The Mirror of the Excellences of Islam — Page 416
LETTER TO NAWWAB MUHAMMAD ALI KHAN if there is an error in his ijtihād, it would be called an error of wahy; not an error of ijtihād. Now, God Almighty, in answer to this very question, says in the Noble Quran that sometimes this kind of wahy of the Prophet-which may otherwise be termed ijtihād—gets mixed up with the suggestion of Satan. And this happens at the time when a Prophet desires something to happen in a certain way, so then exactly such a thought passes through his heart, and he makes up his mind fully along those lines. It is then that the greater Wahy-which is the Word of God, Wahye Matlū, and is protected [from error]—immediately informs the Prophet of his mistake. Wahye Matlū is absolutely pure of Satan's inter- ference because it holds within itself a striking awe, a majes- tic grandeur, and brilliance and is a burdensome word that descends with great intensity as well. Its overpowering rays scorch Satan, who, therefore, flees from its mere mention and cannot come near it. Moreover, angels protect it perfectly on all sides, but wahye ghair matlū, the non-verbal revelation, which also includes the Prophet's ijtihād, does not maintain such vig- our. Therefore, when a desire arises in the mind of a Prophet or a Messenger, which sometimes accompanies the exercise of his judgement, there may be an interference by Satan, but then Wahye Matlū removes that interference. This is indeed why the Prophets made mistakes in their judgement on some occasions, which, however, was corrected afterwards. Now, the gist of all this is that it is the law of nature of God Almighty, as is made clear by the Noble Quran, that an inter- ference can also be caused by Satan in one type of revelation of a Prophet or indeed a Messenger, which is wahye ghair matlū [non-recited revelation]. This being the case, how then can it be permissible for anyone else to pray for a change in this law of God? Quite apart from all this, the clarity and truth of a dream depends upon one's own inner holiness, truthfulness, 415