CHAPTER II.
EXEGESIS OF THE QURÁN AND THE TRADITIONS.
The following account of this branch of Muslim theology, technically called 'Ilm-i-Usúl, may be introduced by a few remarks on the nature of inspiration according to Islám, though that is not strictly speaking a portion of this study.
There are two terms used to express different degrees of inspiration, Wahí and Ilhám. Wahí is the term applied to the inspiration of the Qurán, and implies that the very words are the words of God. It is divided into Wahí Záhir (external inspiration), and Wahí Bátin (internal inspiration). The whole book was prepared in heaven. Muhammad, instructed by Gabriel, is simply the medium through which the revelation of Wahí Záhir reaches man. The Wahí Qurán, i.e., the highest form of inspiration, always came to the ear of the Prophet through the instrumentality of Gabriel. In Muhammadan theology, this is the special work of Gabriel. Thus in the Traditions it is related that he appeared to Adam twelve times, to Enoch four, to Noah fifty, to Abraham forty-two, to Moses four hundred, to Jesus ten times, to Muhammad twenty-four thousand times.
Ilhám means the inspiration given to a saint or to a prophet when he, though rightly guided, delivers the subject matter out of his own mind, and is not a mere machine to reproduce the messages of Gabriel. There is a lower form of Wahí Záhir, which is called Ishárat-ul-Malak (literally, "sign of the Angel.") This expresses what Muhammad meant when he said: "The Holy Ghost has entered into my heart." In other words, he received the inspiration through
Gabriel, but not by word of mouth. This form of inspiration is higher than that possessed by saints, and is usually applied to the inspiration of the Traditions. This is denied by some, who say that except when delivering the Qurán Muhammad spoke by Ilhám and not by Wahí. The practical belief is, however, that the Traditions were Wahí inspiration, and thus they come to be as authoritative as the Qurán. Sharastani speaks of "the signs (sayings) of the Prophet which have the marks of Wahí."[[41]] This opinion is said by some Muslim theologians to be supported by the first verse of the fifty-third Súra, entitled the Star. "By the Star when it setteth; your companion Muhammad erreth not, nor is he led astray, neither doth he speak of his own will. It is none other than a revelation which hath been revealed to him." In any case the inspiration of Muhammad is something quite different from the Christian idea of inspiration, which is to Musalmáns a very imperfect mode of transmitting a revelation of God's will.
That there should be a human as well as a divine side to inspiration is an idea not only foreign, but absolutely repugnant to Muhammadans. The Qurán is not a book of principles. It is a book of directions. The Qurán describes the revelation given to Moses thus:—"We wrote for him upon the tables a monition concerning every matter and said: 'Receive them thyself with steadfastness, and command thy people to receive them for the observance of its most goodly precepts.'" (Súra vii. 142). It is such an inspiration as this the Qurán claims for itself. Muhammad's idea was that it should be a complete and final code of directions in every matter for all mankind. It is not the word of a prophet enlightened by God. It proceeds immediately from God, and the word 'say' or 'speak' precedes, or is understood to precede, every sentence. This to a Muslim is the highest form of inspiration; this alone stamps a book as
divine. It is acknowledged that the Injíl—the Gospel—was given by Jesus; but as that, too, according to Muslim belief, was brought down from heaven by the angel Gabriel during the month of Ramazán, it is now asserted that it has been lost, and that the four Gospels of the New Testament are simply Traditions collected by the writers whose names they bear. Their value is, therefore, that of the second foundation of the Islámic system.
The question next arises as to the exact way in which Gabriel made known his message to Muhammad. The Mudárij-un-Nabuwat, a standard theological work, gives some details on this point.[[42]] Though the Qurán is all of God, both as to matter and form, yet it was not all made known to the Prophet in one and the same manner. The following are some of the modes:—