Also, it is not permissible to say of those who are inspired...

Also, it is not permissible to say of those who are inspired with the knowledge of something that Allah has revealed it to them.

Also (according to our tenets) Allah, the Almighty might inspire the proofs after His Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, with speech which descends to them, revealing what will be, but still it cannot be called revelation for the reasons given above, which confirms that the general consensus of the learned Muslims is that no revelation can descend on anyone after our Prophet, may Allah bless him and his progeny and grant him salvation.

Therefore, none of these things which we mentioned can be called a revelation to anyone, since it is for Allah, the Exalted, to permit the use of the term at one time and forbid it at another, sometimes to prohibit it and to allow it to others. As for its significance, it never departs from its true meaning as given above.

Chapter: As for the revelation from Allah, the Most High, to His Messenger, may Allah bless him and his progeny, it was conveyed to him, sometimes without an intermediary, and some- times from the lips of the angels who transmitted it to him. What Abu Ja‘far, may Allah have mercy upon him, has mentioned concerning the Tablet and the Pen, and what he confirmed on this matter, has only one tradition supporting it.

Yet we do not rely on it, nor do we affirm its authenticity, and we testify only to that which we know, since the tradition is not mutawatir, nor is it confirmed by the consensus of opinion, nor does the Qur’an proclaim it, nor is it established by a Proof (an imam) of Allah, the Almighty, that it would be considered tenable. And the best course is to reserve judgment on it, and to allow it without affirming it or declaring it sound definitively, and keep it within the bounds of possibility.

As for the certainty with which Abu Ja‘far affirms it and his belief in it, this is nothing but blind imitation, and far be it from us to imitate (anything) blindly. [^1]: * * Not found in N. Previous…