Reality into perceivable form - language, insight, symbol. |
Kitab (Book) | 6:91–92, 42:52 | The structured manifestation of that revelation within the self.
So the Kitab itself is the revelation,
Wahi is the magnet that attracts it,
and Tanzil is the process of descent by which eternal knowledge reaches its deserved audience.
In Essence
- Every Kitab is a crystallized form of Wahi,
- Every Wahi is a living stream of Tanzil,
- And the ultimate Kitab lies within the heart / mind / soul -
- The place where the unseen descends into the destination (manzil).
When Wahi occurs, it is not the import of new information, but the activation of that inner Book. The unseen knowledge, already encoded in the depths of consciousness, begins to unveil itself. Thus, Tanzil - “descent” - does not mean a physical coming down, but a descent of deep meaning (tawil) from the subtle to the manifest, from the depths of being to the clarity of awareness.
The pure heart, in this light, becomes the most fertile ground for the growth of the inherent Book - Al-Kitab. Revelation flowed through it because because the heart is ready to receive - emptied of self, aligned with the rhythm of the Real. In every human soul, this process continues according to the level of their consciousness: each act of genuine insight, each unveiling of truth, is a gradual tanzil from the inner Kitab to the pure inner sense known as mohammadur rasullah - the receiver of our revelation.
Philosophically, revelation and self-knowledge are two sides of one reality. To read the inner Book is to read revelation; to receive Wahi is to witness the self being written upon by the Infinite. The divine word is not “sent down” from heavens it is drawn forth from within the kitabi maknun concealed in every beings.
Thus, the Wahi is the movement of truth, the Tanzil is its descent into comprehension, and the Kitab is the eternal script embedded within every soul - waiting for silence, sincerity, and illumination to make it legible.
The Quran speaks in no foreign tongue; its true language is the language of the soul, understood by every heart in its own mother tongue through intuition and experience. To “recite” it, therefore, is to remember - to awaken the forgotten script written into our very existence. It is the act of the self recollecting its origin, where remembrance and revelation become one continuous movement of inner awakening.
The Quran itself is described as dhikr (remembrance) -[15:9, 21:50, 38:1, 36:11, 38:7, 68:52, 41:41-42, 43:44, 16:44, 54:17] as well as wahi (revelation) - [42:51-52, 53:3-4, 4:163, 6:19, 42:3, 10:15, 20:13, 42:7] not as something alien to the human mind, but as a reminder of what is already embedded in human conscience / nature (fitrah). In this sense, revelation is a re-collection - a calling forth of what the soul already bears, but which becomes obscured by forgetfulness, desire, or distraction.
According to verse 3:44 revelation (wahi) is the news from the unseen (ghayb) not openly available to all...
3:44 - "...That is from the news of the unseen (الْغَيْبِ) which We reveal it (نُوحِيهِ) to you, [address to our intellect - religiously referred to as Mohammad]. And you were not with them..."
42:7 - "And thus We have revealed (أَوْحَيْنَا) to you compilation of our own thoughts that speak to us in our own language (قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا) that you may warn the correctional hamlet of thoughts [أُمَّ الْقُرَىٰ] and those around it and warn of the moment of gathering [of thoughts], about which there is no doubt. A differentiating party of thought will be in the hidden garden of enlightenment [Jannah] and a differentiating party will in Blaze." - [6:92]
The human mind is like a mother which is a correctional centre (ummal) - qura is hamlet of thoughts / inspiration with many doors, and many inspiration and thoughts that are its uninvited guests. They enter, stay for a while, eat, devour, search, investigate, conspire and leave - some quietly, others creating storms and destruction. To be human is to live in the company of these passing visitors and handle them wisely.
Lets Explore Logical Dimension of Verse 42:7 & 6:92 -
Ummal- l-qurā - أُمَّ الْقُرَىٰ - Hamlet of Guest Thoughts - The Visitors of the Mind
The term Ummul Qura (أم القرى) traditionally means “Mother of Cities.” But when we view it in the context of 42:7 and 6:92, it appears connected to the revelation of Quranan ʿArabiyyan. One must wonder why the phrase Quranan ʿArabiyyan is related to a warning directed to the city of Makkah - if Ummul Qura refers to a physical city in Saudi Arabia, as commonly understood. What does this association have to do with the warning, revelation and the city? The nature of revelation has always been upon the heart of the believer, not upon a city. This reflection led me to explore alternative possibilities of understanding the term ummul qura -
The Inner Contextual Meaning of Ummul Qura
When the Quran declares:
Thus We have revealed to you a quranan in arabiyan, that you may warn the mother of cities and those around it; and that you may warn of the day of gathering, wherein there is no doubt…” (42:7) - Traditional Rendition
It is not announcing a message to a city situated in Rocky desert area. The “Mother of Cities” is actually the heart of existence, the central consciousness within which all other “communities” - the faculties, desires, and thoughts are settled.
Every human being is a living cosmos, and at the core of this microcosm lies an Ummul Qura - the inner centre, the sacred ground of awareness. Revelation (wahi) descends not upon the tongue but upon this center of being, the heart / intellect purified of idols and attachments. There, the "Quranan Arabiyyan" - the articulate, expressive word begins to unveil itself as clarity within consciousness.
The word ʿArabiyyan carries the root sense of clarity, articulation, and unveiling. Thus, the “Quran in Arabic” is not bound to a language but to a natural mode of communication - it is the articulation of the unspoken language, the language of the heart, the language of feeling, the translation of the unseen (ghayb) into the seen (shahādah). When the inner heart receives its revelation, it becomes arabi mubin : not the language of Arabs but clear, expressive, lucid, awakening that does not need a translator or an interpreter.
To “warn the Mother of Cities” - means to awaken the central heart before which all inner realms stand. When this heart / intellect is heedless, all the communities around it - intellect, imagination, emotion, and action - fall into disorder. But when the Mother of Cities awakens, the entire kingdom of the self realigns toward the Real (al-Ḥaqq).
The Day of Gathering (Yawm al-Jamaʿ), in the contextual understanding, is not a future event but an existential moment. It is the phenomenal inner event when all dispersed energies, thoughts, emotions of the self converge around the One Center, the Center of the heart / intellect. In that convergence, duality dissolves; the scattered multiplicities are gathered into Unity (Tawhid).
Thus, Ummul Qura is not Makkah on the map, but Correction in the soul - the sacred geography within. The warning is the call of remembrance, the awakening of the intellect / heart from heedlessness, and the Quran is the language of the inner light that calls everything back to Abode of Peace (Dar al-Salam - دار السلام) - 10:25 / 6:127 - not a place but a state of being.
When the heart becomes a sanctuary free from chaos, envy, and illusion, it turns into the Dar al-Salam - the inner paradise where the Divine Presence dwells.
The final harmony between intellect, soul, and spirit.
The inner reconciliation of the self with its Origin.
The repose of being when all contradictions are resolved in the Real (al-Ḥaqq).
Allah / Conscience always yearn for the Home of Peace
The invitation is eternal; every moment is a call.
The door to Dar al-Salam opens not by distance traveled,
but by stilling / calming the storm within -
Wahi is the process of collection of inspiration (ilham) which is down loaded (tanzil) and compiled into our inner Quran in our own language (Arabi mobin) which speaks, guides through our inner script (al-kitab).
6:19 - Say, "What thing is greatest in testimony?" Say, " Allah is witness between me and you. And this Quran was revealed (أُوحِيَ)to me that I may warn you thereby and whomever it reaches. Do you [truly] testify that with Allah there are other deities?" Say, "I will not testify [with you]." Say, "Indeed, He is but one God, and indeed, I am free of what you associate [with Him]."
The verse 6:19 unveils that the conscience / Allah stands as the eternal witness between the senses and the self. The Quran is revealed upon the field of perception so that it may awaken the senses, caution the wandering thoughts, and affirm that the Conscience / Allah - the inner divine awareness - is the sole Reality worthy of recognition. To associate anything beside it is but an illusion of the divided mind, a folly of the self estranged from its own light.
Exegesis of 42:3
The revelation (يُوحِي) is not limited to one individual but radiates to all receptive hearts, those who attune themselves to the same inner frequency of truth.
Those whose hearts are in acceptance of you (Allah) captures spiritual attunement - the qalb as a vessel of resonance rather than mere belief.
The One, Exalted in Might, the Wise keeps the divine attributes, but framed in a way that mirrors the contemplative language of metaphysical awareness.
Revelation (wahi) are signs / symbols that cannot be changed -
10:15 - And when Our clear signs articulated / read upon them, those who look not to encounter Us say, 'Bring a Quran other than this, or alter it.' Say: 'It is not for me to alter it of my own accord. I follow nothing, except what is revealed to me. Truly I fear, if I should rebel against my Rabb, the chastisement of a dreadful moment.
Exegesis of 10:15
Each soul carries within itself a unique Quran - an inward revelation inscribed upon the tablet of consciousness. It is a silent scripture that unfolds through the flow of our thoughts, intuitions, and inner recognition. This inner compilation, when listened to with sincerity, becomes our true guidance; it speaks not in words but in the language of the heart. To follow it is to align with the divine rhythm of our being - to resist it is to fall into the disharmony of the self. This embedded Quran, this inward wahi, is not a text we can edit according to our desires; it is the truth of our nature revealed to us. Ignoring it invites spiritual dissonance - the chastisement not of an outer law, but of an inner conscience estranged from its Source.
20:13 - And I have chosen you to seek the best, so listen to what is revealed (يُوحَىٰ) -
Exegesis of 20:13 - To truly comprehend this verse, we must journey from 20:10, allowing its context to illuminate the deeper meaning woven within -
WHAT IS KASHAF - (كشف) ? In literal sense kashaf is a state of mind where "removal" "unveiling" or "disclosure," occurs. It is the ground where uncovering / removing / unveiling from the complacent / negligent behaviour of knowing everything happens. Kashaf removes the cover of the clouded mind to live happenings (hadith) within; it helps gaining the direct insight into the hidden, unseen realities of the spiritual world through a purified heart and inner vision, rather than solely through intellect or academic knowledge. It is unveiling of the "inner knowledge / script / inner happenings" attained through inner struggle (jihad), where divine truths are revealed to the seeker, and the barriers between the seen and the unseen are lifted.
50:22 - "You were certainly in unmindfulness of this, and We have removed (فَكَشَفْنَا) from you your cover, so your sight, this moment will be sharp."
68:42,43,44 - yaumal yukashafu - That moment is called yaumal yuk-shufu because all the real drivers (intention, motives) will be uncovered - The meaning of sāqin (سَاقٍ) is not shin or leg but one who drives - this moment is for the denier of internal happenings (hadith)
[53.57-58] - The approaching is imminent; apart from God none can be a remover (كَاشِفَةٌ) of it.
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE QALB IN RVEVELATION revelation ?
The Role of Qalb (قلب) in the Revelation of Waḥy (وحي)
In Islamic thought, qalb is not a physical heart; it is the spiritual organ of revolution of conscience, the subtle center where divine meanings are unveiled. It is the mirror of the soul - the inner eye that perceives realities beyond the reach of reason. Revelation (waḥy) unfolds not in the intellect alone, nor in the senses, but in this deeper locus of perception - the qalb. The word qalb is not simply a heart but a vessel that can revolutionize / overturn completely our thinking pattern, the derivative word of qalb is inquilab (انقلاب), that's why one of its meaning is also intellect.
The Quran itself indicates this:
2:97 - Say, "Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel - it is [none but] he who has brought [the Quran] down upon your heart / intellect, by permission of Allah , confirming that which was within its source and as guidance and good tidings for the believing mindset."
26:193-194 - The Trustworthy Spirit has brought it down upon your intellect / heart (alā qalbika), that you may be among the warners.
Here, the Quran explicitly situates revelation upon the qalb, not in his ears or mind. This implies that wahy is not heard; it is witnessed / experienced - it is a live happening (hadith), not reception of words.
1. Qalb as the Mirror of Divine Disclosure
The qalb is that mirror which feels through the unseen (al-ghayb) us. When it is polished - purified from ego, desire, and heedlessness - it becomes capable of reflecting divine light. In this purified state, it does not create the truth; it receives it. Thus, revelation is the moment when the mirror of the qalb becomes so transparent that the light of the unseen shines through it without distortion.
In the other words the qalb does not only think but it sees, feels and experience
It is the locus where divine realities are tasted (zawq), not reasoned but witnessed
When revelation descends upon the qalb, it is not a movement from the space but a transformation in consciousness. The Quran calls this process tanzīl, meaning a “gradual descent” - not of letters, but of meanings. These meanings then take linguistic form in the expression, but the first contact happens in the realm of pure consciousness — in the qalb.
In other words, revelation begins as intuition of truth before it becomes articulation of words.
The qalb stands at the threshold between al-ghayb (the unseen) and ash-shahāda (the seen). It translates what lies beyond form into forms of understanding accessible to human language. Thus, it serves as a cosmic translator, mediating between the Infinite and the finite.
This is why the Quran calls the qalb the seat of understanding:
They have hearts (qulub) with which they do not understand..." (7:179)
Understanding here means spiritual perception - not intellectual analysis.
The Qur’an describes this state:
The heart did not lie about what it saw. (53:11)
Here, instead of qalb (heart), the word al-fu’ād (الْفُؤَادُ) is used - a term that signifies the inner flame of feeling and perception. In this context, the Quran points to a truth beyond intellect: that the inner feeling of revelation - the direct, lived experience of the soul - cannot falsify what it has witnessed, for authentic experience bears its own certainty.
In Essence
Revelation (waḥy) is the illumination of the qalb by divine light.
The qalb is both receiver and reflector — a microcosm of the cosmos, where the unseen takes form. Without the qalb, revelation would have no vessel; and without revelation, the qalb would remain veiled.
2:97 - Say, "Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel - it is [none but] he who has brought the Qur'an down upon your heart, by permission of Allah , confirming that which was within it and as guidance and good tidings for the believers."
Explanation 0f 2:97
This verse is not about external hostility toward an angelic figure named Gabriel; it symbolically addresses the human relation with the principle of revelation itself. In Quranic psychology, Gabriel (Jibrael) represents the medium of illumination and the faculty to convert the unknown into known - the bridge between the finite consciousness (human intellect) and the infinite source of truth (the Divine).
To be “an enemy to Gabriel” is to resist that inner influx of divine wisdom - to close the gates of perception through prejudice, arrogance, or attachment to rigid forms of thought. In essence, such enmity is not against a celestial messenger but against the inner mechanism of revelation that brings truth to the intellect / heart (qalb).
When the verse says that Gabriel “brought the Quran down upon your heart,” it signifies revelation not the 114 chapter physical book - It is the descend of revelation not to any Tom, Dick or Harry, but to the pure heart / pure intellect / pure sense - The Islamic metaphysics is the center of pure awareness and intuition - the throne of divine consciousness within man. The “heart” here is not an organ but a spiritual lab that receives direct illumination when purified.
The phrase “by the permission of Allah” (bi-idhni Allah) emphasizes that such illumination is self-generated by the pure conscience (Allah) - without the agreement of the pure conscience a resonance of consciousness or the revelation cannot happen.
Thus, the Quran “confirms what was before it,” meaning revelation never contradicts the innate truth already inscribed in the human soul (fitrah); it does not mean what is in the previous History. It is not an alien voice but the unveiling of what already exists within. Revelation is a mirror held before the heart to remind it of its own forgotten light.
Finally, the verse concludes that this descent is both guidance and good tidings - guidance for the reason and good tidings for the heart. For the believer - the one whose heart is open to higher reason - revelation becomes not a command from outside, but the awakening of truth from within.
26:192 - And indeed, (the inner Quran) is the revelation of the Knowledgeable Consciousness - 193 - The Trustworthy Spirit has brought it down - 194 - Upon your heart - that you be of the warner.2. How Does It Occur?
22:46 - Have they not journeyed through the lower consciousness so that their hearts might perceive and their inner hearing might awaken? For it is not the eyes that go blind, but the inner vision - the heart / intellect, the core of awareness - that becomes veiled within the chest.
Commentary of 22:46
In this interpretation, “journeying through the land” is not a physical travel but the movement in the consciousness - an inner exploration through the inner terrains of self.
The verse invites us to see that blindness is not of sight but of insight - not of the eyes, but of the inner lens that perceives meaning beyond appearances.
The qalb here represents the luminous heart, the subtle center where knowledge, feeling, and revelation converge. When it is veiled, a person may see the world yet remain inwardly unseeing.
Revelation occurs in the meeting point of the finite and the infinite - when the human heart (qalb) is sufficiently open, still, and receptive to allow the eternal to “speak through” it. The book Quran often refers to the heart as the true locus of revelation: “Indeed, it is not the eyes that are blinded, but the hearts within the breasts” (22:46).
In revelation (wahy), this opening reaches its most intense form - where the Divine will crystallizes into clear word and vision. But in a broader sense, every human being experiences moments of lesser revelation: flashes of insight, moral awakenings, sudden clarity of conscience. These are microcosms of the same process.
3:44 - Wahi is the news from the unseen -
3:163 - Revelation is to intellect and inner informative apps (nabiyeen)
5:111 - Revelation to hawareen (intelligent, intellectuals)
6:19 - Quran is wahi to me - Allah is witness between us - 20 - We gave them Al-Kitab and recognize it - those who lost their soul will not believe
6:50 - I follow what is revealed to me - We only need to follow the revelation (Wahi)
6:106 - Follow what is revealed - following anything else is shirk (associating others with Allah)
6:112 - Wahi can be from ins and jinns - 6:121 - wahi from shaitaan
7:203 - Only follow what is reveled from Rabb - Quran is called baseeru from rabb
10:109 - Follow what is revealed to you and be patient Allah is judging
10:15 - I cannot bring new Quran I only follow what is revealed (Wahi)
16:68 - wahi to Al-Nahl
21:7 - wahi to rijaal (one who depends upon himself)
42:51 - Allah / Conscience speaks through wahi -
53:4-5 - Wahi cannot be through desire it is from Almighty
ilham - 91:8 - inspiration is ilham
3. What Triggers Revelation or How it occurs (Wahi / Tanzil) ?
Several conditions seem to trigger revelation:
Inner Preparedness (Purity of Nafs is Purity of Conscience): A soul that disciplines itself from arrogance, ego, and noise becomes transparent to truth.
1. Reflection on inner Signs - Understanding of ayat triggers the revelation: The Quran insists that revelation is triggered by remembrance and contemplation (zikr and wayatafakkarūna) in the higher (as-samawat) and the lower (al-ardh) consciousness and not by looking towards the Sky or the Earth, the alternation of enlightenment and anxiety are the inner signs (ayat) that awaken / evolves those with full understanding - (3:189-191)
2. Revelation of Peace occurs when you value anxiety when you value darkness - لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ - without lail there won't be fajr - Fajr is a breakthrough moment - Surah - 97 - In classical Arabic Lail means anxiety / darkness.
Human beings often despise darkness - the moments of confusion, anxiety, and inner unrest that cloud the mind is called Lail in the context of the book Quran. Yet, if one looks closely, these very shadows are the crucibles where deeper understanding is born. Darkness is not the absence of meaning; it is the womb of meaning - the silent ground from which insight emerges.
3. When only Rehman address and with His permission others speak - 78:37-38
Let’s first recall the essence of the verse (not word-for-word, but its spirit):-
The Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them — the Most Gracious (ar-Raḥmān) — none shall have power to speak, except he whom the Most Gracious permits, and he speaks what is right - (78:37–38)
This verse describes not an external event in time, but an inner state of consciousness - a moment when all the scattered voices within are silenced, and only the voice of ar-Rahman - the Compassionate Intelligence - is allowed to speak.
Ordinarily, the human being is a parliament of conflicting voices - desire, fear, intellect, memory, ego - each speaking in its own tone. The mind becomes a crowded marketplace of thought. But when the light of ar-Rahman dawns within, these voices fall silent. The soul enters the Moment of Truth - the inner “Yawm al-Haqq” - where only the Real (al-Haqq) speaks.
Psychologically, this is the collapse of duality, the dissolution of the false autonomy of the self. When the fragment realizes its dependence on the Whole, speech becomes silent, and silence becomes speech.
The Permission to Speak
“Except he whom the Most Gracious permits” - means that only the purified consciousness aligned with Divine Harmony can express truth.
In Quranic psychology, this is the stage of fana (annihilation of ego) and baqa (subsistence in Divine Reality) - (55:26-27) - Every desire would be destroyed (halikun) except aura of Allah - (28:88)
At this level, speech is no longer personal opinion or imagination; it is the echo of the Divine Consciousness flowing through a transparent vessel.
The “permission” (idh’n) is not a command from outside, but an inner attunement, inner listening - when the heart vibrates in the same rhythm as the Universal Soul.
Such a person speaks only what is “right”, because truth itself has become his tongue.
3. The Rahmanic Voice
The verse names the Divine here as ar-Rahman, not Allah, not al-Ḥakim.
This subtlety is crucial. Ar-Rahman represents the compassionate, nurturing intelligence that unfolds all existence - the Teacher of the inner Qur’an (cf. 55:1–4, “The Rehman taught the Quran”).
So when the “speech” occurs, it is the Rahmanic consciousness speaking through evolution the same voice that instructed the heart of every believer, the same essence that breathes wisdom into all hearts open to receive.
4. The Inner Meaning
In the soul’s evolution, there comes a moment when every form of knowledge, every borrowed belief, and every external authority falls away.
The seeker stands in inner silence - stripped of all claims and voices.
At that point, only the Real speaks.
That speech is not in words but in a knowing without thought, a radiant certainty that does not need argument.
It is revelation in its purest essence — when Being communicates with itself.
In Essence
This verse is not only about divine authority; it is about the purification of the instrument through which truth can speak.
When the ego is silenced, the voice of ar-Raḥman arises.
When all false permissions are withdrawn, the Real grants one to speak.
And when that happens, speech becomes light - and silence becomes the purest form of service.
Crisis and Intensity: Factually, revelation often descends in moments of deep existential crisis or profound solitude—when human dependence on external supports collapses, creating space for the Infinite.
Alignment of Conscience: When a person lives sincerely by their conscience (zameer), revelation naturally flows. It is as if the Divine voice and the inner voice become one.
4. Philosophical Understanding
Revelation, then, is not a supernatural interruption of nature, but the deepest flowering of nature itself. It is the point where the human soul becomes tuned to the universal order, where the individual self (nafs) resonates with the Eternal Self. For thinkers, this resonance became articulate in language; for others, it may remain as intuition, vision, or inspiration.
In short:
Revelation is the unveiling of the hidden truth within us and around us. It occurs when the human heart is prepared, reflective, and aligned with conscience. It is triggered by purity, contemplation, crisis, or sincerity - moments when the veil of distraction lifts and the eternal shines through.
The mode or carrier of wahy
وَمَا كَانَ لِبَشَرٍ أَن يُكَلِّمَهُ ٱللَّهُ إِلَّا وَحۡيًا أَوۡ مِن وَرَآءِ حِجَابٍ أَوۡ يُرۡسِلَ رَسُولٗا فَيُوحِيَ بِإِذۡنِهِۦ مَا يَشَآءُ
42:51 - And it is not for any sense that Conscience (Allah) should communicate with it except by revelation (wahy), or from hidden fire (of passion), or by through the voice of inner rasul who reveals (wahi) by His inner announcement whatever He desires. Indeed He is the most Highest Wisdom.
Further Explanation of 42:51
While “qalb” is not mentioned here, this verse shows that wahy is an inner mode of communication, not an external sound.
And it is not for the Conscience - the subtle Presence we call Allah - to commune with the self except through the veiled languages of revelation. Sometimes it descends as wahy, a sudden illumination that stirs the depths of awareness; sometimes it speaks from the hidden fire of longing, where passion becomes the vessel of insight; and at times it resounds through the inner messenger (rasul) - that faculty within the heart which discloses, by divine decree, what the higher wisdom intends to reveal. For indeed, the Source of this communication is none other than the Most Exalted Intelligence, whose speech is not heard by the ear, but awakened within the being.
Surah Al-Anʿām (6:121) - wahy - other dimension
وَإِنَّ ٱلشَّيَٰطِينَ لَيُوحُونَ إِلَىٰ أَوۡلِيَآئِهِمۡ...
Indeed, the devils inspire (yuhuna) their allies...
Here wahy is used for inner suggestion, which implies the heart / consciousness is the very place where wahy operates.
So putting it together:
The Quran explicitly says the nazzalahu (brought it down) upon the qalb (26:194, 2:97-99).
It also explicitly uses the word wahy to mean inspiration/ inner communication (42:51, 16:68, 6:121).
Combining the two - wahy is an inner inscription on the qalb, not external sound.
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