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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Islamic Thought (Ma‘arif Islami) Book Two Section Three: Revelation and Miracle General Objectives After studying this discourse, students are expected: To understand the difference between revelation [ waḥī ], intuition [ kashf ] and witnessing [ shuhūd ] by familiarizing themselves with the salient features and types of revelation; To be acquainted with miracles performed by a prophet [ a‘jazah or mu‘jizah ] and the difference between these and miracles performed by a non-prophet [ kirāmah ] and supernatural affairs, and also the connection between miracles and the truthfulness of the prophets, specifically the miracle of the Qur’an; and lastly To know, through a theoretical analysis, the reason behind the finality of prophethood and the way and manner of continuity of man’s movement towards perfection.

Revelation Every community or nation has witnessed the call of the prophets ( ‘a ) and this call has been necessary and essential. As demonstrated earlier, the intellect can also perceive this necessity. Now, some questions come up that, in spite of their being human beings, how did the prophets ( ‘a ) communicate with God and how did they receive His message?

Many people have regarded the idea of creatures communicating with the Creator as one of the unbelievable things: ﴿ أَكَانَ لِلنَّاسِ عَجَبًا أَنْ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَى رَجُلٍ مِنْهُمْ أَنْ أَنْذِرِ النَّاسَ وَبَشِّرِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنَّ لَهُمْ قَدَمَ صِدْقٍ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ قَالَ الْكَافِرُونَ إِنَّ هَذَا لَسَاحِرٌ مُبِينٌ ﴾ Does it seem odd to these people that We have revealed to a man from among themselves, [declaring], ‘Warn mankind, and give good news to the faithful that they are in good standing with their Lord’?

The faithless say, ‘This is indeed a plain magician’. [^1] The Holy Qur’an describes God’s messages to the prophets ( ‘a ) as “revelation” [ waḥī ]. Waḥī means to impart something in secret. This word is applied in many cases in the Qur’an.

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