Haqiqatul-Wahi (The Philosophy of Divine Revelation) — Page 169
POSTSCRIPT—RESPONSE TO SOME CRITICS' OBJECTIONS 169 Like the dumb, he lacks the capability of eloquent and prolific speech. He only injects a sentence or two into the heart in a foul-smelling way. Since eternity, he has not been given the ability to express himself in palatable and majestic words. Nor can he maintain a conversation in answering questions over a few hours. He is also deaf and cannot answer every question. He is also feeble and cannot exhibit any power or ability to reveal any hidden matter of high import in his revela- tions. Also, his voice is hoarse and he cannot speak in a commanding and majestic voice. His voice is inferior like that of eunuchs. You will 1. The answer to the question whether a satanic dream or revelation can con- tain any news of the unseen or not, is that a satanic dream or revelation, as is clear from the Holy Quran, may occasionally contain news about the un- seen, , but it is accompanied by three features: (1) First, such knowledge of the unseen is never authoritative like revelation from God that He shall destroy a specified person who does not desist from mischief; that He shall bestow such and such honour on a specific person who shows sincerity; that He shall demonstrate such and such Signs in support of His Prophet, and no one shall be able to compete with them; that He shall visit the disbelievers with chas- tisement of a distinct type; and that He shall grant the believers success and triumph of the specified type. These are unseen of the authoritative kind that possess the might of divine sovereignty. Satan is incapable of making such prophecies. (2) Second, the satanic dream or revelation is paltry. It does not convey accounts of the unseen in abundance. In a competition, such a person flees before the recipient of divine revelation for, in comparison to the lat- ter, his knowledge of the unseen is as meagre as a drop before the ocean. (3) Third, it [i. e. satanic inspiration] is mostly dominated by falsehood, whereas a dream or a revelation which emanates from the Gracious God is dominated by Truth; that is, if viewed as a whole, the majority of His revelations are true, whereas the reverse is the case of satanic ones. I have not used the word 'all' with regard to dreams and revelations from the Gracious God because, among them too, some revelations or dreams are allegorical in nature, or an error can be made in interpretation. The ignorant ones come to consider such prophecies to be false. In fact, the existence of such prophecies is only by way of trial. Moreover, some prophecies of God are by way of warning in which case non-fulfilment is permissible. Also keep in mind that satanic revelation maintains an affinity with a sinful and impure person. On the contrary, abun- dance of the revelations from the Gracious God are vouchsafed only to those who are pure of heart and have become lost in the love of God. (Author)