What is Revelation?
Revelation is a divine response to fundamental human questions, providing essential guidance for our lives. It is a message from God, delivered through His chosen prophets, intended to direct humanity towards understanding their purpose, actions, and ultimate destiny.
This divine communication serves as a beacon of light, addressing our naturally intrinsic quest - through fitra - for meaning and offering a clear path to follow. Through Revelation, God imparts wisdom and guidance, ensuring that we are not left to navigate the complexities of existence alone.
What does Revelation inform us on?
Revelation informs us about the Last Day, signifying that we have a finite period to seek answers to fundamental questions and determine our purpose, as our choices within this time frame shape our eternal state.
It is God who decides who receives Revelation, and He has chosen His Prophets to deliver this message of guidance. Our role is to accept this divine communication through the Prophets.
A common human response to the Prophets is skepticism: How can we be sure they were sent by God? Such a significant claim naturally requires substantial proof.
How is Revelation true?
One knows Revelation is true by examining the main claim: Is Revelation, given to the Prophets, from God?
Additionally, there is a secondary claim to consider: Are there consequences to our actions that will affect our life after this life is over based on our response to Revelation?
Any claim, especially one of such significance, rightfully deserves to be challenged. Only fools accept claims without first seeing and evaluating the proof. The Prophets, throughout history, have made substantial claims that were invariably subject to scrutiny and challenge. However, they also brought forth compelling proofs to validate their messages, reinforcing the authenticity of Revelation and its divine origin.
What is the Divine response to the claim of Revelation being true?
The divine response to the claim of Revelation’s truth lies in the role of confirmatory miracles, or mu’jizat. God supports all His Prophets by providing these extraordinary events, which serve as evidence of their divine mission. Miracles, by definition, are occurrences that transcend the natural laws of earth, demonstrating that they originate from beyond the normative or rational phenomena we understand. These miraculous events affirm the reality of God and Revelation, thereby confirming the Prophets and the messages they bring.
Why does God not speak to us directly about these big questions?
In the Quran, the opening of Surah Baqarah (2:1) addresses this question by stating:
This is the Book in which there is no doubt, a guidance for the mindful. Those who believe in the Unseen.
Believers are the creation of God who believe and accept in the Unseen.
God does not speak to us directly about these profound questions because doing so would undermine the purpose of our existence as a test. As the Quran (2:155) states:
We shall certainly test you with fear and hunger, and loss of property, lives, and crops. But [Prophet], give good news to those who are steadfast.
If the Creator of the test were to provide all the answers while the test is ongoing, it would render the test meaningless. It is not our place to question why God has chosen to test us; He exercises His will according to His wisdom, and His power encompasses all things.
Out of His special mercy, He brings life into existence, granting it freely to those who had no life before. This life is a loan, and what is required in return is minuscule compared to the gift that was given. As the Quran (2:245) states:
Who will give God a good loan, which He will increase for him many times over? It is God who withholds and God who gives abundantly, and it is to Him that you will return.
Confirmations of Revelation
The verse that confirms the Message of Revelation took place with the Messenger is found in Surah Al-Baqarah (2:97), which states, “He has revealed it to your heart…” referring to the heart of the Prophet Muhammad. This profound connection between the Quran and the Prophet is further emphasized by Aisha, who described the Prophet’s character as embodying the Quran. Her statement, “His character was the Quran,” underscores that the Prophet internalized and lived out the divine message in his daily life, making him the perfect vehicle for its transmission to humanity.