Blessings of Prayer — Page 31
31 criterion comprehends all the other criteria because he who is granted the revelation of Mu h addathiyyat possesses all the qualities of the Prophet as he follows nature and essence of one ability testifies to the nature and essence of other abilities. Some people, for instance, have a natural ability for arithmetic, while others are more suited to medicine, or logic or philosophy. But these innate abilities cannot by themselves make someone an accountant or an engineer or a physician or a logician. Rather he stands in need of a teacher. And when the wise teacher observes in him the aptitude for a certain branch of knowledge, he encourages him to study it. The following couplet is relevant to this point: a After having been educated in this way, the talent latent in him like a seed bursts forth and he begins to understand the subtleties of that particular branch of knowledge. And it will not be wrong to give the name of 'revelation' or 'inspiration' to all the novel and original ideas that God inspires in his heart. All useful knowledge which benefits mankind is disclosed to man by God Himself. This is exactly what God Almighty points out in the verse: b This means that all the good and evil that inspires the human heart is revealed by God. A good person, because of his natural goodness, is qualified to receive good and pure inspirations; whereas an evil one, because of his evil nature, deserves that only evil thoughts and suggestions should cross his mind. It is in keeping with these natural abilities that many people have left behind good or evil writings, and holy or unholy sayings. But the question is: Is this also the nature of the revelation received by Prophets? Do they also continue to benefit from such inspirations merely on the basis of a natural ability? If so, then there is no more to say, for if we were to regard the revelation of Prophets merely as a natural ability, it would be impossible to distinguish between Prophets and other people. Contd… a Every man is made for a special purpose; To which his nature is strongly inclined. [Publishers] b Al-Shams , 91:9 [Publishers]