The Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam — Page 200
194 تِلْكَ الرُّسُلُ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ 234 That is, of these Messengers some have We exalted above others. This shows that revelation is pure divine grace and is not evidence of exaltation. Exaltation is according to the degree of truth, sincerity, and faithfulness of the recipient, which is known only to God. If revelation possesses all its blessed conditions it is also one of the fruits of such qualities. There is no doubt that if revelation takes the form that the recipient submits a question and God responds to it, and there is a sequence between question and answer, and the revelation is characterized by divine majesty and light, and comprehends knowledge of the unseen and true understanding, it is truly the word of God. It is necessary that divine revelation should be like a dialogue between two friends. Likewise, when God communes with His servant, and when the servant enquires concerning any matter, and in response to that he hears an address, which is sweet and full of linguistic excellence, in matters, in which his mind had not interpolated in the least, that dialogue and revelation can certainly be understood as Word of God. Such servant of Allah, is indeed, great in the sight of Allah; but this exceptional high status of being recipient of the Word of God, as a special favour from Him, which has the 234. These Messengers have We exalted, some of them above others: (The Holy Quran, al-Baqarah 2:254)